DNR's First Female Pilot Has Historical Counterpart

Cora Fuller trained in a Stinson "Detroiter" to become the first Minnesota woman to receive a pilot's certificate after 30 hours of instruction at the Fairmont Airport.

The Detroiter was a rather sophisticated airplane in an era when most training was done in open cockpit biplanes with two seats.

The aircraft was a four-seat monoplane with an enclosed cabin.

Ninety years later, Jessica Holmes became the first female pilot to fly for the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources.

Fuller was an accountant and golfer, in addition to being an aviator.

When not flying the DNR's American Champion Scout, Holmes does wildlife management.

She's been with the DNR for 10 years and began flying for them in April 2017.

Detroiters were manufactured about 80 years before the Scout, but they are remarkably similar aircraft. American Champion still builds "tube and fabric" airplanes just like Stinson did.

Both are "taildraggers," a necessity when airfields were usually short and soft. That landing gear configuration is still called "conventional" by the FAA, but having the third wheel on the back is now somewhat exotic.

For the DNR's mission, the Champ is perfect. It has plenty of power plus the tandem seating provides excellent visibility for both pilot and passenger, and "taildraggers" are easier to adapt to skis than airplanes with the third wheel in the nose.

Jessica Holmes spent a little more time with her flight training than Cora Fuller. Her initial goal was wildlife management. To get started, she earned an Associate Degree from Vermillion Community College in Ely. That's where Jessica had an epiphany.

Vermillion students got to assist a local biologist who tracked wolves with airplanes revealing to Holmes "a whole new world where you could work as a biologist from the air."

Despite being "deathly afraid of heights" her next move was to the University of Minnesota Crookston where Holmes earned a double major in Natural Resources Aviation and Wildlife Management.

Piper Warriors and Arrows are the monocoque aircraft now favored by aviation that Holmes trained in, but Crookston used tube and fabric J-3 Cubs for tailwheel and float training.

She graduated with a Commercial Pilot's Certificate, including the prerequisite tail wheel endorsement then went to Georgia to become a Certified Flight Instructor.

Her next career move took her to Fairbanks to work as a wildlife technician for the Alaska Department of Fish and Game with a side job instructing for a flying club.

The climate in Fairbanks could be described as invigorating and might have had Jessica longing for the balmy weather in Northern Minnesota.

She did several internships at the DNR, so accepting a permanent opportunity was a no-brainer. Now based in Grand Rapids, Holmes is focused on maintaining habitat for game species of all types.

Since hunting and fishing were family traditions during her formative years, Holmes is now right where she wants to be and is clearly a person who loves her job.

The revelation about biology and flying she had in Ely is now her vocation.

Holmes often flies to track pressure on sport fisheries by monitoring the number of anglers and boats on popular lakes and surveys icehouse activity during the winter. She sometimes monitors other resources from the Scout like the health of the wild rice crop.

A successful restaurant in the historic terminal building at the St. Paul Downtown Airport is appropriately named "Holman's Table" where guests can enjoy cocktails and snacks in "Cora's Lounge."

The dedicated people of the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources have lots of infrastructure to care for ranging from fishing piers to state forests.

Quite of few of them are named after people dedicated to the environment so in the future something like "Jessica's Forest" might not be too farfetched.