Serving Midwest Aviation Since 1960
Serving Midwest Aviation Since 1960
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Fellow aviators: We sure had a great couple of weekends in February and March for flying. Jr's corner put on a great fly-in on February 24 on Upper Red Lake. The hot roast beef sandwich was one of the best I've had. Tanis Heater Company was a great sponsor and supporter of the event. The next day my son and I made our way to Warroad, landed on the river, and walked up to the Legion for some great Pancakes. Amy with Wipaire was there and my son was given a really nice thermal mug and calendar. A...
EAA announced more than two million children between eight and 17 years old have been introduced to airplanes and aviation through the Young Eagles program which provides free rides by volunteer pilots. The Young Eagles program was founded in 1922. More than 50,000 students enrolled in Sporty's Learn to Fly Course, a free online instruction for ground school and flight training. Sporty's partners with EAA to provide this service. EAA Chapter 237 based at Anoka County Blaine Airport, is highly...
Flight Line Gifts is happy to announce the continued growth of our new aviation retail store. We helped many customers back in December looking for aviation gifts for family and friends. We continue to seek out more products for our shelves, and we have seen a drastic increase in consignment items which provides more unique and one-of-a-kind items for our customers. Our pilots supplies section is growing, besides the standard sectionals and books and oil, we have flight bags, lap boards,...
In the few hours before his official 18th birthday, Moose Lake, Minnesota resident Anakin Wilson did something he had never done before. He flew an airplane. "I'm the Young Eagles Coordinator from EAA Chapter 237 based out of Blaine Airport," said Michael Grzincich, private pilot and professor of IT at Cambridge Community College. "Scott Nelson, Michael Miller and I came to the Moose Lake Airport today to do an away game with two aircraft. "It's just a beautiful day, nice crisp air, minus 15...
It didn't take long after Wilbur and Orville Wright made four brief flights at Kitty Hawk in 1903 for humankind to believe we could, indeed, fly. The rate at which aviation grew over the next 20 years, accompanied by related confusion and mishaps, made it painfully clear the industry required oversight to establish order and safety standards. President Calvin Coolidge stepped up to the plate in 1926 by signing the Air Commerce Act into law, thereby establishing the foundations of government...
As I mentioned in part eight of this series, my intention is to give the reader a knowledge of the top ten icons of Minnesota aviation through the years. No slights were intended among the state's wonderful pilots, promoters, and businessmen, but from a historian's prospective, to spotlight the headliners. I've previously thumbnailed Walter Bullock, Clarence Hinck, Shorty De Ponti, Speed Holman, Ray Miller, Max Conrad, Charles Lindbergh and the colorful Chuck Doyle. With this ninth chapter, I...
The Super Bowl hosted in Minneapolis brought air traffic from all over the world. Lynx FBO at Anoka County Blaine Airport had up to 85 jets parked on its runways. Many reliever airports provided parking for aircraft during the week leading to the Super Bowl. The Super Bowl Flyover consisted of the P-51 Mustang Sierra Sue which resides at Flying Cloud Airport in Eden Prairie, two A-10 Thunderbolt IIs, and an F-16 Fighting Falcon. Renowned American aviator Steve Hinton flew Sierra Sue on behalf...
Since its foundation in 1965, Lake Area Technical Institute (LATI) in Watertown, South Dakota has been training students for the workforce. That training is now recognized on a national level. In 2017 LATI received the Aspen Prize for Community College Excellence, recognizing its standing as "a benchmark for community college reform." For eight continuous years, LATI has been designated a Military Friendly school for going "over and above" in efforts to assist service members. LATI was also name...
It was one of those events you shouldn't have missed. January 20 presented a perfect day for the Second Annual TrickAir Ski Plane Fly-In at Paul Jackson's Sea Plane Base in McGregor, Minnesota. Over 50 aircraft flew in to the event, some from as far away as Kansas City, Missouri and Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The crowd was wowed by Tony Phillippi's Noorduyn Norseman flown in from Anoka County Blaine Airport. "Tony Phillippi was nice enough to come up and show us his beautiful airplane," said event or...
It was back in 1960 when LaVern Knoepke drove to the Pipestone Airport in southwestern Minnesota to check out a 1940 pre-war, stick controlled Aeronca Chief he heard was for sale. "The guy who owned it was 83-years old and wasn't flying anymore," said Knoepke. "So I went out there and yeah, it hadn't been flown for a long time. It had bird droppings on the wings about two inches thick. I thought, oh gosh. This is terrible." The airport manager confidently assured the potential buyer he could...
AOPA President and CEO Mark Baker was among a distinguished group of aviators inducted into the Living Legends of Aviation January 19, at a ceremony in Beverly Hills, California. Baker was recognized for his passion for aviation, his willingness to share it with others, and for his leadership in supporting general aviation causes. Other honorees included GE Aviation President and CEO David Joyce, who received the Lifetime Industry Award; Smithsonian Air and Space Museum Director General J.R....
About seven years ago I met Don, a retired seed corn salesman and avid ping pong player. We hit it off right away. He asked if I had ever played ping pong or if I was interested in playing. I last played in high school where I had actually won the school championship a couple times. Don's offer sounded like a fun way to spend time indoors during a long, lonely Minnesota winter. He was playing at the Northfield Senior Center and encouraged me to play there. The Senior Center sponsors a ping pong...
It's so refreshing to hear good news. That is exactly what Dave Retka, Isle Flying Club President in Isle, Minnesota offers regarding activity at the private grass strip. In his annual report, Retka states the Isle Airport (private) symbol is now shown on aviation sectional charts. Membership in the club has grown from under 60 to 98 in the last year. Since the club is a public non-profit organization, dues are actually tax deductible. The club joined the Recreational Aviation Foundation to...
Women in Aviation International A statement released by Women in Aviation International President, Peggy Chabrian addresses recent legislation in the areas of workforce and education regarding women in aviation. "I direct your attention to bipartisan legislation introduced in the Senate by Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) and Susan Collins (R-ME) titled Promoting Women in the Aviation Workforce Act of 2017. According to a news release issued by Senator Duckworth's office, this legislation would: • E...
Spring Grove, Minnesota resident Glenn Kinneberg will be 91 in February. If weather permits, and if he can clear his packed schedule, there is a good chance he will take his 1947 PA-11 Piper Cub out for a celebratory spin. The flight will have another anniversary factor as the PA-11 is the same aircraft in which he received his private pilot license in February 1948...on skis. Having received his Master Pilot Award over 10 years ago, Kinneberg has over 70 years of flying in his log book. His mem...
If you do a search on airport security you can learn all about what you can bring with you on a Delta flight but it is hard to find information on security for airports without passenger service. With the Super Bowl coming to Minnesota there will be additional security measures at the reliever airports making them more secure and pushing any threat out to the next ring of airports. It has been a long time since we talked about security at general aviation (GA) airports. After 911 there was discu...
The Minnesota Aviation Hall of Fame board invites Minnesota Flyer readers to join us for the 29th Annual Minnesota Aviation Hall of Fame Induction Banquet, April 21, 2018 at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Bloomington. Six persons will be inducted. They are: Darrell E. Bolduc, aircraft engine specialist and seaplane pilot. Bolduc represents half of the first father-son inductee pair, as his father, Wilmer Bolduc was inducted in 2002; Roland J. "Ron" Fagen, aerobatic pilot, prominent ethanol...
My Dad and I talked about flying ever since I can remember. He flew for John and Mary Jane Rice's Willmar Air Service doing flight instruction and crop spraying in overweight, underpowered Champs. I just barely remember him spraying and once landing in the field across the road. For years Willmar Air Service held a fly-in and pancake breakfast and my Dad would give rides in John's Mooneys. At one of these fly-ins when I was 13 I saw an airplane all made from wood. It was a Pietenpol and I...
Another successful year for Tree of Hope! The weather was perfect, probably the best year ever, with sunny skies and warm weather. Santa flew in in his Piper Super Cub and was on hand to welcome the twenty plus pilots that flew into the Maple Lake Airport. Many others drove in from far and wide to deliver toys for Tree of Hope. At the collection site, volunteers worked to help sort toys, make sure they all had batteries, and bag them up for the hospitals according to each hospital's needs. Bags...
Twas the Season to be Jolly, and Super Cub Santa was certainly that! "Santa's Elves did a super job decorating the super cub again this year!" said Randy Corfman, President of the MN Pilots Association, who happens to know Santa quite well. "Santa is very Pro-Aviation, and there is no better way to promote Aviation than through these children!"...
In 2016 a Scholarship program established in to celebrate Academy College's 80th Anniversary. The scholarship provides $10,000 for one aviation degree-seeking student pursuing a professional pilot career in honor of Sherm Booen. Meet Erik Stitt Erik was born and raised just north of the twin cities. He graduated from St. Francis High School. Throughout his youth, he spent a lot of time with the Boy Scouts, eventually earning the highest rank as an Eagle Scout. Erik always had a strong interest...
Ron Renner was attending Air Venture 2016 in Oshkosh with his grandson, who thought it would be so much fun to sit in an actual airplane cockpit. Later, back home in Glenwood, Minnesota, Ron thought how nice it would be to invite neighborhood kids to the airport and let them sit at the controls of some of the local airplanes. So, the invitation went out to both Starbuck and Alexandria area pilots to bring their planes to Glenwood Airport on July 30, 2017. This activity was the first of its kind...
The Minnesota Aviation Hall of Fame (MAHoF) is pleased to announce the availability of scholarships to be awarded at the Annual MAHoF Induction Banquet. These scholarships will be awarded to individuals who are pursuing a career in the aviation industry. Minnesota Aviation Hall of Fame Scholarship: This scholarship is funded by numerous anonymous Hall of Fame donors. The Hinz Family Red Tail Scholarship: The Hinz Family has sponsored this scholarship in commemoration of Donald E. Hinz who lost...
In 2015, Jim Jacobson entered into an agreement with Albert Lea Municipal Airport FBO owner, Jim Hanson to provide flight instruction from a building on the airport grounds. Both understood plans for a new terminal at the airport were underway. Over 20 years of experience in aviation, as well as a lifetime of farming in the area had provided Jacobson with ample opportunity to learn how to calmly meet challenges as they arose. So, it was with confidence Jacobson established Accelerated Aviation...
It's been said the best leaders are not those who gather huge numbers of followers, but those who empower others. Such a man is 91-year-old Homer Dobson. "When you write this article, stress the airport, not Homer," said Dobson in an interview at Tracy Municipal Airport in southern Minnesota. A daunting task, given the Homer Dobson Lane sign on the road leading to the airport, a framed photo on the wall of the A&D Building of Homer and Betty, his wife in an antique auto with his 1946 Ercoupe...
