Minnesota Flyer - Serving Midwest Aviation Since 1960

Mackinac Island sits in the Straights between Lakes Huron and Michigan. It is a magical, special place. Unfortunately for the pilot it is also a realm of mist, fog and low-hanging clouds with...

“If you want keep her on the runway it helps to see the centerline.” Supporting this truism, the FAA has a maze of regulations to make sure that the intrepid pilot can locate the runway...

In July we talked about migraines. Last month, strokes. Now, brain tumors. I know this is starting to look like “The Grim Reaper Report” but these things are more common than you’d think and...

My father-in-law Harry was one of the greatest guys you’d ever hope to meet. He always had a ready laugh, a twinkle in his eye. He was a wonderful father to my wife and a kind and supportive...

If someone’s ever buried a hatchet in your head, you know what a migraine headache feels like. At least that’s what patients have told me. They can be devastating, incapacitating events....

In a seminar a few years ago, an FAA psychiatrist was describing the “typical” profile of a pilot. “He is independent, wears a big watch and used to be an Eagle Scout.” Over the years, I’ve...

It has been a while since we’ve talked about diabetes (January, 2011). Back last fall the FAA revised their rules on certification including acceptable medications and medication combinations. To...

Undoubtedly many of you have been following the Clash of the Titans — the FAA vs. AOPA — over the issue of Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA). It all started back in late 2013 when Dr. Fred Tilton,...

Vertigo is common. When you were a kid I bet there was a time or two when you spun around and around until the whole world was topsy-turvy or you tossed your cookies! A variant of that happens in...

Back in last June, we talked about new training options for learning about hypoxia and your own specific response to low blood oxygen. As an alternative to an extended cross-country flight to an...

I’m beginning to think that not every pilot in the Midwest reads my column! Or if they do, they’re not taking Ol’ Doc’s admonitions to heart. In September the National Transportation Safety...

The Minnesota-Michigan game! The Battle for the Little Brown Jug is one of the great college football rivalries and we were flying to Ann Arbor to see it! The hand-off from Rochester to Minneapolis...

You are always tired. You can’t remember a darn thing. You can’t concentrate. You always feel cold. Therefore you have, • Lack of sleep • Job and/or marital stress • A hideous...

Most airmen can get through their flying careers without ever getting hooked up to one of those funny machines that spew out lots of wiggly lines. Those of us in the medicinal trade call it an...

If you read the Aeromedical Forum of October 2010 you would know that smoking is bad for you. Of course unless you live under a rock, you already knew that. Fortunately, the marvels of medical...

OK, let’s get one thing straight. Marijuana use is incompatible with flight safety. If you’re stoned, find yourself a bag of munchies and watch some Big Bang Theory reruns. Don’t even think of...

James D Lakin, PhD, MD, FACP CFI, CFII, MEI Airline Transport Pilot FAA Senior Aviation Medical Examiner Late winter in Minnesota can be a bleak time. How much more bleak it is learning that you have...

James D Lakin, PhD, MD, FACP CFI, CFII, MEI Airline Transport Pilot FAA Senior Aviation Medical Examiner It's winter in Minnesota and tis the season to be sneezing! The common cold as its name...

James D Lakin, PhD, MD, FACP CFI, CFII, MEI Airline Transport Pilot FAA Senior Aviation Medical Examiner We’ve all seen the aviation movies where the B 707 is over the mid-Pacific and a passenger...