Arrowhead Eagles Aviation Holds 14th Annual Meeting May 18

The Arrowhead Eagles Aviation Organization holds its 14th Annual Meeting on Saturday, May 18, at noon at Skyport Lodge on Devil Track Lake. The meeting is open to the public, and anyone interested in aviation in Cook County is invited to attend.

Since 2010, when a group of local aviators started Arrowhead, one of its main objectives has been to award scholarships to Cook and Lake County residents who wish to acquire a private pilot’s license or pursue schooling lead­ing to an aviation career. The Eagles Board will introduce its scholarship winner (s) for 2024 af­ter a short business meeting and annual report on the 18th.

At 1:00 p.m., the meeting will debut a YouTube video commissioned to promote the Arrowhead region, Grand Marais/Cook County Airport, and general aviation. Jesse Steddom produces it.

The event will wrap up with a program fea­turing Chuck Lewer, a long-time agriculture pi­lot who lived in Silver Bay. Agricultural flying is portrayed as low and slow, which makes it riskier than it sounds. Lewer will share stories and adventures of being an ag pilot and flying behind radial engines.

Arrowhead Eagles president Mike Raymond writes that the organization is a dedicated all-volunteer group committed to promoting general aviation and the Grand Marais/Cook County Airport. Its efforts include organizing aviation events, educating the public about the airport’s benefits, supporting airport enhance­ments, providing youth-oriented activities, and fostering a friendly atmosphere at the airport. One of those aviation events is a fly-in/drive-in pancake breakfast held at the airport each fall to help fundraising efforts that bring in $3,000 to $5,000 annually.

Owned by Cook County, the airport’s opera­tion is overseen by an 11-member commission that holds public meetings monthly. Three em­ployees work at the airport.

The Eagles step in to do things the county cannot do, such as its recent effort to compile take-off and landing statistics for the airport.

Raymond said, “Traffic count (at the airport) by satellite confirmed data was 4,454 in 2022, with additional traffic, not broadcasting a satel­lite beacon, upwards of 1,000 additional.”

These statistics are valuable for management, oversight, and planning for airport operations.

Raymond added, “So, approximately 5,500 to 6,000 take-off and landing aircraft in 2022.” He indicated that 2022 was a “typical year” for airport traffic.

Raymond earned his private pilot certificate at Flying Cloud Airport in Eden Prairie when he was 19. After building Red Pine Realty in Grand Marais, he took up flying seriously in the early 2000s. He is a certified flight instructor and a vocal proponent of general aviation.

The airport staff and Eagles volunteers wel­come people who drop by during business hours to see what’s happening at the airport.

Raymond said, “The Annual Meeting is a fun aviation celebration and helps support the Ar­rowhead Eagles in its mission to promote avia­tion and the Cook County airport.”