Serving Midwest Aviation Since 1960
Serving Midwest Aviation Since 1960
Sorted by date Results 1 - 11 of 11
Check this column each month to see that dates have not been canceled or changed. Send notices of events to charlotte@mnflyercom Jan. 16, 2016: White Bear Lake, MN. EAA Chapter #745 Pancake Breakfast Fly-in, Benson's Airport (6MN9), 9 a.m.-noon. There is normally fuel on the airport, but call ahead. Runway is NOT plowed. Contact info: Kim: 763-503-0161 Airport Phone: 651-429-0315. www.745.eaachapter.org. According to Google Earth, Benson's is 9 miles almost straight south of the Forest Lake airport (25D). Two landmarks for finding Benson’s a...
Girls International Aviation Day was celebrated worldwide. The September 26 event at Downtown St. Paul Airport's Holman Field was the largest gathering of all those held. Stars of the North, the Minnesota Chapter of Women in Aviation, and AirSpace Minnesota organized the gathering. Attendance was estimated at 1,000. Resources were available at booths in the hangar representing colleges, flight schools, and aviation related businesses. Young Eagle rides were given to 213 girls. Attendees were...
There are any number of reasons the Twelfth Annual Flying Cloud Air Tour, (affectionately know by participants as the Ben McQuillan Air Tour) was such a wild success. The combination of Nerf Ball Drop, Madeline Island destination, beautiful though windy weather, and camaraderie of over 40 pilots and their passengers was the stuff of which treasured memories are made. Award winning, professional pilot and air tour planner Ben McQuillan, CFI, CFII, MEI started the event with a briefing a few days...
There were more warm, fuzzy feelings than you could shake a stick at during the Sierra Hotel Aero Pet Expo held October 17 at the Commemorative Air Force Hanger at Fleming Field in South St. Paul. There would have been a certain element of danger should one have shaken a stick at the event anyway, what with all the four footed friends around. It was a great day for shaking hands and shaking paws as pets and pet owners got to know one another. Attendees got first hand information on how pet...
As any successful author knows, it's all about experience and research. University Avenue Elementary School Aerospace Education Coordinator, Kate Watson has a firm grasp on this concept as well. That's how her second graders end up at Golden Wings Flying Museum in at Anoka County Blaine Airport. "This is their launch to the work they will be doing all year in creating a Flight Book," said Watson. "In May we make it a big family event where they invite their families to the airport to celebrate...
Power exuded from the Jeanne D'Arc Auditorium at St. Catherine University the afternoon of September 25 in the form of presentations and panel discussions on aerospace. The high-end team of experts was brought together by AirSpace Minnesota. "We organized this leadership dialogue to showcase the breadth of opportunities happening right now in the aerospace industry," said Kristi Rollag Wangstad, AirSpace Minnesota president. "Historically Minnesota has an established base in this field. Each...
If proof is needed to show how sincere a company is about encouraging women to consider a career in aviation, Delta Air Lines has it. On Saturday, September 26, Delta held their first ever Women Inspiring our Next Generation (WING) Flight to the Seattle Museum of Flight. The WING Flight was a gift to just over 120 girls. "We reached out with invitations to the Minneapolis and St. Paul School district, Civil Air Patrol, Big Sisters, Minnesota ACE Camps," said Delta Air Lines First Officer, Cheri...
It's a rare business meeting that is described as fun, but where the Minnesota Chapter of the Ninety-Nines, international organization of women pilots is concerned, that branding is an absolute must. The weekend of September 25-27 the North Central Section Meeting was based at Anoka-Blaine Airport. Chairperson of the Minnesota Chapter of the 99s, Patti Sandusky and the chapter's members had a three-fold purpose, conduct a motivating meeting, have fun, and show off Minnesota. "It was spectacular!...
Lake Okabena figures prominently in the history of Worthington. Nineteenth century railroads needed a lot of water. Steam locomotives pulled the trains and the early ones needed to refill their water supply regularly. A 785-acre lake would make an ideal watering stop and the Chicago and Northwestern Railroad established Okabena Station for that purpose. By 1907, steam engine technology had improved and water stops weren't needed as often. The lake became more of a tourist attraction. Amelia...
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 convection currents at each end of the approach and squirrely cross winds pouring over the forest-lined runway. Deb and I were departing from KMCD last September into a 300-foot ceiling. The clag was confined to the island and it was CAVU across the straights in Cheboygan, so we had a good Plan B, if...
The Concorde was not the first airliner to exceed Mach 1.0. That honor goes to a Douglas DC-8-40 with Rolls Royce Conway engines that broke the sound barrier in a shallow dive on 21 August 1961. First flown at Long Beach on 30 May 1958 by A. G. Heimerdinger, the DC-8 was designed to replace the piston powered DC-6 and DC-7 and compete with Boeing's 707. Somewhat late to the market and without the benefit of military versions like Boeing's KC-135, only 556 DC-8's were built, compared to 856...
