Serving Midwest Aviation Since 1960
Serving Midwest Aviation Since 1960
Sorted by date Results 1 - 13 of 13
This year's outstanding group of 25 airplanes from all over the Twin Cities descended like a small air force upon the ramp of Modern Avionics and Inflight Pilot Training on Saturday, September 14th. The flight marked a decade of the best attended fly-out event in Minnesota which has only gotten better with age. The Flying Cloud Air Tour started in 2004 with one thing in mind; fun. We look for great places within a short flight of the Minneapolis area to fly into and enjoy the company. It's a...
The position lights of the Southwest Airlines 737 wink as she climbs steeply o the south past the red light on the nearby mountain. From the 21st floor window the runway lights of the parallels vanish into the darkness. We're in a bowl. Reno city lights dim at four-thirty. I can't sleep. It's Sunday. The Gold race is today. Traffic on 395 is mostly heading north even this early. We'll be in it soon, heading to Stead and the participants' lot, the yellow vest waving us cheerfully in for one last...
Congratulations to MnDOT Office of Aeronautics Air Transportation Specialists Vivian "Vee" Dellwo and Barbara Lovness who were nationally recognized for their excellence by the National Business Aviation Association (NBAA). Vee Dellwo received her award recognizing more than 21 years of service, while Barb Lovness was recognized for her 9 years of service. The NBAA granted the 'Aviation Support Services Safety Awards' for consistent contributions to the safety of business aircraft operations. Th...
A friend to the Minnesota aviation community and FAA Designated Pilot Examiner, Carl H. Lipke, has recently decided to retire from conducting pilot certifications after 21 years of faithful service to the Federal Aviation Administration and to pilot applicants throughout this region. Carl's dedication to local flight schools and FBOs will be missed as he worked hard to be available when his services were needed. I had the pleasure of having lunch with Carl last week. It was obviously a...
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 needs an emergency heart transplant. Up pops a recovering alcoholic thoracic surgeon who just happens to be carrying a spare organ. He deftly does the deed with a butter knife and a bottle of brandy for anesthesia. They then fly happily off into the sunset. Well perhaps I got the plot line a bit t...
How places get named can be interesting. Cambridge, Minnesota boasts a higher percentage of Swedish Americans in its population than any city in the U.S. Yet it was named for the Cambridge in Massachusetts which in turn was named for the university town in England. That's because before the Swedes arrived, fur traders from New England settled in the area. They got to Cambridge by way of the river which connects Mille Lacs to the Mississippi. The Dakota name is "Spirit" or "Mystic" River. The...
Loening OA-1A Grover C. Loening, a 1911 graduate of Columbia University, worked with Orville Wright and the Army Signal Corps before forming Loening Aeronautical Engineering in 1917. He was the first to have a degree in Aeronautical Engineering. First appearing in 1923 as the COA-1, his OA-1 observation amphibian was powered by a 425 hp Liberty. The Army ordered 45 between 1924 and 1928, primarily for use in Hawaii and the Philippines. Fifteen were OA-1A models costing $21,000 each. The landing...
The Compass Rose artists: Rick Hoffman, Tracy Davenport (99er), LaJean Firminhac (99er), Patti Sandusky (99er) Bernie Huseth, Sharon Sandberg, Duane Kruse, Jeff Mullin (also helping but not pictured: Glen and Elaine Morrow – both 99ers)....
The 99s-an international association of women pilots, (there were initially 99 charter members) recently completed a new compass rose for the Albert Lea Municipal Airport. The old compass rose had been obliterated during a recent paving project. Marcy Drescher is a local "99", and contacted Albert Lea Airport. She was aware of the construction, and the need for restoring the compass rose so pilots and mechanics could accurately swing their compasses. While a more utilitarian compass rose could...
AAR (NYSE: AIR) announces it has ramped up a third line of maintenance to support Air Canada’s fleet of commercial aircraft as part of a multiyear agreement to perform maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) at its Duluth repair station. The expansion solidifies AAR’s position in the region and moves the Company closer to its goal of employing as many as 225 people at the facility. The company currently employs 176 and has 40 openings. AAR reopened the once-abandoned hangar last November with one line of maintenance and added a second line of...
Cirrus Aircraft announced a partnership with Lake Superior College to develop and implement an Aircraft Assembly Pre-employment Program. The program is part of a Minnesota Job Skills Program Grant for workforce development and is aimed at recruiting, training and preparing low income individuals for assembly jobs at Cirrus. The grant was awarded to Lake Superior College and Cirrus in June and will fund the program's curriculum development and enrollment for up to 60 participants. The first group to begin instruction started October...
For the kids! Toys for Children in the hospital over the holidays. Can you help us put a smile on the face of a child this holiday season? Monetary donations are accepted also. Tree of Hope is an all volunteer organization so all money donations are used to purchase toys. Donations can be directed to one of the persons listed below or made via the Donate button on our web site. What can you do to help: Engage your family, friends, flying groups, etc. to help collect toys. Work with your local FBO to have a collection site. One toy or a plane...
March 24-25, 2014: Brooklyn Center, MN. Minnesota Aviation Maintenance Technician Conference, Earle Brown Heritage Center, 6155 Earle Brown Drive Brooklyn Center. Conference for aviation maintenance technicians, IA’s, industry employers, aviation vendors, students, etc. http://www.dot.state.mn.us/aero/index.html April 12, 2014: Bloomington, MN. Minnesota Aviation Hall of Fame, Ramada Mall of America Hotel. Tickets available after Jan. 1. www.mnaviationhalloffame.org...
