Serving Midwest Aviation Since 1960
Serving Midwest Aviation Since 1960
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It is prime flying season in Minnesota, and it is prime time to get into the air and enjoy the many beautiful places to which we can fly. Pancake breakfasts galore, offering the aviator the opportunity to invite your neighbor or your neighbor kids to join you for yet another culinary excursion! It doesn’t get much better than this! There are a number of websites that you can use to find that breakfast or brat feed, including the calendar of events at www.mnpilots.org and when you look for p...
Construction of public improvements often has "adverse" impacts not related to the intended purpose. State and federal rules require these impacts to be "mitigated." If building something unavoidably requires filling a wetland, then a new one must be created. Noise impacts are common in airport improvements which can be offset by something as simple as a non-standard traffic pattern or as complicated as noise abatement procedures. In the 1990s the Iowa Department of Transportation upgraded Highw...
Flight instructing was mostly an avocation for me, but I took it seriously. It often led to some interesting flying like what happened in 2000 when Carl Ziegler bought an Alon A-2. If you haven't heard of it, the Alon is a derivative of the Ercoupe. Ercoupes were built by Engineering and Research Corporation (ERCO) starting in the 1930s. The A-2 is called the Aircoupe. Unlike ERCO, Alon put rudder pedals in their airplane and equipped it with a sliding canopy. They also used a more powerful moto...
When it gets in the 80’s in May in Minnesota, watch out for July! Yes, you should think about your density altitude and make sure you’ve got enough runway to avoid taking off from a cornfield. While you’re worrying about that, you also should be worrying about your own tender self and the effect of heat. I’m talking about heat exhaustion and heat stroke. Both these conditions can develop with prolonged exposure to summer heat. The higher the temperature or the higher the humidity or the poorer your fluid intake, the sooner you can get into tr...
Before you venture off on a cross-country flight, what is your pre-flight planning routine? Do you watch the local weather, add just enough fuel to legally reach your destination then blast off? Or do you call Flight Service for a standard briefing, analyze the weather yourself, and go through all of the steps you were taught in initial flight training? Most people would probably fall somewhere in the middle of these two scenarios. What follows is a discussion about how our pre-flight preparations can mitigate the chances for an accident...
Established in 1953, Pacific Aeromotive Corporation was formed at Burbank, California, to modify Lockheed Lodestars to Learstar executive transports. It also modified T-28As to the more powerful Nomad configuration and working with Allison, designed, certified, and converted Convair 340s and 440s to the turboprop 580. One of Pacaero's most extensive conversions was the upgrading of the classic Beech 18, which first flew on 15 January 1937. Built with a confusing variety of designations for...
If you know of any upcoming aviation events, please send an email with details to editor@mnflyer.com so your event can be listed here. EVENTS July 3, 5-7 p.m. Kohl’s Resort Turtle Lake (6 nm north of BJI) float planes only, bring anchor if beach fills up CTAF 122.9 July 5, 7 a.m. – noon, Annual fly-In pancake breakfast, D32 Starbuck Heritage Days, underwing camping allowed. Float planes land at Lake Minnewaska. More info at starbuckmn.org or call Tom 612-715-1995. July 5, Wild West Days-Wheels and Wings Fly-in and Car show, Faulkton Municipal A...
May 16 -17 held the return of the Great Minnesota Aviation Gathering at the Buffalo Municipal Airport hosted by the Minnesota Pilots Association. The two day event included many seminars, speeches and storytelling along with a hangar filled with vendor booths. The very windy weather stopped pilots from flying in however there were over 400 people who showed up to learn new things, refresh old things, connect with friends, pick up an award, purchase something new or maybe just celebrate the...
Fly-in draws a crowd Many come out for the annual Rush City Regional Airport Fly-In/Drive-In where the Lions hold their pancake breakfast, color guard presents colors, food and drinks are enjoyed, kids enjoy bouncy house, warbirds, antique planes, classic cars and antique tractors are on hand. Some attendees enjoy airplane rides as well! For Kevin Nelson, who grew up in Rush City, flying comes second nature having gone up with his father Mark Nelson in small aircrafts before he could even...
Another Great Minnesota Aviation Gathering (GMAG) has come and gone and we thank those of you…many of you…who braved the rainy weather and drove to the event. This adverse weather, after two weeks of gorgeous weather, certainly dampened the grounds of the Buffalo Municipal Airport, but the spirit of those who came to learn and celebrate aviation made this another outstanding event! This moment offers the opportunity to review some of the highlights of the GMAG, and there were many, many hig...
The thickness of the file must exceed that of the pavement before a new airport can be opened, an airport development axiom from back when files were paper instead of electrons. Two cities in Sioux County, Iowa, operated airports. Orange City Municipal Airport was opened in 1968 with a single paved runway. Some buildings were constructed and the airport stayed pretty much the same well into the twenty first century except the runway became slightly longer. About 10 miles away at Sioux Center...
A sunny Saturday greeted pilots for one of the first spring fly-Ins of 2025. The Breezy Point Aviation Day Fly-In celebrated its 10th anniversary. The traditional spring opener was an awesome aviation get together with lunch and some yummy ice cream for dessert. Pilots from Minnesota, Wisconsin and Iowa converged on the Brainerd lakes area where sunshine and light winds greeted them. When they arrived Victor and the members of Aero Club 7 greeted them with a commemorative ball cap and a 10th ann...
When Coronary Artery CT Calcium scans first came out, there was the thought that it’s a gimmick to keep underemployed radiologists busy. However, as time went on, studies accumulated, techniques improved and folks began to realize that it was a pretty good tool to estimate risk of coronary problems before they become problems. A Coronary Artery Calcium (CAC) scan is a type of computerized tomography of the heart. Computerized tomography (CT) is a slick computer assisted type of x-ray imaging that takes radiographic slices of whatever is b...
It seems as though it has been more windy than normal so far this year. Many days the wind has blown in excess of 20 knots. And I’ve had maybe one occurrence where it has blown directly down the runway. As pilots we’re always assessing the wind. A prudent pilot will consciously make a decision every time he flies if the winds are within his personal minimums. The two main factors when deciding about how much wind to fly in are the airplane and the pilot. Ask most pilots how much crosswind their airplane can handle and they’ll tell you the n...
The Interstate Aircraft & Engineering Corporation was formed in April 1937 to manufacture aircraft parts and systems for other companies. Based at El Segundo, CA, it built hydraulic equipment, bomb shackles, and gun chargers. In 1940, it produced a two-seat light cabin monoplane called the Cadet. Development of television and the radar altimeter encouraged the Navy to investigate design and production of a remote-control bomb, which under the guidance of John Kean of the Naval Aircraft Factory...
If you know of any upcoming aviation events, please send an email with details to editor@mnflyer.com so your event can be listed here. EVENTS June 3, 5-7 p.m. Fly-in, Drive-in Hamburger social, Red Wing Regional Airport RGK, Hangar A21. Contact Dan Johnson 715-441-1790 June 5, EAA chapter 1397, Bemidji is flying out to different airports every Thursday evening for burgers this summer. 5-7 p.m. Barnstormers Flight School Bemidji (BJI) June 6-8, COPA University three day safety event. Waukesha, Wisconsin. Noon Friday to noon Sunday. For more info...
I took my first flying lesson in 1962–63 years ago, and I soloed on my 16th birthday-May 1, 1963. We lived 9 miles from the Albert Lea Airport, and though I had a student pilot's license, I wasn't old enough to obtain a driver's license. I knew that I wanted an aviation career, and my uncle (a private pilot Cessna owner) and I considered buying a Champ to build time. My dad didn't fly, but he was proud that I had learned, so he sometimes drove me to the airport. One day, we overheard a young loc...
Cindy Schreiber-Beck (1954-2025) On Sunday, 18 May 2025, aviation, agriculture, and education lost a respected and longtime champion. Cindy Schreiber-Beck passed away at age 70. Well known for her work in the aviation community and the North Dakota Legislature, she served as a commissioner on the North Dakota Aeronautics Commission, Executive Director of the North Dakota Agricultural Aviation Association, and National Agricultural Aviation Association. Born on 13 December 1954, she grew up on a farm near the small Minnesota town of Foxhome,...
ST.PAUL, MINN. – The MnDOT Office of Aeronautics is excited to invite the public to submit your best photos showcasing the spirit of Minnesota aviation. Think breathtaking aerial views, special moments at an airport or the incredible airplanes in our state! The winner is selected internally and may be featured on publications, including the 2026 Minnesota Airport Directory and Travel Guide. By submitting your photo(s), you agree to allow the MnDOT Office of Aeronautics to use your photos w...
Windsocks are a simple yet vital part of airport infrastructure. Despite their modest appearance, they serve a critical safety function by providing pilots with immediate, visual information about wind direction and relative wind speed at a glance. Properly installed and maintained windsocks contribute to safer aircraft operations on the ground and in the air—particularly during takeoff and landing phases, where wind conditions can significantly impact aircraft control. A windsock, often mounted...
The 2025 Great Minnesota Aviation Gathering (GMAG) is upon us, friends! Wow, do we have an outstanding program put together for our Minnesota Aviation Family Reunion! I hope you have Thursday and Friday, May 16 and 17, blocked out on your calendars and your camping gear on the ready to kick off an outstanding Summer of Flying! Don't forget that your $35 annual membership with the Minnesota Pilots Association doesn't just support the four aviation scholarships we grant (two for aviation...
You'd think there would be apple trees growing around Appleton, but that's not the case. One of the founders of Appleton, Minnesota was Addison Phelps from Appleton, Wisconsin and brought the name with him. There are no apple orchards in Wisconsin's city either which was named for Samuel Appleton who apparently never went west of the Hudson River, but his son-in-law was Amos Lawerence who founded Lawerence University in Appleton with financial assistance from the father-in-law. Appleton, Minneso...
When you show up for a flight physical three things can happen: you get your medical certificate (most often); you are issued a medical certificate under a CACI (about 5 to 10% of the time in my practice); you don’t get your certificate and are deferred to the FAA’s medical division for further evaluation (about 5% of the time). Obviously, you would like to get your medical on the spot, one way or the other. If you are deferred, it means a wait, maybe a long wait. So, what can you do to reduce the chance of your being deferred? First of all...
Aviation accidents have been getting quite a bit of attention this year. General aviation suffers about three accidents per day, with a couple hundred fatalities per year. This number hasn’t gone down nearly enough. There is a call for action however. The National Pause for GA Safety is an initiative to encourage pilots to do at least one thing, in the next six months, that sharpens their flight skills. Most of the big aviation groups are behind this effort, and you can earn Wings credits for your participation. Check out gasafe.org for t...
The end of WWII marked the beginning of the "Atomic Age." The Army Air Force, later the United States Air Force, finished the war with the only atomic bombing capability, the 509th Composite Group, made up of 15 Martin-built B-29s. Not to be outdone, Navy Rear Admiral Daniel Gallery proposed a Navy model for atomic bomb delivery. The initial proposal would have created a bomber too large for any existing aircraft carrier. Even the still-born CVA-58, the United States of over 80,000 tons and in...
