Serving Midwest Aviation Since 1960
Serving Midwest Aviation Since 1960
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Brian Ryks thinks a lot about people. As Executive Director and CEO of the Metropolitan Airport Commission (MAC), thinking about people is an inherent part of the job. However, it's what Ryks thinks about people that proves him such an effective leader. He empowers people by believing in them, having reasonable expectations of them, and encouraging them to live well bal-anced lives, including time outside work. Ryks is responsible for the administration and management of MAC's seven-airport...
The FAA on Oct. 12 reopened the $500 rebate program to support Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) Out equipage. The program that had ended in September 2017 will now close Oct. 11, 2019. The previous rebate program, which ran from Sept. 19, 2016, to Sept. 18, 2017, issued more than 10,000 rebate payments. The agency is making $4.9 million available under the new rebate program, which will help to fund 9,792 new ADS-B Out installations. Beginning Jan. 2, 2020, aircraft flying in airspace where a transponder is necessary today...
Toy collection for the 2018 Tree of Hope is set for Saturday, December 1st at 1:00 p.m. at Maple Lake Airport (MGG). All volunteer organization so all money goes directly to toys for the children. In 2017, donations delivered by volunteers supplied toys to 39 hospitals across Minnesota. New toys are needed for children ranging in age from infants to 18-years old. Toys or craft items that can be used while the child is in the hospital to help pass the time. Monetary donations accepted also. Help...
In fond memory of Minnesota Flyer founder Sherman P. Booen 1913-2011....
During its fourth annual Girls in Aviation Day, 200 Stars of the North volunteers assisted 1,400 attendees at Flying Cloud Airport in Eden Prairie where girls experienced STEM and aviation careers and opportunities. Stars of the North is the Minnesota Chapter of Women in Aviation International (WAI). "I think we are so lucky to have such a core group of passionate aviators in Minnesota, willing to put in months of time, or just one day, or even an afternoon to create an opportunity to bring the...
Women in Aviation International chapters have been surveyed. Results show Girls in Aviation Day 2018 accomplished its goal of introducing a record number of girls ages 8 to 17 to the career and lifestyle possibilities in the aviation world. As in past years, Girls in Aviation Day was hosted by WAI chapters (including several located on college/university campuses) with additional participation by WAI corporate members including airlines, FBOs, aviation museums, and flight schools. On October...
It's all very hush-hush until timing is right for the official announcement. However, Backus residents couldn't help but notice the professional film crew at the Bayside Resort dock on Pine Mountain Lake in Backus, Minnesota in September, shooting a scene for an upcoming, independently produced television series. Despite a chill breeze, mist hanging in the air, and temperatures struggling to reach 50 degrees, the 21-person crew from California (and other warm climate areas) stayed on task...
When it comes to advocating for a permanent resident living at a community airport, Ed and Connie Newberg, have, quite literally, lived their convictions for 38 years. When they got married in 1977, they moved to the Hector Municipal Airport. "Then resident, Gary (Bipes) had it for sale, and I was already hanging around at the airport quite a bit," said Ed Newberg, "so it just seemed a natural thing to do, live at the airport. We are just a mile from town. It's been wonderful." Hector Airport...
Going back in the old Mystery Plane Contest files from the days when I wrote the column, I was enthralled by a Christmastime event and the response I received from you FLYER readers. Let me explain. During the tensions of the Korean War, the US nuclear strike force included an awesome weapon, a high-altitude, long-range, ten-engine bomber which we were fairly certain could strike at the heart of the Soviet Union. The SAC B-36D aircraft was like nothing else. You only have to watch the opening...
Since 2015, Academy College has donated an Aircraft Dispatcher Course to the National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) Schedulers and Dispatch scholarship program. This scholarship provides the recipient with all the necessary knowledge and practical experience to obtain and become an FAA Certificated Aircraft Dispatcher. This year's recipient is Cody Solma. Cody was born and raised in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. After graduating high school, he attended the University of Omaha to pursue a...
Local pilots, AOPA members, and aviation aficionados welcomed Rep. Erik Paulsen (R-Minn.) to the Flying Cloud Airport in late August for a Meet and Greet hosted by AOPA to discuss matters important to general aviation. Rep. Erik Paulsen (R-Minn.) and Thunderbird Aviation Inc. President Nancy Grazzini Olson at Flying Cloud Airport in Minnesota. More than 30 people attended the event at Thunderbird Aviation, a fixed-base operation and flight school, to interact with Paulsen-a longtime ally and GA...
The dusty black Nissan rests by the "4C" pillar. I ditch the empty water bottles and other trash in a nearby can and settle in for the drive to Stead. We're staying at the Peppermill, a nice hotel and casino where inside it's never day or night. It clanks, whistles, clinks, shouts, and buzzes without pause, the search for the elusive jackpot an addictive lure. To me, it's a place to eat, sleep, and write. I'm not used to a pushbutton start or an automatic transmission. Old guy that I am, all my...
After a June postponement, the 3rd Annual Grass is a Gas Poker Run took flight on Saturday Sept. 8, starting at Brainerd Lakes Regional Airport. A beautiful day and plentiful prizes resulted in a record turnout of 32 aircraft and 46 players, flying to four different grass strips, approximately 160 NM, before returning to Brainerd to play their hand. Pilots were greeted at all stops with snacks. The Bowstring Flyers pulled out all the stops, greeting participants with home made sausage, egg and...
Life occasionally offers an opportunity to return to some significant place in time of the past, offering its mixed feelings somewhere between nostalgia and euphoria. It may be a class reunion and the meeting of old friends, or visiting the house and neighborhood you grew up in, or finding a resurrected model of that first car owned. For me recently, it was returning to the place where a 54 year aviation career essentially started. At 78, I still have the capability and enjoy the privilege of...
With so many wonderful things to be said about the annual Flying Cloud Air Tour it may be a challenge to know where to begin. However, at the top of the list are the organizational skills of coordinator Ben McQuillan. From news briefs prior to the event, to the safety meeting in advance of the day, to parking instructions at the airport, to last minute instructions before takeoff, everyone knows McQuillan is the go-to guy. That knowledge lends itself well to the order of the day. Thirty...
September 15 and the tops of the Poplar trees are starting to turn yellow as aircraft converged on Mora for the Lions Cub annual Fly in breakfast. Aircraft were coming and going all morning a jet trainer flew in as I was leaving. Hawk Aviation from Rush City had two aircraft furnishing rides....
Boxing Day is a uniquely British holiday. The day after Christmas, aristocrats present servants with gifts (in boxes) and working folks get the day off. During World War II, U.S. Army's Eighth Air Force was in Britain for over three years. Americans adapted to many local customs like darts and warm beer, but apparently not Boxing Day. In 1944 it was a working day for the "Mighty Eighth" when 151 bombers went to targets in Germany. The B-17s of the 486th Bomb Group were flying that day. Near Kobl...
The Minnesota Aviation Hall of Fame announces four aviation scholarships, available for students in the Minnesota area. Each scholarship is for $1,500. Information about applying for a scholarship can be found on the website: www.mnaviationhalloffame.org Questions or comments may be emailed to Scholarship Committee Chairman, Patrick Halligan, at flyinghooligan@gmail.com...
Women in Aviation International received a $12,000 grant from the International Society of Transport Aircraft Training (ISTAT) Foundation, which funds educational programs that advance commercial aviation. This is the fourth year that WAI has received an ISTAT Foundation grant. The grant will be used to further expand the distribution of Aviation for Girls magazine and will identify the ISTAT Foundation as the sponsor of this year’s issue. With this grant, the number of copies printed will be increased and its distribution expanded in hard copy...
Tom Lymburn The railroad VFR traffic follows from Ripon, runs through little Pickett (unincorporated) to Oshkosh via Fisk. Pickett hasn't changed much in the 34 years I've been going to EAA. The gas station, grocery store, and Post Office are still in one building. The farm service business is next door. It's true, the corn canning plant has closed and the graveyard has grown, but that's about it. One hundred year anniversaries are relatively new to aviation. This year was the Centenary of the...
Thanks to Minnesota Flyer reader, Rick Mercil, owner of Ricks Aviation Adventures for sharing his adventure of beating the crowds to share time exclusively with his family. In the middle of a hot summer, what's better than sneaking away to the Mountains of Montana with the family in the Cessna 185? If your answer is "nothing" you'd be right. That's just what my wife, Rosa and son, Hayden did the weekend of July 26-29. When everyone else was fighting the heat and lines at Oshkosh, we decided to...
Thanks to Minnesota Flyer reader, Bob Heavirland for taking the time and effort to share photos and a few words about his experience attending the Milaca Municipal Airport's 50th Annual Fly-In/Camp-In August 5. Attendees were welcomed to bring a dish to share in Saturday evening's pot luck dinner. Rounding out the evening was the Milaca American Legion performing the Flag Retirement Ceremony. Under wing camping, picnic tables, and a grill were available to visitors. The American Legion also...
A welcoming body of water, a grass strip, airplanes, a pig roast, corn on the cob dipped in butter, and the camaraderie of fellow aviators...what more does a warm summer afternoon need to be great? The Minnesota Seaplane Pilots Association experienced all this and more at their annual pig roast at Lino Lakes Seaplane Base, commonly known among pilots as Surfside. This year's event, held August 12, brought in a record breaking 292 visitors. Attendees also had the opportunity to acquire...
Prairie Air FBO at the Elbow Lake Municipal Airport joyfully joins in uniting their community during Flekkefest, billed by the city as the annual celebration of everything Scandinavian. "Every year our activities have been building with more and more organizations from town becoming a part of it," said FBO operator Joe LaRue. Flekkefest is held the first weekend of August. This year Prairie Air hosted the Civil Air Patrol, the Elbow Lake Fire Department, held a bean bag tournament fund raiser...
Wipaire, Inc. and Mission Aviation Fellowship (MAF) celebrated the delivery of the 100th set of Wipline 8750 floats on MAF's latest Cessna Caravan. First certified in July 2012, the Wipline 8750 float replaced Wipaire's long-running Wipline 8000 model. Upgrades from the Wipline 8000 to the Wipline 8750 include higher buoyancy, supporting a gross weight increase to 8,750 lbs./3,969 kg (a useful load increase of 390-750 lbs./177-340 kg), improved main gear design, and a new hull design for better...
