Just 23 miles south of Hastings lies Stanton Airfield, a WWII-era airfield that was initially built to train Carleton College students in the skills of aviation.
On Saturday, June 21, the airfield will open its doors for its second annual fly-in featuring exhibits on the history of aviation, memorials for fallen aviators, food, live music, and a chance to see local aviation up close and personal.
The history of Stanton Airfield dates back to the Second World War. Carleton College purchased 160 acres to develop an airfield, in part due to declining enrollment as their mostly male student body went off to war instead of to college.
From 1942-1944 the college offered courses in air navigation, meteorology, gasoline engines, electronics, and mechanical drawing that trained flight instructors for the military.
In the 80 years since the end of the war, the airfield has changed hands several times and now is a privately-owned public-use airport, and the home of various aviation groups including the Minnesota Soaring Club, the Twin City Barnstormers and the Stanton Squadron of Civil Air Patrol.
In 2004, the airfield was placed on the National Register of Historic Places for its role in WWII flight training.
The buildings built during WWII are still used at the airfield today. In fact, even as decades have passed, Stanton Airfield remains “basically original” to its WWII footprint, said Jay Biggs, a flight instructor and mechanic at the airfield.
This original footprint, however, comes with steep maintenance costs. Keeping water out of the flat-roofed buildings, preserving the weather-battered exteriors, and keeping the airfield in working order is expensive.
“We are at a point where we need to do more,” said Biggs.
To address these costs, the non-profit The Friends of the Historic Carleton Airfield was created along with the airfield hosting events like the fly-in to raise funds.
The fly-in is not only an excuse to invite the pilots from around the area to the airfield, but to involve the public and raise awareness about aviation history in Minnesota.
Minnesota was not a kind place for aviators with Minnesota winters in particular posing unique issues for pilots in the early days of the Stanton Airfield.
Planes had open cockpits which left pilots exposed to frigid weather even while grounded. Students were barred from flying if temperatures dropped below 0 degrees Fahrenheit on the ground, even as temperatures could be much lower while flying.
Heavy Minnesota snows weren’t plowed from the air strips but instead compacted with rollers so that planes were landing and taking off directly from ice, a prospect Biggs calls “a little bit daunting,” even by today’s standards.
While the airfield continues regular operation, populated by pilots, mechanics, aviators and flying enthusiasts, flying can often be a means to a different end.
“It’s not all about the flying,” said Biggs.
Each year Stanton works with “cadets,” high school students from the area, to teach them about aviation, but more importantly, the life skills of interviewing, drafting resumes, and working with a team.
For others like Vice President and Secretary of The Friends of the Historic Carleton Airfield Ken Ewald, Stanton Airfield is a community based around a shared love of flying.
Stories of passersbys stopping to admire an airplane parked in the lawn, only to take up roles in the airfield are common.
The Stanton Airfield fly-in will take place 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. June 21.