Minnesota Flyer - Serving Midwest Aviation Since 1960

Want to create an adventure, regardless of your age? Pick up the phone, call 2 or 3 people who you enjoy and who you trust to fly with and organize a flying trip someplace. The place doesn’t have to...

Staying “young” is an important concept, I think, generally speaking. We all try to stay young to some extent, even as we reach advanced ages (the older I get the older the definition of advanced...

Uncertain times. We are certainly uncertain as I write this column. Our lives have changed drastically since I wrote last month’s column and we just don’t know which way is up about many things....

A frequent question posed to members of the Minnesota Pilots Association is “Why should I become a member? What would membership do for me?” That was a question that the founding members of the...

One of the nice things about cold weather is the opportunity to sit down on the couch, or in our favorite chair, and think about things we would like to do when the weather warms up, when spring...

We are just coming off of a good year in 2019, looking forward to an even better year in 2020! One of the things I like most about the Holiday Season that we just experienced is the “Spirit of...

The Holiday Season is upon us and with this wonderful time of the year comes the opportunity to enjoy time with our coworkers, our friends, our families…and even our flying friends. We know that it...

We have so much to be thankful for as aviators in Minnesota, and it is a pleasure to be able to do so as we look back on 2019. We are so grateful to the City of Buffalo, Minnesota, for hosting the...

I hope you were able to read the September installment of Hangar Flying, but if you didn’t please retrieve that issue of the Minnesota Flyer. In that article I used Charles Dickens first sentence...

They are the best of airports, they are the worst of airports. What makes an airport the best? Or the worst? There surely are a wide variety of airports in Minnesota, each with not only different...

I would like to take a few moments to give thanks to those who are part of our airborne emergency medical service teams. The recent tragedy at Brainerd brought forth the reality that the flight crew p...

Just like a good neighbor, Minnesota pilots are there. This modified insurance company jingle came to mind recently when Minnesota pilots were asked to “show some love” for a small airstrip in...

There are many benefits of being a member of the aviation community in Minnesota, or any other state for that matter. Of course, there is the fact that we have the privilege to fly, to rise above it...

We are just coming off of another successful Great Minnesota Aviation Gathering, and we think that our event serves as an opportunity to oil the rusty spots of our flying skills. Let’s face it, for...

The 6th Annual Great Minnesota Aviation Gathering (GMAG) is nearly here and with that comes a great deal of activity by members of the Minnesota Pilots Association and our supporters, activity that...

I have taken time to begin reading Robin Olds “Fighter Pilot” and found a quotation that I feel certainly applies to my experiences with aviation people. He wrote “The brotherhood of pilots...

One of the things I really enjoy about those who share my interest in aviation is the ingenuity, kindness and willingness to be of assistance that the vast majority possess. These great attributes...

With the New Year comes the hope that the coming year will be even better than the last. It gives us the opportunity to stop, look back, and put things into perspective. We make some New Year’s reso...

Happy Holidays to each and every one of you! What a terrific time of year, as we celebrate with family and friends and as we look back upon 2018 and count our blessings and our challenges. The Board...

As pilots who enjoy the priv- ilege of ight, I think we have to be very vigilant as we strive to at least maintain the freedoms our predecessors left for us. This is particularly true as those of us...

In preparing this column monthly now for a few years I tried to minimize discussion of personal relationships, focusing instead on concepts and concerns that affect members of the Minnesota Pilots...

A joke question that I have heard more times than I care to admit, when posed to a student, is “What keeps an airplane in the air?” The answer: “Money”. One of the most convenient technology...

I just returned from six days of flying and aviation fun, having taken advantage of the chance to fly into New Holstein, Wisconsin, and camp with our friends at Supercub.org and to participate in the...

We are fortunate to have a wonderful airport system in Minnesota, thanks to a number of key organizations. Let’s face it, our airports didn’t just happen. I am concerned we take for granted what...

This summer has been a very bittersweet one for me, as we are not able to see two of our grandchildren as much as we have in the past. My wife and I received a phone call from our son asking if we wou...