Serving Midwest Aviation Since 1960
Serving Midwest Aviation Since 1960
Sorted by date Results 1 - 15 of 15
A 1999 Cessna 182S registered to Charles Brynelsen of North Oaks, Minnesota, completes pattern work on Runway 27 at the Anoka County-Blaine Airport on Oct. 16....
Frank Valesh had a career in military aviation that was brief, interesting, and frequently violent. From September 1943 until August 1944 Valesh flew B-17s for the U.S. Army's Eighth Air Force in Great Britain. His bombers all had the same nose art featuring a human female with an impossibly exaggerated anatomy and the name "Hang the Expense." Valesh was born in Graceville, Minnesota. In the middle of the "Roaring 20s" his family moved to a house on Dayton Avenue in St. Paul's Merriam Park. His...
Twenty-six year old Kaitlyn (LaFrance) Hawkinson sort of fell in to her career as a pilot in the U.S. Air Force. Even her mother, who thought Kaitlyn (now Capt. Hawkinson) might pursue a career in theater, didn't expect her to play a role on the world stage flying C-17 aircraft to evacuate refugees from Afghanistan. Even though both her parents, Susie Folwick and Scott Sperling, worked on cargo planes in the Air Force, they didn't expect her to follow suit. Throughout high school, Hawkinson was...
A WW II open-cockpit biplane dropped into Albert Lea Airport on short notice Aug. 31. Though WW II aircraft are increasingly rare, this wasn't unusual. What WAS unusual is that it made a special trip to give a ride to WW II veteran Richard Crumb. The WW II trainer is one of six belonging to Dream Flights-a charity covering the entire United States, a historic national effort to locate and honor WW II veterans. As part of Operation September Freedom-a belated 75th anniversary of the end of WW...
EAA Chapter 25 sponsored a fantastic banquet on Sunday, Oct. 3, at the Crystal Lake Golf Club and Banquet Facility in Lakeville, Minnesota. The guest speaker was Gary Powers, Jr., the son of famed Cold War pilot Francis Gary Powers, who was shot down over Russia on May 1, 1960, while flying a U-2 CIA spy plane. The downing of the U-2 in 1960 was one of the most talked-about events of the Cold War. The event was depicted in the Steven Spielberg movie "Bridge of Spies." Powers was captured by the...
The Minnesota Air National Guard hosted its first-ever Flight of Honor induction ceremony in mid-October, recognizing seven inaugural inductees for career accomplishments. Flight of Honor recognizes past and present airmen from the 133rd Airlift Wing, the 148th Fighter Wing, and Joint Force Headquarters, Minnesota Air National Guard, who have distinguished themselves with notable professional achievement and service or heroism. Maj. Gen. Wayne C. Gatlin Maj. Gen. Wayne C. Gatlin's military...
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. Next April's banquet will honor the MAHOF 2022 inductees and return the organization to its regular banquet...
The Seventh Annual Girls in Aviation Day attracted more than 1,000 participants to a new location at Flying Cloud Airport in Eden Prairie. Jet Linx Minneapolis served as official site host for the Sept. 25 event. With 85 events around the world, Women in Aviation International's Girls in Aviation Day 2021 reached nearly 10,000 attendees. Minnesota's Stars of the North (SOTN) chapter has partnered with Minnesota's aviation community to provide a platform for girls to learn about career opportunit...
Ray Johnson has lived in or near Buffalo, Minnesota since 1960, but remains a very proud son of Pine County. He grew up on a farm near Pine City and graduated Pine City High School in 1950. After a stint in the Army, Johnson returned home and an interest in aviation was sparked by flights with his brother who had purchased an airplane. In a series of fortunate events, Johnson also learned to fly, bought the first of many aircraft he has owned, met his future wife, and began a long career as a...
Among my many tools is a 12-pound splitting maul (half sledgehammer/half axe). Many of my larger tools hang on the garage wall next to my car. Except for the splitting maul. Why is that? I occasionally bump into one of the tools and it falls down. Usually, the worst thing that happens is it lands on floor or hits the car doing very little damage. If the splitting maul falls on the car, it's going to do serious damage. If, worse yet, it lands on something harder than the car (like my head), it might get broken! The maul sits, with 99% of its...
Glenn Luther Martin (1886-1955) taught himself to fly in 1909 in a homebuilt pusher. He set up his first aircraft manufacturing plant in 1911 at Santa Ana, California. Not only did he build airplanes, but acted in the 1915 silent movie The Girl of Yesterday as a pilot opposite Mary Pickford. Over the course of Martin's career, he employed such names as William Boeing, Donald Douglas, Lawrence Bell, and James McDonnell. Martin is often connected to bombers, but beginning in the late 1920's it...
If you don’t think hearing is important, try flying IFR into Chicago Bravo Airspace some afternoon. We were slated to land at Midway taking the OHHMY transition on the ENDEE SIX ARRIVAL. I dutifully plugged in all that info into my trusty Garmin 430, and felt I might be on top of things. No sooner had the buttons cooled than TRACON proceeded to reroute me not one but two times. More button pushing and a few steep turns. Finally I was instructed to “follow the Airbus on final.” Not high tech, but it worked. Bottom line, flying in our compl...
For more than 30 years, Holiday Tree of Hope has been collecting toys for children who are hospitalized during the holidays. The non-profit organization serves over 40 hospitals, shelters, and Ronald McDonald houses each year, bringing smiles to children and families who are dealing with trying times. This year, Tree of Hope is moving back to having an in-person toy collection event, with changes prompted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Organizers are asking for limited socialization at the...
Swedes are famous for being persistent. That's a trait that comes in handy with airports and revolutions. Emigrants from Sweden were the earliest settlers around Mora, Minnesota. Folks there are proud of their heritage. Downtown has a large statue of a "Dalecarlian" horse and other flavors of the "old country." Mora Municipal Airport was established right after World War II replacing a "flying field" at a different location. At first there was a single north/south turf runway. In 1956 a second t...
We hope you are enjoying fall flying and all the beauty that goes with this time of the year! For me, this is the best time of the year to enjoy the view from our perch from the sky. While each part of our great country has a beauty all its own, we are particularly blessed with gorgeous colors. Some time ago I wrote about the importance of those who choose to fly emergency medical service missions. It has been and continues to be my privilege to perform FAA medical examinations on a number of pr...
