Aviation has always been a big enthusiasm for me. I have been dreaming about learning to fly since the time I was given a small airplane ride (the aircraft was a Partenavia P66, an Italian made C 172 look alike) when I was about 10. I am now a private pilot with about 300 hours and I am always very close to complete my Instrument training. After flying Cessna (C-152, C-172) and Pipers (Warrior, Archer, Dakota, Arrow) for several years, I finally joined a small group of three other co-owners (called rather largely the St. Croix Aircraft Group) and my aircraft is now N9372M a 1967 Mooney M20F. My ultimate dream plane remains a Siai-Marchetti SF-260 (in the logo above) but the Mooney is a close second which - unlike the Marchetti - I can afford. I hope that my fellow Mooney pilots can forgive me this lusting for a non Mooney aircraft.... at least it is not a Bonanza! ..... I can only imagine the flames I will get for this last statement from Beechcraft devouts...

• Insigna and camouflage of the Italian Airforce pre (Regia Aeronautica) and post (Aeronautica Militare Italiana) WWII, including some of the 1943-1945 period during which the Italian pilots were split between a component loyal to the King and fighting with the Allied Forces (Aeronautica Cobelligerante) and a component loyal to the German supported, Mussolini led Fascist Government in Northern Italy (Aviazione Nazionale Repubblicana) . Also included are camouflage and paint schemes of a few Italian manufactured aircraft serving other Air Forces.
• Photos of the trip to the Strategic Air Command Museum near Omaha, NE with other Mooney pilots. The pictures of the Mooneys are at the end.
• Pictures of a flight from Eau Claire, WI (EAU) to South Saint Paul, MN (SGS)
• Pictures of our 'new' Mooney M20F
  • The Mooney Pilot Association web site
  • Mooney Junction. A site with various interesting information for Mooney pilots.
  • Upper Midwest Mooney Pilots.
  • Mooney Events. Another portal for pilots and aficionados of the fine flying machines from Kerryville.
• The 2000 flight to the DC area for a visit to the Smithsonian Air & Space Museum including a guided tour of the Garber Restoration Facility
  • We flew from South Saint Paul to College Park, MD in about 8 hours with three stops. Two stops (Illinois and Ohio) were scheduled for refueling and pilot change, the third was not. A low pressure oil indication came up and we elected to land in West Virginia to check the problem. It turned out to be a minor electrical problem that could be solved quickly. We were flying on a Piper Arrow owned by the Prescott Flying Club. Some of the aircraft stored and awaiting restoration at the Garber facility were rather amazing. Among them the only aircraft that took flight during the Pearl Harbor attack and a German Horthen Gotha, a 1945 prototype of jet powered flying wing of astonishlingly modern design. I woder how much Jack Northrop may have pondered on this prototype when it was brought to the US. The big float plane is a Japanese Aichi Seiran. The plane was designed to be carried by a specially designed submarine and launched near the US shore for attacks on the US mainland. The Japanese surrender caught these submarines enroute towards the US. The guide during our tour was a former USAF General with several thousand hours of combat mission - Korea and Vietnam - who became after leaving the service Director of Atmospherical Flight Operation for NASA. Interesting guy indeed! Another noteworthy aircraft was a 1917 French Caudron. This particular aircraft was brought to the US in 1917 for evaluation by the US Army and kept in storage for several decades. Everything on it is authentic.
• A fly-out organized a Fleming Field (South Saint Paul, MN or according to ICAO: KSGS) by the Chapter 1229 of the EAA
  • The Glastar on floats shown on a couple of pictures was sadly destroyed in a take-off accident on June 29th, 2002. Thankfully, the pilot and his passenger sustained only moderate injuries. Preliminary reports tend to attribute the crash to engine failure.
• Picture from a flight in a rented Cessna from East Los Angeles to Catalina Island
• Photos of Italian - or related to Italy - aircraft that I took at the EAA convention in Oshkosh. They are hosted on Italian web site devoted to Italian Aviation
• Prescott Flying Club. My old flying club and certainly one of if not the finest flying club in the Twin Cities Area
• My home base airport. South Saint Paul, MN.
• Few pictures from a flight to Madeline Island on Wisconsin side of Lake Superior. More pictures from another flight to Madeline Island and the Apostile Islands
• Plane needs a wash?... here is a radical approach.
  

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