Serving Midwest Aviation Since 1960
Serving Midwest Aviation Since 1960
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Saturday, December 5th dawned sunny and warm, but high winds and turbulence kept some airplanes in the hangers. Surface winds were reported to be up to 20 knots from the south (which exceed the maximum cross wind component of some planes) and 45 knots at 3000 feet. Planes few in from all parts of the state to deliver their donations of toys for Tree of Hope. The airport ramp was crowded with planes most of the morning. Tree of Hope 2015 had a record 22 pilots fly in with toys, helping to spread... Full story
You'll probably never be called on to install a bifold door that weighs more than 50,000 pounds, but wouldn't you want to work with the manufacturer that can boast such an incredible accomplishment? Schweiss Doors recently produced two bifold doors for a new steel hangar at Cape Canaveral, Fla. One door was 40 feet wide and 69 feet tall. The larger door was 90 feet wide and 61 feet tall. Both were equipped with automatic latches and are wind-rated to 150 mph. Upon delivery to Florida, both... Full story
Fire Boss LLC is pleased to welcome two new members to the Fire Boss team. Dale Fehrenbach has joined Fire Boss as Vice President of Sales, responsible for domestic and international sales directly to the end user and through the dealer network. Additionally, Dale will oversee Fire Boss training operations. Jeff Hauck has also been brought on board as Fire Boss’ Technical Support Representative/Lead Mechanic. “Both Dale and Jeff bring extensive experience to Fire Boss,” commented Chuck Wiplinger, Director of Fire Boss LLC. “In addition to over...
Patti Sandusky of Maple Lake was honored as a 2015 inductee into the International Forest of Friendship, in Atchison, Kansas during ceremonies in June 20, 2015. The Forest is a living, growing memorial to the world history of aviation and aerospace. She was recognized for her contributions to 99s The International Organization of Women Pilots. Patti Sandusky of Maple Lake, Minnesota, has been a 99 since June 1999. She has been an active member of the local chapter, Minnesota 99s, and has served as Chapter Vice Chair and has been Chapter Chair...
The Recreational Aviation Foundation (RAF) brought two major initiatives to fruition on a Spring trip to Washington, D.C.. RAF President John McKenna and Public Lands Director Mark Spencer completed national Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) documents with the US Forest Service (USFS) and the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). The stated purpose of the USFS MOU is to: “develop a framework for cooperation between the Forest Service and the RAF relating to support of Forest Service airstrips programs, including support for the operation, r...
During a special ceremony on May 6, 2015, at McGhee Tyson Airport in Knoxville, Tennessee, Cirrus Aircraft Co-Founder and CEO Dale Klapmeier joined Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam and announced the expansion of Cirrus Aircraft to Knoxville with the new Vision Center. This Cirrus Customer Experience Center will be the central location for all Cirrus Aircraft pilot, owner and customer activities. This will also include sales, delivery, training, maintenance, support, personalization, fixed base operations and more for all Cirrus airplanes...
Wipaire, Inc. is pleased to announce that the most powerful factory-new engine conversion for the Cessna 182 is now available for landplanes. The Boss 182 Lycoming IO-580 engine conversion boasts a 58 pound (26 kg) gross weight increase on wheels. Owners can opt to use their existing engine mount, or can upgrade to Wipaire’s heavy-duty engine mount (required for float installation as well as floatplane gross weight increases). “We’re excited to make the performance of the Boss 182 engine conversion available to owners of wheeled aircraft,” comm...
Schweiss Doors, a leading manufacturer and installer of liftstrap bifold doors, powerful one-piece hydraulic doors and unique designer doors, has built and opened a new state-of-the-art factory electrical facility. “Recent growth in the door market due to our innovative electrical door engineering concepts and our growing roster of door products made this expansion necessary,” says Mike Schweiss, owner of Schweiss Doors. “This new building, 20,000 square feet, offers assembly space for our engineering purposes. Additionally, the elect... Full story
Cirrus Aircraft on June 15, 2015 announced its latest significant milestone: the customer delivery of its 6,000th new airplane. The accomplishment comes just 16 years after the company delivered its first production aircraft and on the heels of a strong 2014 performance where the SR-series of aircraft maintained its position as the best-selling four/five-place aircraft in the world for the 12th year in a row. “Our customers, partners and employees are rightfully proud of this amazing accomplishment,” said Dale Klapmeier, Co-Founder and Chief Ex... Full story
Thief River Falls, Minn. - Northland Community & Technical College has been awarded a grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) Advanced Technological Education (ATE) Program. The award provides nearly $200,000 to be utilized over three years. The project, entitled "Revolutionary Opportunities for Highly Educated Unmanned Aircraft Systems Technicians" will be under the direction of Northland Instructors, Jonathan Beck and Thomas Biller. The project will expand access and awareness about the rapidly emerging UAS industry through...
Viking Air Limited, of Sidney, British Columbia, has added Wipaire’s Leesburg, Florida service center to its network of Viking Factory Endorsed Service Centers (FESC). The Leesburg service center joins Wipaire’s headquarters facility in South Saint Paul, Minnesota, as a Viking FESC. “Wipaire and Viking have had a longstanding relationship, working together to support the Twin Otter fleet, from the legacy de Havilland aircraft to the new Viking Series 400 Twin Otter,” stated Chuck Wiplinger, President and COO of Wipaire, Inc. “Receiv...
The president of the Minnesota Aviation Trades Association (MATA), Greg Reigel, recently spent time meeting with staff members from the offices of all of the Minnesota Congressional delegates to thank them for their support of general aviation and to seek additional support on critical issues that will impact general aviation, both nationally and in Minnesota. Representatives from the Minnesota Council of Airports and Minnesota Business Aviation Association joined Reigel. In each of his meetings, Reigel discussed the shortage of pilots and...
ONE Aviation Corporation has been formed to design, develop, and manufacture a family of aircraft, each of which will be a market leader in its category and class. ONE Aviation's core products include the Eclipse 550 twin-engine light jet and the Kestrel K350 single-engine turboprop. "We are excited to announce the formation of ONE Aviation. I feel privileged to lead this experienced team of aviation professionals as we increase production of the Eclipse Jet, further the development of the Kestrel turboprop, and build a suite of General...
The General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA) last month welcomed the news that rule-compliant Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) equipment is now on board 10,000 aircraft flying in the United States. The FAA made the announcement at today's Equip 2020 working group meeting that this important milestone was reached in late February. The Equip 2020 working group was established by FAA Deputy Administrator Michael Whitaker in October 2014 to encourage the adoption of ADS-B equipage and address challenges to equipage.... Full story
Most aviators recognize the tremendous power of lightning, but few truly understand this unique/ natural phenomenon. Here are a few eye opening facts about lightning: • A typical thunderstorm lasts approximately 30-45 minutes with lightning on average of 3-4 strokes per minute. • While most tend to occur in the afternoon and evening during the spring and summer, thunderstorms can occur at any time of the day, and along frontal boundaries. • Lightning can strike as far as 15 miles away from a thunderstorm. • Lightning can occur even when it is n...
FREDERICK, MD – Mark Baker, president of the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA), was awarded the ‘Harrison Ford Legacy in Aviation Award’ Friday during the 12th annual Living Legends of Aviation Awards celebration in Beverly Hills. Baker, a native of Minnesota, was recognized for achievement in aviation and as the head of the world’s largest aviation member organization. “It’s obviously a very proud moment to have this kind of recognition,” Baker said upon receiving the award named in honor of the actor who has served as a spokesma... Full story
Cirrus Aircraft announced in late November the successful first flight of their second certification flight test aircraft, ‘C-One’ (C1), in their Vision SF50 personal jet program. This achievement marks the most recent significant milestone for the program as C1 joins C0 in FAA certification activities and continues to accelerate the Vision SF50 towards entry into service. C1’s first flight took place on Tuesday afternoon, 25 November at approximately 3:30 PM CST from Duluth International Airport. Upon completion of the forty-five minute fligh...
Wipaire, Inc. is pleased to extend a warm invitation to pilots and aircraft owners to attend the grand opening celebration at Wipaire’s service center in Leesburg, Florida. The event will take place on Saturday, February 28th, and will feature a variety of activities for pilots. Based at the Leesburg International Airport (KLEE) since February 2013, Wipaire’s service center has expanded into a new, larger hangar. “Our new 10,000 square foot hangar more than doubles our facility footprint and provides us much-needed room to accommodate the e...
On a bright, sunny August afternoon, with Thunderbird's President and CEO, Nancy Grazzini-Olson, at the controls, a bulldozer quickly erased from the landscape a building that was a fixture at Flying Cloud Airport for over 50 years. "We trained 1000's of pilots in that building and it survived tornados, snowstorms and every other type of Minnesota weather, so I thought it was only fitting to be the one to get the first swing of the bulldozer," commented Nancy Grazzini-Olson. With onlookers made... Full story
Can you help us put a smile on the face of a child this holiday season? Tree of Hope has been collecting toys for children in the hospital since 1990. In 2013, 32 hospitals across Minnesota received toys to help make a difficult time for both the children and their parents a little brighter. They are able to celebrate the holidays even though they are away from home. How can you help? Engage your family, friends, flying groups, etc. to help collect toys. Work with your local FBO to have a... Full story
Dale and Alan Klapmeier were inducted into the National Aviation Hall of Fame on October 4, 2014 at a ceremony in Dayton, Ohio. The brothers were honored for their contributions to the industry and join a prestigious group of aviation pioneers in the National Hall of Fame including Orville and Wilbur Wright, Amelia Earhart, Neil Armstrong and Chuck Yeager. “This is a great honor and I am humbled to be part of this group of pioneers,” remarked Dale Klapmeier, CEO of Cirrus Aircraft. “The real credit goes to the entire Cirrus family who has b...
Before placing an order for a hydraulic or bifold door, have you given any thought to how you would get that big, heavy door open in case of a power outage. This is an important consideration, not only for knowing how you will get your door opened or closed if you need to, but as a safety precaution as well. Schweiss Doors, the leading manufacturer of hydraulic and bifold liftstrap doors, has you covered on this. Schweiss has backup systems that come standard with your door and additional ones you may also consider. Hydraulic tractor fittings c...
The Minnesota Aviation Hall of Fame will once again be inducting six individuals at their annual spring induction banquet. Honors are set for Saturday, April 12, 2014 at the Ramada Mall of America Hotel in Bloomington, Minnesota. The Hall of Fame board indicates that the following persons will be honored: Martin Coddington, FAA tower controller and airline Captain; Col. Craig Duehring, VietNam O-1E “Raven” pilot and NATO commander; Greg Herrick, entrepreneur, antique aircraft restorer and heritage preservation mentor; John O. Roberts, Man... Full story
