Serving Midwest Aviation Since 1960
Serving Midwest Aviation Since 1960
Sorted by date Results 1 - 25 of 93
South St. Paul Municipal Airport is busy! It's a reliever for Minneapolis/St. Paul International and home to over 220 aircraft. A bunch of successful aviation businesses are based there including Wipaire, the world's premier manufacturer of aircraft floats who are also well known for aircraft modifications and avionics. Another notable tenant is the Commemorative Air Force (CAF) with a fleet of vintage aircraft dating back to the second World War. There's only one runway at South St. Paul and...
Over the centuries many different types of pavements have been invented by humans to make travel easier and keep things moving regardless of the weather. Beginning around 300 BC the Romans built first-class roads, many of which are still in use. The Empire's engineers designed highways that were crowned for drainage, had curbing, and were often paved with cut rock or cobble stones. Later European civilizations lacked the Roman ingenuity and sometimes used corduroy for paving. Not old pants, but...
Internet shopping is the way to go in the 21st century. Point, click and buy means you never have to leave home to spend your money. The ancestor of "online" stores may have started in 1884 when the railroad station agent in North Redwood Falls found he was stuck with a shipment of watches the local jeweler claimed to have never ordered. Seeing an opportunity, the agent used the U.S. Mail to offer them for sale then shipped them the same way. The "North" city and Redwood Falls merged in 1996,...
Charles Lindbergh was an environmentalist. After his many accomplishments in aviation, he became an enthusiastic steward of the planet. In 1969 the proposed Voyagers National Park had his attention and Mr. Lindbergh traveled to International Falls to see for himself. He called Einarson's Flying Service to rent an aircraft. Francis Einarson took the request and said, "Who is this?" Charles Lindbergh was the reply, to which Einarson said, "Yeah, and I'm Jimmy Doolittle." That got sorted out OK, bu...
Much of the wisdom imparted by the Federal Aviation Administration is contained in publications called "Advisory Circulars" or ACs. Both thorough and interesting, they cover a variety of subjects including how to build just about everything on an airport. The "Airport Series" start with 150 and the one that addresses airport lighting is 150/5340-30. Using the term "advisory" is not really accurate. Just try building something on a public airport that doesn't conform to the appropriate AC and...
In 1929 the city of Duluth purchased 640 acres to build an airport. It opened in 1930 with two, 2,650-foot-long turf runways. Scheduled airline service to Duluth started in 1940. After the beginning of World War II, three paved runways were constructed in the classic "triangle" of that era. Each was 4,000 feet long. Runways 9/27 and 3/21 were extended to 5,700 feet in 1945. Runway 9/27 was later extended twice, reaching the current length of 10,151 feet in 1956. Runway 13/31 was closed in 1973...
When runways were invented, they were mostly grass, at least in Minnesota. A strip of land was graded and rolled until it was fairly smooth and flat, then grass was planted and a turf runway came into existence. Not much engineering was involved and the quality was pretty variable. Winsted Municipal Airport had a turf runway, but the subsoil was rather poor and the turf surface would get rutted and have a "washboard" effect. The drainage needed some work and the lighting system became badly out...
There are two Two Harbors. One is an unincorporated village on Catalina Island, the other is a major city on the north shore of Lake Superior. Catalina Island is an enclave of the rich, famous and those who service their whims. California's Two Harbors is primarily for pleasure craft. Minnesota's Two Harbors has some yachts, but is mostly a working port where freighters are loaded with ore from the Iron Range. Catalina Island Airport is mostly used to bring in perishable supplies that are in too...
Carlton County is a great place no matter what you like. There's plenty of public land for outdoor recreation including the spectacular Jay Cook State Park. Less strenuous recreation is available at a casino/hotel/restaurant complex. Unusual tourist attractions include the only gas station designed by Frank Lloyd Wright in Cloquet and world's largest agate in Moose Lake. The aforementioned cities are the county's biggest and are served by two general aviation airports with all the facilities...
Little Falls/Morrison County-Lindbergh Field is exactly what a General Aviation facility ought to be. Runway 13/31 is 4,000 feet long with all modern lighting systems and the customary RNAV approaches. A well-appointed Arrival Departure Building is open 24/7 and fueling is available on the same schedule. Rental cars and taxis provide ground transportation. After landing, the drive out of the airport is pretty cool. The entrance road is a tree-lined boulevard with a grass median. The icing on...
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...
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...
When the telegraph put the Pony Express out of business, Morse Code was the medium for transmitting electronic messages. Later it was used by ship's radio operators and then by aircraft. Until the early 1950s, a radio operator and telegraph key flew on many international flights. Amateur Radio (or Ham) was the last stronghold of Morse Code and Ham operators were required to be proficient as recently as 2002. Aviation is the vestigial user of Morse Code where navigation aids still broadcast their...
Fertile Municipal Airport is built on the shore of one of the Earth's largest lakes. Unfortunately, the lake went away a few millennia ago. Lake Agassiz was formed by melting glaciers and the famous Sand Hills around Fertile were once the beach. That bit of geological history means the immediate neighborhood belies the name. Mostly oak savanna and prairie, the soil is not good for growing crops. The Sand Hills do provide unique recreational activities and a spectacular natural area called the...
Independent flight schools had their "golden age" in the 1960s and 70s when there were four training operations at Crystal and the sky all-around was never still. Two of those operations also had busy aircraft charter services. There were some colorful characters too, including Lee Gilligan, who owned Crystal-Shamrock Airways. Shamrock was a Cessna Pilot Center and one of the last operators to offer passenger service in the DC-3. In the 21st century, most flight training transitioned to large...
Many places have cold weather, but in International Falls it can be spectacular. Citizens of International Falls and Koochiching County embrace the climate, not just tolerate it. Winter gets cold, but summer is comfortably warm. Whatever the season, this area offers some of the best outdoor recreation in North America. Those who live there love it, and lots of people visit for a taste. The best way to get there is by flying to the "Falls International Airport," aka INL. The airport is a joint...
When Orville stepped off the Wright Flyer on Dec. 17, 1903, the first thing he said was, "Where's the bathroom?" Well, maybe not. But once flights got longer toilets became a high priority after landing. When flight plans and IFR clearances were invented, a telephone became the second thing pilots needed. Back in the "old days" rural airports often had an "out house" and a phone booth to fill the need. If phone booths are a mystery to you, think "Tardis." As General Aviation evolved, what...
A small investment can result in a big improvement. In 2020, a simple project at the Fergus Falls Municipal Airport added considerably to airport safety by relocating a taxiway. Coincidentally, this was the oldest pavement on the airport and very much needed of replacement making the project very cost effective, a good two for one deal. In simple terms, the taxiway was too close to Runway 17/35. FAA language is more complicated, but the result was the same. Advisory Circular 150/5300-13A...
"Blind luck will beat careful planning every time" might be a good theory for managing stuff like your finances. Thousands of authors have written millions of pages about financial planning, most of which isn't very helpful. Talking with "experts" is quicker but likely not much better. However, planning aviation facilities requires a more scientific approach. Fortunately, the FAA has provided several hundred pages of succinct advice on how to plan airports. A few days of fascinating reading shou...
Business and commercial flights to rural airports work best if take offs and landings can happen even if the weather's not so good. What does an airport owner do when some important users need lower instrument approach minimums to operate effectively? The city of Roseau recently debated that question and came up with the right answer. Snowmobiles were invented in Roseau and Polaris Industries is the premier manufacturer of those machines. Roseau native Edgar Hetten founded Polaris, but the...
Lots of general aviation airports have only one runway. Some have two, and a few busy ones near urban areas might have three or even four. In many cases, the runway configuration is historic. Airports developed in the 1940s generally tried to come close to the three-runway configuration idealized by military bases built during World War II. The runways formed a triangle, assuring that aircraft could always take off and land into the wind or nearly so. Wadena's original airport came close to the...
In the early 1800s a Catholic Priest mistook a lake for a something else and named a place in Minnesota using the French word "detroit" (that means straight or channel). Soon a village had sprung up with that name and was a waypoint on the Red River Ox Cart Trail. Incorporated in 1881, Minnesota's Detroit became the seat of Becker County. Eventually the citizens got tired of their mail ending up in Michigan, organized a referendum in 1926 and corrected the "clerical" error by changing the...
Park Point is one cool place. It's the world's longest freshwater sand spit and separates the Duluth Harbor from the rest of Lake Superior. Since the lake's water is usually about 45 degrees, nature supplies the air conditioning. At the northwest end is the famous lift bridge and Canal Park, the Duluth entertainment and tourist district. On the southeast end is an 18-acre old growth red and white pine forest with a kind of spiritual ambiance. One of the City's most desirable residential areas...
More than 375,000 passengers pass through Rochester International Airport in a year, second in Minnesota only to MSP. Lots of those passengers are heading for the famous Mayo Clinic. American, Delta and United Airlines provide scheduled service. Spotting a wide body airliner with Arabic writing is not unusual. There's also a lot of General Aviation traffic. The airport averages over 50,000 annual control tower operations and is home to 65 aircraft. This is a busy place. Runway 13/31 is just...
