by Tony Fernando Minnesota DOT Office of Aeronautics Published in Midwest Flyer – August/September 2020 issue At 10:45 am on April 13, 2018, a U.S. Air Force F-22 Raptor started…
Category: Columns
What are PFAS? And is your community prepared?
by Ryan Gaug Minnesota DOT Office of Aeronautics Published in Midwest Flyer – August/September 2020 issue This past January, just before COVID-19 became widely known and the world would change…
Big Win For GA Despite COVID-19
by Kyle Lewis Regional Manager Government Affairs & Airport Advocacy / Great Lakes Aircraft Owners & Pilots Association www.aopa.org Published in Midwest Flyer – August/September 2020 issue 2020 changed almost overnight….
The more things change
Amid challenges to aviation, resiliency is a constant by Mark Baker AOPA President and CEO Published in Midwest Flyer – August/September 2020 issue The human body is incredibly resilient. With…
Restore Or Update Or None of the Above?
by Pete Schoeninger Published in Midwest Flyer – August/September 2020 issue Q: What do you hear about current airplane sale market conditions? A: Airplane salesmen I know tell me that…
Landings Can Be Dangerous, But They Do Not Have To Be
by Bob Worthington www.BobWorthingtonWriter.com Published in Midwest Flyer – August/September 2020 issue As I write this column, it is days after the disastrous ending of Pakistan International Airlines Flight #8303….
Using The “E-Word”
by Michael J. “Mick” Kaufman @August 2020 All rights reserved. Published in Midwest Flyer – August/September 2020 issue Many years ago, while walking through a flight school, I overheard an…
Diabetes & FAA Certification
by Dr. Bill Blank, M.D., Senior AME @August 2020 All rights reserved. Published in Midwest Flyer – August/September 2020 issue The FAA has come a long way since I first…
Disclosing Medical History On An FAA Application For Airman Medical Certificate Is Not Limited To “Diagnoses”
by Gregory J. Reigel @August 2020 All rights reserved. Published in Midwest Flyer – August/September 2020 issue If you have applied for an FAA medical certificate, you know an applicant…
AOPA’s Rusty Pilots Course, Good For Everyone!
by Dave Weiman @August 2020 All rights reserved. Published in Midwest Flyer – August/September 2020 It was time to complete my biennial flight review (BFR), and my flight instructor encouraged…
How Pilots Can Keep Airport Workers (and Themselves) Safe!
by Kelly Akhund MnDOT Aeronautics Published in Midwest Flyer – June/July 2020 issue Have you ever flown into an airport and found workers on the airfield? Do you ever wonder…
City clerks, public works quietly keep pilots flying
by Cassandra Isackson Director, Minnesota DOT Office of Aeronautics Published in Midwest Flyer – June/July 2020 issue Do you ever think about the people who work in aviation? I don’t…
New Helpful Publications for Aviators
by Hal Davis WisDOT Bureau of Aeronautics Published in Midwest Flyer – June/July 2020 issue The Wisconsin Bureau of Aeronautics (BOA) is pleased to announce the release of several new…
An industry rallying together… General Aviation responds to the pandemic
by Mark Baker AOPA President and CEO Published in Midwest Flyer – June/July 2020 issue The last time I cleared TSA, breezed past a sea of travelers, and patiently waited…
Ways To Beat The High Cost of Replacement Parts & Avoid Mistakes In Buying A Used Airplane
by Pete Schoeninger Published in Midwest Flyer – June/July 2020 issue Q: What changes have you seen in the used airplane market since the Coronavirus Pandemic hit the U.S? A:…
Finding New AMEs
by Dr. Bill Blank, M.D., Senior AME Published in Midwest Flyer – June/July 2020 issue Do you know of a physician you think would make a good Aviation Medical Examiner…
IFR Currency Requirements Revisited
by Harold Green Published in Midwest Flyer – June/July 2020 issue It seems that once again we need to review the “pilot currency” requirements for instrument flight. That is, how…
No ADS-B Out? Where Can I Go? Also, Handling Distractions In The Cockpit!
by Michael J. “Mick” Kaufman Published in Midwest Flyer – June/July 2020 issue As I am writing this article, there is doom and gloom as the world seems to be…
How To Respond To An FAA/NTSB Investigation
by Bob Worthington www.BobWorthingtonWriter.com Published in Midwest Flyer – June/July 2020 issue Piloting an aircraft is fraught with rules and regulations, which can result in the pilot being the subject…
The FAA Is Investigating Me: Now What?
by Gregory J. Reigel © April 2020 All rights reserved. Published in Midwest Flyer – June/July 2020 issue When the FAA receives notice and evidence to show that a certificate…
Something Good Will Come From It
by Dave Weiman Published in Midwest Flyer – June/July 2020 issue By now, we have all sheltered in our homes and maintained our social distancing to the point we are…
Training I Hope I Never Need To Use But Glad I Experienced
by Yasmina Soria Platt Published in Midwest Flyer – April/May 2020 issue I recently participated in Survival Systems USA’s Aviation Survival and Egress Training (ASET) 3 course in Groton, Connecticut,…
First-Ever Robotics Aerial Drone Competition For Middle & High School Students
by Chelsea J. Bladow Published in Midwest Flyer – April/May 2020 issue There’s a new buzz growing around the state of Minnesota and the nation. The buzz in this case…
Fond Farewell
From Kathy Vesely Assistant Director, MnDOT Aeronautics Published in Midwest Flyer – April/May 2020 issue In the year 2000, already 22 years into my MnDOT career, I applied for a…
Minnesota Airport Directory in ForeFlight
by Jim McCanney Aviation Representative MnDOT Office of Aeronautics Published in Midwest Flyer – April/May 2020 issue MnDOT creates a “Minnesota Airport Directory and Travel Guide” every year. Our goal…
A Discussion of Take Off
by Rick Braunig Manager of Aviation Safety & Enforcement MnDOT Office of Aeronautics Published in Midwest Flyer – April/May 2020 issue I hire pilots for our office and one of…
Meet Teresa Klein
Airport Land Program Manager WisDOT Bureau of Aeronautics Published in Midwest Flyer – April/May 2020 issue In October 2019, Teresa Klein joined the Wisconsin Department of Transportation (WisDOT), Bureau of…
Pardon Our Dust: Annual Airport Construction Update
by Hal Davis WisDOT Bureau of Aeronautics Published in Midwest Flyer – April/May 2020 issue Between planning, design and construction, airport projects often take several years to make it from…
Grassroots Advocacy Takes Dedication, Education & Passion
by Kyle Lewis Regional Manager / Government Affairs & Airport Advocacy / Great Lakes Aircraft Owners & Pilots Association www.aopa.org Published in Midwest Flyer – April/May 2020 issue Grassroots advocacy. What…
Giving “George” A Break
Automation is a powerful tool by Mark Baker AOPA President & CEO Published in Midwest Flyer – April/May 2020 issue We all know him, some of us even fly regularly…
Wairbirds I Have Flown (In)
by Bob Worthington www.BobWorthingtonWriter.com Published in Midwest Flyer – April/May 2020 issue Last fall, I wrote an article on “warbirds” for a national aviation organization. One question arose: Have I…
Factors To Consider When Shopping For A Used Airplane
by Pete Schoeninger Published in Midwest Flyer – April/May 2020 issue Q: I need help deciding which of two Bonanzas to buy. Two friends are going to sell their 1980…
Understanding What Causes FAA Medical Certification Delays & What You Can Do To Speed Things Up!
by Dr. Bill Blank, M.D.,Senior AME Published in Midwest Flyer – April/May 2020 issue I just returned from speaking at an FAA Aviation Medical Examiner (AME) refresher course in Nashville….
A Time-Based Perspective On Flight Training
by Harold Green Published in Midwest Flyer – April/May 2020 issue Normally it is good to keep personal observations out of this column. However, with 60-plus years of perspective, the…
A Surprise On The Missed Approach
by Capt. Michael J. “Mick” Kaufman Published in Midwest Flyer – April/May 2020 issue When doing instrument flight training in Instrument Meteorological Conditions (IMC), one can never know what to expect….
Why The Size of Fuel Hoses On Self-Serve Systems Is So Important!
by Dave Weiman Published in Midwest Flyer Magazine August/September 2019 issue If you have never thought about the size of the hose at airport self-serve fuel systems, you are not…
Cirrus Announces New Vision Center
DULUTH, MINN. – In a special ceremony on May 6, 2015, at McGhee Tyson Airport in Knoxville, Tennessee, Cirrus Aircraft Co-Founder and CEO Dale Klapmeier joined Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam…
Hot Spots At Wisconsin Airports
by Jeffery Taylor Aviation Consultant WisDOT Bureau of Aeronautics A “hot spot” at an airport is not just a great place to get a $100 hamburger, but rather a location on…
It’s About Spring!
by Chris Roy, Director Mn/DOT Office of Aeronautics Well, spring is on the horizon and I know that pilots who haven’t flown since the beginning of winter are getting excited…
FAA Reauthorization – Finally!
by David Mann, President Wisconsin Aviation Trades Association I sometimes am amazed or maybe I should say shocked at the inability of our legislative branch to work together for the good…
More New FAA Legal Interpretations Roil S-LSA Community
by Ed Leineweber Sometimes revolutionary innovation takes awhile to take hold, and then only after a series of fits and starts. So it might be with the system envisioned in…
At Work Outside D.C.
by Craig L. Fuller President & CEO Aircraft Owners & Pilots Association Everyone I meet all across the country seems to know that AOPA is hard at work representing general…
News & Information You’ll Want To Know In Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska & Iowa
by Yasmina Platt, Manager AOPA Central Southwest Region As you may have already read in previous editions of Midwest Flyer Magazine and AOPA Pilot magazine, AOPA has started a new…
Strengthening The Aviation Community
by Bryan Budds, Manager AOPA Great Lakes Region We all know some of the realities facing general aviation today. Unfortunately, we hear with relative frequency discussions of looming user fees,…
Earning The Instrument Rating In A Perfect World!
by Karen Workman The advantages of having an “instrument rating” cannot be disputed. The rating adds a huge margin of safety to your flying, and increases the utility of both…
A Surfeit of Data
by Harold Green These days we suffer from a surfeit of data. There seems to be two sources. Pilots themselves and the advent of more advanced electronics. The even more…
GPS Is The Future of Navigation
by Michael Kaufman After concentrating my column for the last four issues on autopilots, my efforts will now turn to Global Positioning System, better known as “GPS.” When asked what…
Purchasing An Aircraft Hangar: Buyer Beware!
by Gregory J. Reigel Attorney At Law It always surprises me when a potential buyer of an aircraft hangar is unsure whether he or she should use a purchase agreement…
An Aviation Day At Your State Capitol!
by Dave Weiman We predict that what occurred on February 9th, 2012, at the State Capitol in St. Paul, Minnesota, in holding an “Aviation Day At The Capitol,” will be…