01-20-2022 HPC Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

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company’s Steve Bernard and Cate Thomas did one last check of the safety connections, tightened the oil lines, and double checked the wing attachments in preparation for its first test flight. The final inspection was performed by Gene Shank, a highly regarded local pilot who had recently earned notoriety in the aviation community after he flew in a loop a record breaking 318 times over the course of three hours. The first member of the company to ride in the Curtiss was L.A. Dare, and by all accounts reported in the Star News “she flew beautifully.” Now the search was on for a suitable location for the company’s airport. Aerial Shot of the Elk River Airport from 1939 next to a modern-day Google Maps satellite image Today the piece of land that became the Elk River Airport is the Country Crossings neighborhood, located south of the Sherburne County Government Center along the Mississippi River. It was dedicated later in May 1928 with an impromptu ceremony, which consisted of a speech from the captain of the 109th Aero Squadron of Minneapolis and an aerial stunt exhibition. Short flights were also available to guests who lined up for hours to be among the first in the community to see their town from a perspective few had in 1928. The Star News reported, “It was a good day for aviation and all those who experienced a flight came away from the field enthusiastic supporters of the flying game.” On the radio the country was learning about Kingsford Smith and his four-man crew who took off from the coast of Oakland, CA for what would be the first ever successful pan- pacific flight. On the shores of the Mississippi, the young Elk River Aircraft Company had a plane, an airport, and a crew, but lacked its own experienced pilot to perform the crucial operations of the business. To their great fortune, Elk River just happened to be home to a pioneer in aviation. Vandie Ludvik in a pusher plane, 1911. Photo provided by the Chicago History Museum