Around the Hangar

We're getting closer to the flying season... the hangar door will be open tomorrow and it's supposed to be 70 degrees out!  We're finishing up inspections on all of the aircraft, so flying should commence in the next few weeks.  As this happens it will let us get to cleaning up and prepping for other projects around the hangar!

Aaron Stanton, Troy LaFaye and Bill Atchison troubleshoot the M37.

John Schmidt gets caught making bomb fins.

Todd Lofquist has been revamping the cases by the PX.

A slew of maintenance folks installing the right prop on the B-25.

Bob Koelbl and Tim Gunter tape off the BT-13 for wing walk to be added.

A visitor to our hangar, a Navion that will soon fly off to Texas.  The owner is working with us on parts trades.

Cadet Robbie and Mitch Bertrang prep the Bomb Bay Box for paint.

New leather surrounds were added to both cockpits of the PT-22.

Blog Update - February 11 to April 8

Greetings Everyone!
Once again, time has passed... it doesn't mean activity has not taken place!  Far from it indeed.  The hangar is getting closer and closer to being what many of us had only imagined it could be.  Between museum expansion, cleanup, building a new PX and storage zone, and our addition of an Officers Club, it's been a massive undertaking!  Add the sprinkler system being completed, and thinking about what we as a team have accomplished is simply amazing!

The Hangar Dance is approaching rapidly.  We will be visited by two members of CAF Headquarters to witness one of the best Hangar Dances in the CAF.  It will also mark the public unveiling of the new museum, px and hangar as a whole.  Members will have the benefit of using the O'Club (though we still need people to help throughout the night!).  It will mark the return of the dance to our Hangar, and safety is assured through the addition of our sprinkler system!   The dance will have more space due to clearing of lockers and benches on the hangar floor.  The wall that used to separate the museum from the hangar has come down and will allow for people to move freely through the museum.

Before the Hangar Dance, coming this Saturday, will be the State of the Wing address.  Food is being provided by the Motor Pool, who have seen an exceptionally good year already.  We have invited many people who have been instrumental in completing the hangar improvements, or, like Senator Metzen, have been instrumental in helping us reach our goals politically.  It's a time for the membership to get together and celebrate everything that has been accomplished, for those of you who have been unable to make it to the hangar, it is a time to check out all the changes, grab some lunch and learn how you can help make the Wing even better!  There will also be an exciting 2013 announcement!

The Doolittle Raiders Reunion was a resounding success.  Nothing bad can be said about the whole experience.  It was perfect.  The weather held out, the Raiders were honored, 20 B-25s flew overhead, and the MN Wing made $40,000.   GREAT start to the season!  The crew worked their butts off, and a number of members found their own ways down to help out.  It was great to have so many MN Wing members help with all aspects of the operation!  If only all shows could be this well attended and run this smoothly!

Stop by this Saturday for the State of the Wing and see what has been taking place!

Blog Update - October 01 - February 10

All quiet on the MNCAF front? HARDLY! The scant blog is an indicator not of lack of activity at the Wing, but rather an abundance of it! Since October, we closed out our flying season, and began to inspect the aircraft. Around that time, discussions took place about the use of hangar space, and what improvements could be made. That discussion lead to where we are at now. The hangar is in a state of chaotic activity. Walls are going up, others coming down. The PX will have a new home, and the museum will have more space. The machine shop has been moved, enclosed and expanded. Cleaning, organization and consolidation are taking place throughout the hangar. This massive project will lead to a whole new look on the inside of the hangar, and will give the museum and PX the much needed face lift it deserves. The hangar will now also feature a members only O'Club lounge overlooking the aircraft. A place where members can relax and enjoy the CAF after a day of hard work.

The aircraft have their own tales as well. The P-51 is maintenance is winding down, with few inspections left. It will have a propeller spinner change take place later this week. The Harvard engine is still out for overhaul and while it's gone, the airframe is getting a good lookover. The PT-22 is getting new brakes, and most important, a starter. It is flying through it's inspection with very few issues. The B-25 is about half-way through the inspection. It was subjected to a landing gear Non-destructive test, which has revealed a crack. Part of the landing gear will have to be replaced. This concern came after another B-25 operator had their landing gear break and fold forward... not something we want happening!

With all of this happening, the sprinkler system is also going together. Yesterday, the riser (main valves of the system) was assembled and runs were prepared for the office spaces. This is great news, since our dances will take place in our hangar!

I will do my best to deliver more timely updates, but if you can, stop down and see all the changes taking place! Just watch your step and you may want to bring a hardhat!

Around the Hangar

This segment covers so much ground, and with limited space, in less pictures than I'd like. The summer has been crazy, and the craziness has rarely slowed. Although it jumps around a lot, this will hopefully cover many of the tales from this summer!
(Photos Thanks to Tom Langer and Brian Strom)

(MN Wing crew line up with NHL player Brent Burns. Brent went for a flight as part of a promotional deal set up with Defending the Blue Line.)


(Bill Atchison attends a car show with cadets Tyler Befort, Matt Stone and Andrew Sahli.)


(Engine failure on the right engine forced a replacement...)


(It also required cleanup of the prop, due to metal contamination. Dave Schouveller and Larry Utter load it up for the trek to Maxwell Prop)


(Oil coolers also must be flushed. Andy Piazza takes on this awful job)


(Matt Stone and Andrew Sahli remove rusted fasteners from the WC-21's seat)


(Tom Goodwill jacks the P-51 wheel to perform a brake inspection.)


(Bill, Matt and Andrew attend a parade and car show)


(Tom Bulger and Larry Utter inspect engine parts)


(Bill and George Colaizy straighten the front grill of the WC-21)


(Rob Hardkopf installs accessories on the B-25)


(George grinds parts in preparation for welding)


(Roger Van Ranst removes accessories for the right engine blower section failure)


(All the accessories came off, leaving the rear case bare)


(Until we removed that too!)


(The culprit of the problems was the planetary gear, seen here as the shiny silver gear in the middle)


(Nate Timm works on assembling all the correct parts for the nose gun)


(It's like a puzzle, just get all the pieces in the right way or it won't work!)


(Bill paints the WC-21 engine the correct silver color)


(Bob Wright, Tom Bulger, Ray Miller, Arnie Fick and Jim Nelson catalog parts.)


(Andrew Sahli touches up paint on the 1941 Willy's Jeep)


(Bill welds and grinds the body of the WC-21)


(One of many tours to visit the MN Wing this summer!)



(New nose art for the L-5!!!)


(At a celebration for the 40th anniversary of the Wing, many of the early members attended)


(Happy Anniversary to the MN Wing!)

Blog Update - 25June to 03October

Alright, clearly I am lagging behind with the Blog updates. I have had offers to help, which is great, and I will be taking people up on that! Thank you! This way we can keep people more up-to-date and keep the blog rolling. I apologize for the time in between posts, it's amazing how fast the weeks fly by.

The summer went by way too fast. We're into fall, flying season is winding down, and we're looking at another winter of work. The B-25 gave us a few problems this year... one engine failing, two other engines needing repair. It was a busy summer for the maintenance team, but they did a great job of keeping Miss Mitchell in the air! The airshows were plentiful, thanks to Jim Gilmore, and we were able to attend many shows and give many rides! Thanks to everyone who flew or crewed the trips!

The BT-13, L-5 and PT-22 began to give rides this summer. It was an excellent first year, and there will be increased focus on getting the small birds out there and making money! The rides are more affordable than the B-25 and it can bring an experience to a lot more people!

This years Open House was held on Labor Day. It was not attended as well as we had hoped, but people still enjoyed the event and vendors want to come back next year. We plan to coordinate with Kaposia Days (South St. Paul Days) to bring the entire airport in to the fold, and have our Open House as part of the festivities.

The Fall Bombers Moon Ball was a huge success. We had more attendance than the past few fall dances, and people had a blast! A few new ideas were presented this year, and we have more in store for next, so come check it out, either as a volunteer or a patron!

The sprinkler system is coming along nicely. We've established that the current system can be reactivated. This means a huge amount of savings! We are waiting for final approval from the fire marshal. The next step is to install the water main. This will take some digging between the motor pool and the hangar. Our goal is to have the system working before the spring dance... Your donations can help make that happen!

Again, I apologize for how long it's taken to get another post out. You can expect to hear from the blog more often in the near future!

Around the Hangar

A lot has happened in two months, but some of our photos were lost when a hard drive crashed. For this go around, I'll present some of the latest photos, and we'll do our best to keep this more up to date in the future!
(Photos Thanks to Brian Strom, Matt Myklebust and Jim Lauria)

(Dave Schouveller is getting to be an expert at prop removal and installation)


(George Colaizy checks over the electrical system on the 1941 Willys Jeep)


(Bob Wright bleeds the BT-13 brakes as pilot Craig Rodberg checks the skies)


(Craig Steineck helps paint the display cases in the museum)


(Run, Roger is Reloading!)


(The WC-21 frame is getting very close to getting painted)


(Break Time!)


(Randy Hendrickson builds a fence between the Motor pool and Hangar 4)


(Which will look like the one he built between the Motor Pool and our Hangar! The city covered the material costs to help us beautify the airport)


(Bob Wright and Bob Koelbl repair the Harvard's engine)


(Roger van Ranst and Tom Langer remove accessories from the B-25's engine)


(Before the B-25's engine failed, it was involved with the filming of the Rise Above program, and The Restorers, which has an episode about the Minnesota Wing that will debut at Oshkosh)


(Having three P-51s and the B-25 in the hangar was quite a treat!)


(As was seeing them fly together!)


(The repaired engine, as of last night. This engine is now attached to the aircraft. Great work to the maintenance crew!)

State of the MN Wing

The goal of this meeting was to gather as many members as possible, have everyone get to know each other, and define the goals and struggles facing the MN Wing. The staff felt that the idea was received warmly, and that members want to have more of this type of meeting. If you attended and would like to comment, please let a staff member know!
(Photos Thanks to Keith Struck and Matt Myklebust)

(The meeting took place on a very beautiful day, which was wonderful for members who had a chance to look over and fly in the PT-22, BT-13 and B-25)


(But first we got down to business. Members had a chance to hear the staff's goals, and ask questions about anything they wished)


(The staff took turns discussing their areas, goals and needs. Here it looks very serious...)


(... but we had opportunities to have some fun. Joel Ludwigson [Finance Officer] took some time to poke fun of Wing Leader Amy Lauria)


(Now that the boring stuff is over... Time to eat!)


(New and old members mingle together, have some good food, and enjoy a common goal.)


(We were even surprised with the loan of this 4wheeler. Member Brent Darling contacted a friend with Cannon Valley Sports, who graciously loaned this to us for a year!)


(On to the rides! The B-25 had some issues, but the BT-13 and PT-22 picked up the slack)