In preparing for an upcoming presentation at a local EAA chapter meeting on how Midwest Flyer Magazine came about, I wanted to first start by sharing how my “first solo” came about, because I learned to fly before I even thought of starting an aviation magazine. In sharing my story with you, I wish to invite you to likewise share your story about your first solo with our readers.
No, I didn’t come from money, and in my family, only one older cousin – the late Robert E. Friday — was a pilot. After high school, Robert joined the U.S. Air Force where he worked in electronic communications, then attended the University of Minnesota where he received his bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering. Upon graduation, Robert worked for King Radios in Olathe, Kansas, designing auto pilots and other high-tech stuff, and obtained his master’s degree. While at King Radios, he was offered an opportunity by a coworker to start what later became Garmin, but Robert liked the work he was doing at King Radios and stayed with the company, which evolved into Bendix King, and then Honeywell Aerospace.
Robert was indeed brilliant and my go-to-guy when I had a technical question about my radios. He was also very familiar with flying in congested airspace and taught me how to roller skate when I was a kid. Robert kept working at Honeywell Aerospace until he died of myelofibrosis at age 67.
Like Robert, who grew up in a middle-class family in a small town north of the Twin Cities, I grew up in a middle-class family in Minneapolis, and flying just sparked an interest in us.
My first introduction to flight was seeing a skywriter fly over the Minnesota State Fair in St. Paul from my parents’ home on the far eastside of Minneapolis, two blocks from the Mississippi River. After Peggy and I started the magazine, I was privileged to meet that pilot, Chuck Doyle, whose fulltime job was flying for Northwest Airlines. Chuck retired as a senior captain, rebuilt several warbirds, and in addition to skywriting, he towed banners. He was inducted into the Minnesota Aviation Hall of Fame in 1992. Chuck’s son, Chuck Doyle, Jr., flew for Sun Country Airlines, and will be inducted into the Minnesota Aviation Hall of Fame on April 11, 2026 (https://mahof.org/awards-banquet/).
I was also fascinated watching airliners take off from Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport (KMSP) and seeing Lee Gilligan’s DC-3s and Cessna taildraggers parked outside of Crystal Shamrock at Minneapolis-Crystal Airport.
I graduated from high school in June 1968, and took my first flight lesson on May 17, 1969, from Barbara Wiley at Crystal Shamrock. An hour of dual was required to get credit for completing ground school at the University of Minnesota School of Engineering. Barbara went on to become a captain with Delta Airlines and is a friend to this day. She was inducted into the Minnesota Aviation Hall of Fame in 2020.
While a freshman in college, I met a fellow student in the library reading aviation magazines, who offered to take me flying in a Cessna 150. Dan Darwish was a pilot and a member of the “Flying Scotchman Club” at Minneapolis-Crystal Airport.
The following weekend, Dan and I flew 90 miles north of Minneapolis to circle some hunting land I was familiar with near McGrath, Minnesota, and he let me take the controls! Upon returning to Crystal, Dan introduced me to Roy Arneson, who owned the Flying Scotchman Club with his wife, Karol, and that’s all it took. I forfeited buying a new snowmobile that year and applied the $650.00 I had saved up, to get my Private Pilot Certificate.
My instructor was Fred Brandt, who was aspiring to become an airline pilot. In addition to flight instructing, Fred was a teaching assistant in mathematics at the University of Minnesota, and when he wasn’t flying or teaching math, he flew a Fairchild C-119 Flying Boxcar out of Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport at night. Fred lived and breathed flying and was super smart! Airline jobs were far and few between in those days, but Fred knew what he wanted to do in life, and made the sacrifices needed to reach his goal. He eventually retired as a Boeing 747 captain with Delta.
I soloed on April 29, 1971, when Fred got out of the airplane and told me to stay in the pattern and make three touch-and-go landings. I don’t have to tell you, that soloing is the greatest feeling of accomplishment anyone can ever experience!
Next, I completed my solo cross-country, then took my checkride on June 28, 1971, with FAA examiner, Harland Blankenship. Harland was a confidence builder and taught me how to do soft-field landings and takeoffs at nearby Buffalo Municipal Airport (KCFE), located west of Crystal Airport. Once Harland was convinced I knew how to fly, he said, “Take me home!”
I then tuned in and flew to the Gopher VOR on 117.3 MHz, and once I arrived, I tracked 4.9 nm inbound to Crystal on the 166-degree radial. Those procedures were ingrained in me from day one. The same with shouting “Clear Prop” before starting the engine,” and reciting the procedure “Mixture, Master, Mags” when shutting it down.
I might not have been proficient in softfield landings and takeoffs that day, but I knew how to execute a picture-perfect landing on a hard-surface runway. Upon signing me off, Harland said, “this is your ticket to learn, David,” and it was through all the ratings and checkrides that followed.
While I aspired to become a corporate pilot after I graduated from the University of Minnesota, I never dreamed I would start our first of several aviation publications just 7 years later in 1978, buy our first airplane in 1980, and be as involved in aviation as I am today.
Thank you, Dan, for being my mentor… Roy and Karol for operating a top-notch flight school… Fred for teaching me the numbers and being the absolute best flight instructor $5.00 an hour could buy… and Harland, for the great checkride, for teaching me softfield landings and takeoffs, and for showing me that overcast skies and light rain showers weren’t so bad after all.
Editor’s Note: Share your story about your “First Solo” by emailing dave@midwestflyer.com
