Serving Midwest Aviation Since 1960

Articles written by Macklin Caruso


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  • MnDOT releases AirportFinder: a digital Minnesota airport directory

    Macklin Caruso|Mar 1, 2020

    Minnesota is a vast and rural state, with much of it remaining unknown to outside residents. However, with the release of a new app, aiming to familiarize pilots with the state’s airports, flying over Minnesota’s endless forests and prairies will hopefully become much less daunting. The Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) Aeronautics and Aviation division recently released the Minnesota AirportFinder App. In essence, the app is a digitized version of the MnDOT Airport Directory and Travel Guide. It is intended to provide all pos...

  • February 2020

    Macklin Caruso|Feb 1, 2020

    Joelle Peterson's Alaskan journey through her grandfather's flight log....

  • Joelle Petersen's Alaskan journey through her grandfather's flight logs

    Macklin Caruso|Feb 1, 2020

    In 1965 Gus DeWeedt was flying over Anchorage, Alaska when he was caught in a sudden storm. He lost control of his plane and crashed, killing him. One year later his granddaughter, Joelle Petersen, was born in New Brighton, Minnesota. Peterson never knew her grandfather beyond the picture on the wall. All she knew was that he met his death flying into an Alaskan mountain. Petersen grew up and eventually left Minnesota. She spent a significant portion of her adult life living in Europe, working i...

  • Maxwell Aircraft Service:

    Macklin Caruso|Jan 1, 2020

    For 73 years, Maxwell Aircraft Service has been the premiere aircraft service shop of the Upper Midwest. Maxwell Aircraft Service – which is based out of Crystal – specializes in aircraft propeller, governor repair and overhaul. They are known to pilots for their high-quality craftsmanship and fast service. All work done by them is backed by a one-year 1,000-hour warranty. Maxwell Aircraft Service is a FAA approved and licensed company. In addition, they are an official Hamilton Standard, Sen...

  • From the Editor 2020

    Macklin Caruso|Jan 1, 2020

    My name is Macklin Caruso and I will be taking the reins as the new editor at Minnesota Flyer. It is a real honor to work for such a historic Minnesota publication with longstanding ties to the aviation community. I'll put all of my cards on the table, I am not a pilot. I am however a longtime journalist. As is often the motto with journalism, those who don't can hopefully at least write about it. That's what I hope to do while working for the Minnesota Flyer. I intend to thrust myself full...

  • Pilot Gary Black's four-day journey with veterans and a Rocky Mountain wilderness

    Macklin Caruso|Jan 1, 2020

    Four days rafting down the Green River – a tributary of the Colorado River – in the heart of the rugged Rocky Mountain wilderness. Tim Valentine – an international business person, pastor and humanitarian – knew this untouched North American landscape was a world away from the horrors endured during Iraq, Afghanistan and Kosovo. He hoped it would provide refuge for a group of veterans who've struggled to find anything like it since they returned home. Valentine ran an outreach program flying...

  • Tree of Hope continues to deliver joy in its 30th year

    Macklin Caruso|Jan 1, 2020

    Planes flew in from across the state to deliver toys to the 30th annual Tree of Hope toy drive on Dec. 7. In Hangar 2 of the St. Cloud Regional Airport – the first time the event has ever been held in St. Cloud – hundreds of volunteers scurried frantically to sort, bag and box toys that are to be delivered to hospitals, orphanages and charities across the state for children to open on Christmas morning. "We keep hoping it will be obsolete, but the hospitals keep asking," said Tree of Hope Pre...

  • One Piece at a time: Wilbur Orson's life as an aeronaut

    Macklin Caruso|Dec 1, 2019

    Wilbur Orson has spent his entire lifetime in aviation. Orson has aged right alongside aviation. At age 78 Orson has served in the U.S. Air Force, worked as an aircraft mechanic and taught aviation engineering in college. As a commercial pilot he as acquired the following certifications: ASEL, ASES, AMEL, F.E.-TJ, AGI, CFI-A and A&P. His history of flying dates back to 1927, when Charles Lindbergh first crossed the Atlantic. In 1927 aviation had captured the imagination of the world, spreading...