Serving Midwest Aviation Since 1960
Serving Midwest Aviation Since 1960
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The Minnesota Pilots Association honored a recipient of the FAA's Charles Taylor Master Mechanic Award and the 2021 Minnesota Pilots Association Aviation Technician Award recipient during the 2021 Great Minnesota Aviation Gathering at Buffalo Municipal Airport. Dale R. Johnson was honored for this year, having received the Charles Taylor Master Mechanic Award in 2020. The Charles Taylor Master Mechanic Award is named in honor of Mr. Charles Taylor, the first aviation mechanic in powered flight....
The Minnesota Pilots Association honored the 2019-2021 recipients of the FAA's Wright Brothers Master Pilot Awards during the 2021 Great Minnesota Aviation Gathering at Buffalo Municipal Airport. The Wright Brothers Master Pilot Award is the most prestigious award the FAA issues to pilots certified under Title 14 of the Code of Federal Regulations (14 CFR) Part 61. This award is named after the Wright Brothers, the first U.S. pilots, to recognize individuals who have exhibited professionalism,...
The Minnesota Pilots Association recently acknowledged Minnesota EAA chapters and individuals for their enthusiasm and support for getting Young Eagles into the air in 2019 and 2020. Plaques were presented during the 2021 Great Minnesota Aviation Gathering in Buffalo. Launched in 1992, the Young Eagles program has dedicated more than 25 years to giving youth ages 8–17 their first free ride in an airplane. It's the only program of its kind, with the sole mission to introduce and inspire kids i...
Minnesota's commitment to aviation history was well represented when the National WASP WWII Museum in Sweetwater, Texas, reopened in early May after completion of a significant renovation and expansion project. Two Vultee BT-13s with state connections were among 12 aircraft present for a fly-in and homecoming event, which honored the first women in American history to fly military aircraft, paving the way for women to serve equally in the U.S. Air Force. The Vultee was the basic trainer flown by...
For 30 years, Holiday Tree of Hope has been collecting toys for children who are hospitalized during the holidays. The non-profit organization has served over 40 hospitals, shelters, and Ronald McDonald house each year, bringing smiles to children and families who are dealing with trying times. This year, Holiday Tree of Hope wants to get a jump start on the project with a "Christmas in August" fly-out project at seven airports throughout Minnesota. Pilots and the general public can drop off...
Once there were navigators. Not a touchscreen gizmo made by Garmin or the weirdly mutated creatures that got hyped up on drugs to guide the Spacing Guild ships in Frank Hebert's novel "Dune." Actual human beings once practiced their art using "dead reckoning" and celestial navigation. In the 1930s a subspecialty evolved to guide aircraft over the earth. Charles Lindbergh found his way across the Atlantic using the compass and clock technique very much like that taught to beginning flying...
The Seventh Annual Great Minnesota Aviation Gathering (GMAG) made a three-point landing with its May 21-22 return to Buffalo Municipal Airport (KCFE). More than 600 people attended the event, said Minnesota Pilots Association President Randy Corfman. A key attendance variable was weather. "We didn't have great conditions either morning, so a lot of planes could not fly in," Corfman added. "However, we did have a lot of people fly in on Saturday." The West Metro Aviation ramp quickly filled with...
The Minnesota Pilots Association announced its Aviation Achievement Award winners at the 2021 Great Minnesota Aviation Gathering at Buffalo Municipal Airport. Tom Lymburn is an aviation historian, writer, and photographer who has been announcing air shows since 1991. He taught English in Princeton, Minnesota, for 34 years, serving three terms as department chair and being voted Teacher of the Year in 2003. Over three decades of announcing airshows, Tom has called over 200 different types of...
This year's version of the Breezy Point Aviation Days took place Saturday, May. 1. A sunny and unseasonably warm forecast produced lots of visiting aircraft. A quick count tallied almost 80 total aircraft, and those attending enjoyed a pig roast, static displays, emergency vehicles and a medivac helicopter, pilots and friends social time, and a well-attended classic car show. The first aircraft touched down on Runway 35, but a wind shift soon favored Runway 17. Before long, a steady stream of...
The Minnesota Pilots Association announced its aviation scholarship winners at the 2021 Great Minnesota Aviation Gathering at Buffalo Municipal Airport. The recipient of the 2021 Janette Strathy Aviation Scholarship is Alicia Cerney. She is studying Commercial Aviation at the University of North Dakota. Cerney appreciates the example set by other women aviators and hopes to inspire others to follow their dreams in aviation. The recipient of the 2020 Janette Strathy Aviation Scholarship is Chelse...
Professional aviators frequently aspire to fly for an airline. Airlines are a big target, about 110,000 pilot positions exist in the United States. Some pilots want to be in corporate aviation, and about 15,000 opportunities are available for that kind of work. Charles Scott wanted a job of which there are less than 400 in the U.S., but he was aiming at something even smaller. Five people in the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources can claim the title of conservation officer/pilot and that...
A recent milestone amphibious float delivery by South St. Paul-based Wipaire, Inc. brought back fond memories for the company's CEO and president. Chuck Wiplinger recalls when his father, Ben, and members of Wipaire's engineering department began developing the 2100A line of Wipline floats. "I was still in high school," Wiplinger said. "Dad wasn't sure how many he would build or how many people would want them, but here we are, 500 sets later." Wipaire delivered the company's 500th set of...
The Federal Aviation Administration Safety Team's popular Saturday morning webinar series serving Flying Cloud Airport (KCFM) recently reached a new audience online. Laura Herrmann, FAASTeam representative from St. Bonifacius, hosted a mid-March webinar that featured the participation of approximately 20 to 25 pilots based at the Crystal Airport. The goal was having a town hall similar to others conducted for the KCFM aviation community. Herrmann was joined by Airport Manager Mike Wilson and...
Wings of the North is pleased to announce Alyssa Voit as the non-profit organization's 2021 Dubay Scholarship winner. She was selected from among over 30 applications to receive this $2,000 scholarship to pursue her aviation studies. The James F. Dubay Memorial Scholarship was born out of a desire to encourage those who dream of flight to find their wings. Jim Dubay dedicated many hours to learning everything he could about planes and history, especially about WWII. He was a founder and board me...
Hangar 3 at Fleming Field in South St. Paul was a busy place Saturday, April 17. Commemorative Air Force Minnesota Wing volunteers completed a photo session featuring Miss Mitchell, the Wing's B-25J while others were hard at work getting another North American product ready for a return to service after winter maintenance. Volunteers did brake work on the SNJ-6 Texan before Operations Officer Trevor Henson took off in the WWII-era trainer and flew a test flight. The CAF Minnesota Wing was the...
The red-white-red tips began their slow meshing. Gradually, with the deep growl of the four 2450 hp Rolls Royce Griffon 57A's increasing, the contra-rotating blades became a mad blur. If you suffered from migraines, you wouldn't want to watch too closely or too long. The Holman Field ramp was jammed with spectators and cameras. The long checklist took a while to complete, and finally, the huge blue-gray monster began to taxi off the dried grass and swung ever so ponderously onto the asphalt...
Every year the Federal Aviation Administration Flight Standards District Office (FSDO) in Minneapolis has nominations for Aviation Maintenance Technician (AMT), Certified Flight Instructor (CFI) and FAA Safety Team (FAASTeam) Representative of the Year. Casey Komarek from Two Harbors was selected as the 2021 Aviation Maintenance Technician (AMT) of the Year for the Minnesota District. Laura Herrmann from St. Bonifacius was selected as the 2021 FAASTeam Representative of the Year for the...
SEH’s Duluth Airport Authority’s Sky Harbor Airport Runway Relocation effort was one of four company projects that received engineering excellence awards during the American Council of Engineering Companies of Minnesota’s (ACEC-MN) 54th Annual Engineering Excellence Awards Program Feb. 26. The project received a Grand Award for engineering achievements that exhibited the highest degree of merit and ingenuity. Entries were judged by an objective panel based on originality and innovation, future value to the engineering profession, social, econom...
The Airlake Aero Flying Club recently celebrated the distinguished military retirement of one of its pilot members. Rick Connolly was born in Bloomington, Minnesota. He graduated from Thomas Jefferson High School, Bloomington, Minnesota in 1987 and entered active duty with the U.S. Army serving as a combat medic with C. Co. 202nd Support Battalion, 8th ID, Mannheim, West Germany from 1987 to 1990. Connolly was called back to active duty in support of Desert Shield/Desert Storm serving as a...
Minnesota Pilots Association President Randy Corfman received a resounding early indicator scheduling should continue for the Seventh Annual Great Minnesota Aviation Gathering (GMAG) May 21-22 at Buffalo Municipal Airport (KCFE). This winter, MPA completed a survey of its 700-plus members to gauge interest after last year's COVID-19 related cancellation was announced in mid-March. Ninety-two percent of those surveyed said the association should hold the event even with the likelihood of a...
Organizer Mark Priglmeier reports ICEPORT 2021 was a huge success. A record-setting number of airplanes visited Mille Lacs Lake for the early March event. According to Priglmeier, the goal of the ice flying event has remained simple since its inception. Create a special place for pilots to spend time during the winter while enhancing their proficiency. "Yes, we blasted our record. But it's not about how many planes we get," Priglmeier said, recapping the March 6 event. "It's about people...
The six general aviation airports operated by the Metropolitan Airports Commission (MAC) collectively grew operations in 2020 by two% to total 326,044, or 6,381 more takeoffs and landings than in 2019. The general aviation airports are often referred to as reliever airports because they relieve congestion that would otherwise occur at the MAC's major airport, Minneapolis-St. Paul International (MSP). More than half of all registered aircraft in Minnesota are based at the MAC's reliever...
Smokey Bear's campaign started on Aug. 9, 1944 and is the longest running public service advertisement in U.S. history. Fire safety is just as important today as it was during World War II. The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources' Division of Forestry has all kinds of support for fire prevention. Brochures and other reading materials are available plus DNR Forestry sponsors education events and seminars. DNR Forestry provides wildfire protection on nearly 17 million acres of Minnesota's...
The sky over Buffalo this summer will be missing the sight and sound of a 450 hp Stearman biplane. The red with black trim airplane has been a familiar sight in the area for many years. But time marches on and things inevitably change. Early afternoon on Thursday, March 4, Boeing Stearman N65691 lifted from the Buffalo Airport, likely for the very last time. It was piloted not by its long-time owner and restorer Ray Johnson, but by a ferry pilot who took advantage of relatively warm spring...
Forty Minnesota Civil Air Patrol (CAP) cadets and senior members received an unforgettable hands-on lesson in aerospace education in February as they flew through clear, cold skies circling their hometowns aboard two UH-60 Blackhawks. The joint effort was hosted by the Minnesota Army National Guard's 34th Expeditionary Combat Aviation Brigade based out of St. Paul and the Delano-based Skyhawk Composite Squadron of Minnesota's Civil Air Patrol Wing. Also participating were Civil Air Patrol...
