Serving Midwest Aviation Since 1960
Serving Midwest Aviation Since 1960
Sorted by date Results 1 - 16 of 16
A 1973 Beechcraft Bonanza V35B registered to Tim Steire of Blue Earth, Minnesota, prepares to touchdown at Hector Municipal Airport Sept. 19 during the 79th Annual Lions Fly-In Breakfast....
Fall flying is my favorite time of the year to fly and enjoy the view we see as we fly over beautiful Minnesota. The air is crisp, the colors are amazing and I think we savor the moments we can spend at aviation events, such as pancake breakfasts, even more. I recently had the opportunity to fly the Super Cub to New Ulm to take in their annual pancake breakfast fly-in and I am so happy I did! This was a terrific event, strongly supported by the community as evidenced literally by hundreds of peo...
An airport encounter with a new Minnesota Flyer subscriber's vintage aircraft and a subsequent hangar visit took me down a pleasant mental path recently. The late summer experience was typical of editorial interactions that occurred during an inaugural fly-in season that included more than 25 event visits statewide. Here's the scoop from Minnesota Flyer command central: In mid-September, I was out and about on a sunny Sunday, making my second fly-in visit of the day. Arriving early at my...
Downtown Moorhead is having a renaissance. It's a welcoming place featuring some great artwork. The Ace Hardware Store on Main has added to the ambiance by sponsoring a mural of Florence Klingensmith. The Moorhead native was one of 99 women aviators who banded together to promote aviation for the female gender of the human species. Not surprisingly, the organization is called the "Ninety-Nines." They started in 1929 with Amelia Earhart as the first president. Among her claims to fame, Klingensmi...
Each year, the Minnesota Aviation Hall of Fame (MAHOF) inductee selection committee meets in June to review nomination submissions and to select the following year's inductees. Selection includes evaluation of a candidate's significant aviation contributions to Minnesota, the area of the state the individual represents, and other criteria involving career and professional contributions. The MAHOF 2020 Induction Banquet is scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 30, at the DoubleTree by Hilton Bloomington...
John Heineman retired from the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources Enforcement Division's Aviation Unit in early July. His next move was to go fishing. Since that outdoors season is when DNR pilots are busiest, Heineman's move from aircraft to boat was probably long overdue. Heineman was the "go-to guy" within Minnesota DNR aviation. His most recent boss was Capt. Christopher Lofstuen who said, "We all strive to be like John." Lofstuen also said supervising DNR pilots was "a lot like...
Cora Fuller trained in a Stinson "Detroiter" to become the first Minnesota woman to receive a pilot's certificate after 30 hours of instruction at the Fairmont Airport. The Detroiter was a rather sophisticated airplane in an era when most training was done in open cockpit biplanes with two seats. The aircraft was a four-seat monoplane with an enclosed cabin. Ninety years later, Jessica Holmes became the first female pilot to fly for the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. Fuller was an...
Wings of the North, the aviation history non-profit that's based at Flying Cloud Airport in Eden Prairie, hit unexpected organizational turbulence this summer. "We were informed just before July's AirExpo by the building owners (Bearpath Investment Group, LLC), that our lease was not going to be renewed, effective Aug. 31," said Wings of the North Board Chairman Gary Applebaum. Applebaum and Museum Director Bob Jasperson told the Minnesota Flyer the organization has secured its collection and...
The Husky National Sodbuster STOL Short Takeoff & Landing Competition Series Aug. 5 to Aug. 7 at Brainerd Lakes Regional Airport featured almost 30 aircraft. "We were excited to bring this event to a larger airport," said Tom Flanary, Husky National STOL Series co-owner. We sold out Milaca two years ago, but we needed a bigger field." Five-hundred spectators watched the 2021 competition. In 2019, Milaca's annual August aviation celebration added the event, which tests pilots' skills during two...
“Money is the the root of all evil.” Did you notice the extra “the” in that sentence? Expectation Bias led us to expect the same familiar phrase. This concept can apply in many aviation situations such as the following: Coming in from the south and landing east at Flying Cloud, you would expect to land on the long SOUTH parallel, 10R. However, tower clears you to land on 10L, the NORTH parallel. You read back “Cleared to land 10L” but then proceed to land on 10R. This has actually happened and the pilot was even aware of the clearance t...
The Metropolitan Airports Commission/Anoka County Aviation Association Annual Airport Barbecue Sept. 13 included plenty of food and aviation-related fellowship. The early evening event was attended by airport tenants, users, businesses, and families and friends and was held inside the MAC Equipment Building near the Air Traffic Control Tower, 8891 Airport Road N.E. in Blaine. The ACAA is an association of hangar owners and renters, FBO owners, pilots, flight instructors, commercial operators...
The Liberty powered HS-1L and HS-2L series was the only American designed and built aircraft issued to U.S. forces in France during World War I. Beginning in May 1918, HS-1L and HS-2L flying boats arrived by ship for anti-U-boat operations and were assigned to 10 U.S. Naval Air Stations. The first patrol was flown on 13 June 1918. Of the 182 aircraft delivered, 19 were the longer wing HS-2L capable of carrying a larger weapon load. Since Curtiss lacked enough production capacity, the HS series...
Karlstad is getting a new airport. The most recent Minnesota state transportation budget signed by Gov. Tim Walz includes grants totaling $5.6 million for the city of Karlstad to relocate and build a new public airport. The city estimates a new airport could help create as many as 100 direct new jobs and 150 additional indirect jobs in the next five years. “Karlstad’s community and businesses will really benefit from a new airport,” said Al Lundeen, chairman of the Karlstad airport board. “We’re excited about the increased job opportuni...
Weekends in September were a busy time for Minnesota's general aviation community. The events calendar featured plenty of summer-ending fly-ins. The Minnesota Flyer's October press time listings included events in Battle Lake, Superior, Wisconsin, Wells, Le Sueur, New Ulm, Mora, Grand Marais, and Hector. In addition, there were separate airport celebrations in Brainerd and Blaine. Here's a look at photo coverage from six of those events. Event organizers: Please send your 2022 listings to the...
EAA's local chapters are about people, bringing together individuals interested in learning more about aviation as well as sharing their own knowledge. The national organization considers Minnesota Chapter 237 a "go-to" group when it comes to getting things done. The chapter is based at Anoka County-Blaine Airport (Janes Field). Chapter members are involved in a variety of social and educational activities, including Young Eagles rallies, fly-ins, building seminars, and more, to build awareness...
Three large Minnesota events commemorated the 20th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks with flyovers featuring F-16 fighter aircraft. Planes from the Minnesota Air National Guard's 148th Fighter Wing made aerial appearances over St. Paul, Duluth, and Minneapolis on Saturday, Sept. 11. Four F-16s completed a Minnesota Department of Veterans Affairs 9/11 morning flyover of the state capitol, said Lt. Col. (Ret.) Audra Flanagan, who served as a second lieutenant with the Wing 20 ye...
