Serving Midwest Aviation Since 1960
Serving Midwest Aviation Since 1960
Sorted by date Results 101 - 125 of 672
The fly-in season of 2021 got off to a rousing start with the Sixth Annual TrickAir Ski Plane Fly-In at Jackson Seaplane Base in McGregor. The event was postponed twice, pushing the date to Feb. 20. Low ceilings and a polar vortex hampered earlier efforts to hold the annual event. The morning of the 20th brought blue skies and light winds making the hosts look "Nostradamus-like" in their selection of this day. In previous years, good weather meant lots of arrivals. The anticipation of many...
In Upper Michigan there is a delightful place called the Keweenaw Peninsula. Keweenaw is a Native American word that roughly translates as "portage." Over 7,000 years ago the area became a source of copper originally mined by a group called the Algonquians. Copper taken from the Keweenaw by prehistoric miners has been found as far away as Arkansas and Oregon. By the middle of the 19th Ccentury, copper mining was underway on an industrial scale. In 1885, the "Michigan Mining School" was founded...
In January, I wrote an article in which I laid out my flying plans for 2021. Fast forward just a few weeks and my, how things change. The 12th of February was to be the eve of my first long cross-country trip. Not the type of cross country that you fly as a student, but my first real cross country – just my wife and I along with a suitcase in our Cessna 182 in search of sun, fun, and freedom in the skies. Mother Nature had other plans. About three days ahead of our anticipated departure date, W...
David Berger is a District Medical Officer in Broome, Western Australia. There are nine regions in Western Australia. Broome is in the Kimberly region on the northwest coast. It's a fascinating place. Local indigenous people painted their thoughts in rock art that can still be seen 40,000 years later. Metals, petroleum, and agriculture sustain the local economy. Diving for natural pearls is a major activity, as is farming oysters. One third of the world's diamonds are mined in Kimberly....
The reason behind the flight was simple enough, my night currency had lapsed and with Minnesota winters comprised of short days and long nights, I decided that it was a prudent move to take a solo night flight. Not just for the sake of being able to carry passengers an hour after the sun sets, but also to make sure I stay proficient as a pilot. I noticed that my currency had expired not long before tonight, as I had made plans to take some friends on their first flight in a private airplane a few days ago and it had become a factor. My friends...
With thousands of other EAA members and guests, I waited for the arrival. Minolta XG-7, 300 mm lens, skylight filter, Fuji color film all checked. Late afternoon. July 1985. It was unusually and somewhat ominously quiet for Wittman Field. Announcement followed announcement all day, reporting so many miles out, over such and such check point. The winds had died. There was a bit of late day haze. I was at the north end of Three-Six, about 500 feet from the runway. The line of cameras and...
Nellis Air Force Base is a huge facility. It has two 10,000-foot-long runways and is home for more Air Force units than any other military installation. The base is located on the northeast side of Las Vegas (that's "The Meadows" in Spanish FYI), a sprawling metropolis with a permanent population getting close to three quarters of a million. "Vegas" is the entertainment and gambling capital of North America and visitors can swell the area's population by 50%. In the 1930s, about 8,400 people liv...
Identifying a Pilot Surprisingly this will be the easiest task on your quest to marry a pilot. The pilot will identify itself. Any interaction with a pilot will result in identification within mere moments of natural conversation. We call this PSP (Pilot Swagger Positioning). • They are proud of their pilot status. • They prefer aviation conversation to any other topic on the planet. • This unusual breed is comfortable making decisive decisions and moving forward quickly. History has shown...
Last summer, the first I spent with a private pilot's license, I used my newfound freedom to hit up a number of Minnesota fly-in events: Rush City, Starbuck, Elbow Lake, Aitkin, etc. I even made my first trip to Oshkosh and camped for a few days. Naturally, this year I had hoped to do the same, now a year older and a few certificates smarter, but I think by this point we're all aware of how that plan turned out. Part of what I love about fly-in events is that they provide a mission, a reason to...
The city of Mora hosted its annual fly-in Saturday, Sept. 19 from 8 a.m. until noon at the Mora Municipal Airport. The day began with the Mora American Legion opening ceremony with the presentation of colors followed by the Mora Lions Club serving a pancake breakfast with all proceeds going to support community projects and donations. Volunteers were standing by to greet all incoming aircraft with a poker chip for a free breakfast for all pilots in command. There were airplane rides available,...
Happiness is getting paid for what you love to do anyway. That's especially true if you're a flyer or nature lover. Lots of people spend plenty of money to go flying or get away from it all. Robert Hodge had a job where he got paid to both fly and be in the great outdoors. For 30 - plus years he was a game warden and pilot for what is now the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. To paraphrase the old TV commercial, "It just doesn't get any better than that." Bob Hodge grew up with a passio...
It’s that time of year again when the comfortable days of fall are giving way to cooler temperatures. Winter is moving in fast and will be here before you know it! As you are going over your checklist to be sure your airplane is ready for winter flying, remember to also look over your winter survival kit. Have you removed anything from the kit and not replaced it? Don’t assume that something is there just because it was the last time you checked. Go over the contents item by item. Are any packages opened or damaged? Look for outdated items (em...
Your Thanksgiving Holiday may look different this year but there is still much to be thankful for. That is why in this season of Giving Thanks we at the Minnesota Flyer would like take this opportunity to say “Thank You” to all of you! Thank You to our advertisers who continue to run their ad even when so many businesses have been hit hard by the ongoing pandemic and uncertain economy. Thank You to our columnists for working diligently to provide quality material to fill our pages even in the absence of annual aviation events. Thank You to the...
Most of the articles I’ve read throughout the year have discussed the current COVID pandemic at length, and rightfully so – this virus has affected the lives of nearly every person worldwide. The year 2020 has been filled with shutdowns, travel restrictions, and many other challenges to daily life while our time has been spent focusing on case counts and hospital capacity, keeping a hopeful eye toward recovery. Our aviation community, like so many others, was impacted heavily. Mass groundings of commercial traffic left much of the sky emp...
Due to COVID-19, our event is mostly online this year with a goal of raising $65,000 to provide 6,500 toys to hospitalized children by December 1st. Tree of Hope began in Nary, MN, in 1991 when Dr. Ray and Celeste Shefland noticed many children spending time in the hospital over the holidays. Some dealing with major or terminal illness, some recovering from surgery or an accident. Many far from home and missing their families and friends. Tree of Hope, a 501(c) (3), has grown to include over 37 hospitals in Minnesota, Wisconsin, and North...
Danny Lilya is a 2019 graduate of Moose Lake Community High School in Moose Lake, Minnesota. In the fall of 2019, he was accepted and chose to attend the University of North Dakota in Grand Forks. His brother, Michael, is studying to become a commercial pilot at UND's John D. Odegard School of Aerospace Sciences based at the Grand Forks Airport. Danny and his brother, Michael, are also brothers in the Sigma Chi Fraternity at UND. Danny was born with a broken back, uses a wheelchair to get around...
Matt is working towards his Commercial Pilot Certification, flying through Thunderbird Aviation with aspirations to fly for a major airline. The journey to begin flight training started back in early December of 2017 as an innocent conversation. My sister's husband had just poured us another cup of coffee as we leaned against the kitchen countertop, relaxing following breakfast at their lakeside home in Prior Lake. We talked about the ins and outs of our daily grind and the challenges of working...
The Minnesota Aviation Hall of Fame (MAHOF) is pleased to announce the application process for our 2021 aviation scholarship program "Giving Wings to Dreams" is now open for submissions from October 1, 2020 through December 31, 2020. In partnership with The American Aviation Heritage Foundation, the Minnesota Aviation Hall of Fame is committed to doing our respective parts to encourage individuals to follow their dreams of flight by offering five scholarships in the amount of $1,500 each to...
An ongoing series by Tom Lymburn "Ladies and gentlemen, to your right, on final approach, the greatest transport plane in history. Cameras ready! Please welcome, the Douglas DC-3!" She came "over the fence" flaring for runway niner-right. Gear down, flaps down, the late morning sun sharp on her pseudo-Navy prewar two-tone blue paint scheme. Red and white tail stripes, star and meatball insignia, chrome plated prop blades flashing in the sun. Not exactly stock, she had oversized spinners,...
Many of my friends and family consider themselves to be "fall" people. However, as a self-admitted summer junkie that tends to think of the future instead of the present, I often describe myself as a fan of spring as I anticipate the warm days of summer just ahead. The temps are similar in both April and October, but October just feels colder, as evidenced by comparing the long pants and sweatshirts often found in autumn to the t-shirts and shorts often worn in spring. That said, the fall...
John Parker was a pioneer. Growing up on a Southern Minnesota farm, he loved horses, but his fate took him to aviation and the use of aircraft for conservation and wildlife management. From 1949 until 1983, Warden/Pilot Parker flew for the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources from what is now the Warroad International Memorial Airport. A cowboy at heart, he flew his planes across a state size range. Parker's early career took him from controlling the wolf population (then considered a...
Paul Jackson of Eden Prairie sent in this story about a "splash" held in lieu of AirVenture. What do you do when a pandemic wipes out the most popular flying event in the world that just happens to happen one state away? You improvise and make sure you have a great time and make sure your buddies are safe and comfortable with the event. I talked to some friends about what we should do when AirVenture 2020 was canceled. My winter ski plane fly-in has become a bit of a tradition after five short y...
This collection of photo memories was submitted by aviation enthusiast and photographer, Greg Drawbaugh. For myself as a non-pilot and non-aviator, taking images of the event is the main purpose of my visit each year. I especially like shooting during the flying demonstrations. For the past few years, I have made a connection with the ladies with the Warbird Living History Group, and I try to organize a photo shoot with these ladies and an owner of an aircraft. The shoot with the ladies always...
Riding my motorcycle to Buffalo Municipal Airport (KCFE), I took in a few deep breaths of fresh country air while basking in the rays of the warm summer sun. The smooth, steady rhythm of the motorcycle's engine provides the perfect drumbeat to the tranquil landscape, singing its song to the backdrop of farmsteads and forestry that decorate my surroundings. Even from the ground, June in Minnesota today is as picturesque as ever and would surely give Vincent Van Gogh a run for his money. The...
