South Dakota – Fargo Orbit

Duluth Airshow Roars Over North Shore

4 Vans RV-3 (Vanguard Squadron) powered by ethanol fuel at KDLH 17 Jul 2022.

The two-day Duluth Airshow brought aviation to life for hundreds braving the hot, humid weather. The Fargo Orbit was there Sunday, 17 July 2022.

[Further details to follow]

Ground displays

Air displays

The Thunderbirds at KDLH, 17 Jul 2022 (Fargo Orbit)

Coronavirus information

FiveThirtyEight has published an excellent summary of what every person needs to know about COVID-19, which is updated frequently.

Vaccines are widely available in the US and Canada for walk-in service at medical providers and pharmacies. Many areas are still operating dedicated immunization clinics. Vaccines are safe and effective, including against the omicron variant of concern. Vaccines are now available for all age groups.

As of June 2022, travel restrictions have largely ended for travellers with up-to-date vaccinations. Be ready to show proof of vaccination when crossing national borders. Canada also requires use of the ArriveCAN app or website.

Morning lunar eclipse

The Total Lunar Eclipse of 26 May 2021; lighter areas saw more of the eclipse. (NASA GSFC)

A lunar eclipse greeted early risers on 26 May 2021. Earth’s shadow totally covered the moon for a few minutes at about 1119 UT. This was about the time the moon was setting over North America, and was after sunrise in the far north of Alberta and Saskatchewan.

Goddard Spaceflight Center’s eclipse page is always an excellent resource to plan future eclipse viewing.

Hot abort past fortnight

Jiuquan CZ-2D Gaofen-9,
23 Aug 2020 0227 UT (CCTV)

Further news
23 Aug 2020 – PS752 flight data downloaded
25 Aug 2020 – Astronomers issue full report on how to see past glare of commsat clouds
25 Aug 2020 – Pulsar Fusion makes a plasma thruster, still chasing space fusion reactor
25 Aug 2020 – InSight detects Phobos transit
25 Aug 2020 – Tianwen-1 completes en route test

25 Aug 2020 – Crew returns to US side of ISS after leak check
25 Aug 2020 – Starliner plans for next three flights, starting as soon as December 2020
25 Aug 2020 – USPS mail processing sapped by cuts in Minnesota
25 Aug 2020 – Wildfire smoke billows into Iowa
26 Aug 2020 – ISS crew checks for air leak over extra day sealed in on Russian side

26 Aug 2020 – Hope probe images Mars
26 Aug 2020 – Skylab astronaut Jerry Carr dead at 88
27 Aug 2020 – Oneweb still getting new FCC approvals
28 Aug 2020 – SLS cost overruns
28 Aug 2020 – 787 defect grounds planes

29 Aug 2020 – Satellite TV operator DirecTV for sale again
31 Aug 2020 – Outage at CenturyLink affects over 3% of Internet traffic
31 Aug 2020 – Lucy, Jovian asteroid probe, starts assembly, may launch 2021
31 Aug 2020 – US mainline air carriers finally end onerous change fees
31 Aug 2020 – Teprel-B rocket engine passes test

31 Aug 2020 – Amazon approved to fly drone deliveries in US airspace
01 Sep 2020 – JAXA moon rover named ‘Lunar Cruiser’
01 Sep 2020 – Small nuclear reactor from NuScale gets US safety approval
01 Sep 2020 – Airline internet provider Gogo bought by Intelsat
01 Sep 2020 – Jetpack operator spotted too close to LAX

01 Sep 2020 – FAA approves Electron launches from Virginia
02 Sep 2020 – Plasma thruster research featured by ESA
02 Sep 2020 – The Register interviews Rocket Lab exec
02 Sep 2020 – Minuteman III test launch at Vandenberg AFB
02 Sep 2020 – SLS booster test

02 Sep 2020 – SpaceX seeks FCC broadband funds
03 Sep 2020 – FAA awards airport grants
03 Sep 2020 – US drone part import ban affects firefighting
03 Sep 2020 – Starship SN6 test flight

COVID-19 matters
21 Aug 2020 – Ontario finalizes 3M PPE factory deal
22 Aug 2020 – Canada Post closes Edmonton plant for cleaning after COVID case
22 Aug 2020 – South Dakota COVID data hacked
22 Aug 2020 – U North Dakota surge in COVID cases
22 Aug 2020 – 42 cases sets new record in Manitoba

23 Aug 2020 – VIDO-InterVac vaccine building own production line, other delays
24 Aug 2020 – COVID-19 can be caught multiple times, body does not stay immune
25 Aug 2020 – FDA resets expectations for convalescent plasma: safe but only slightly effective
25 Aug 2020 – North Dakota SU prof publishes roundup of COVID drugs
25 Aug 2020 – COVID outbreak follows Sturgis rally

25 Aug 2020 – Nebraska COVID data struck by computer glitch
25 Aug 2020 – Minnesota requires COVID testing for nursing home staff
25 Aug 2020 – Hy-Vee pharmacies added to drive-through COVID test effort

26 Aug 2020 – U Wisconsin redesigns the facemask
26 Aug 2020 – Minnesota sticks to wider COVID test plan
26 Aug 2020 – Kenosee water park reopens after closure
27 Aug 2020 – New antigen tests need less lab equipment, demand still outpaces supply
28 Aug 2020 – ASM Logic of Burnsville MN creates software to coordinate COVID supplies in Cameroon

28 Aug 2020 – Lengthy recovery from COVID for ND Supreme Court justice
29 Aug 2020 – Major outbreak at U Iowa
29 Aug 2020 – Manitoba fighting outbreaks at nursing homes
31 Aug 2020 – Roblin MB fights to keep full hospital services in town
31 Aug 2020 – US cancels ventilator order

31 Aug 2020 – U Calgary dorms are 70% empty this year
31 Aug 2020 – Canada buys Novavax, J+J vaccines
31 Aug 2020 – U Wisconsin joins Phase III tests of AstraZeneca vaccine
31 Aug 2020 – Travel restrictions return to Northern Manitoba
31 Aug 2020 – One fifth of COVID tests at Iowa SU are positive

31 Aug 2020 – Iowa reaches highest COVID rate in US
31 Aug 2020 – Sweden strategy, poor in hindsight, considered for United States
01 Sep 2020 – Biohackers test experimental vaccines on themselves
01 Sep 2020 – U Nebraska-Lincoln greek houses quarantined
01 Sep 2020 – Phase II/III study of Regeneron antibodies in Sioux Falls

01 Sep 2020 – U Minnesota reopens after 2 week delay
02 Sep 2020 – US not joining international vaccine effort
02 Sep 2020 – Phase III test of AstraZeneca vaccine at HealthPartners in Minnesota
02 Sep 2020 – Studies continue to confirm steroids help COVID patients in hospital
02 Sep 2020 – Medtronic announces restructuring and layoffs

02 Sep 2020 – Likely first US vaccines will ship frozen: Moderna at -20C, Pfizer at ultracold -70 C
03 Sep 2020 – Manitoba will launch PPE test centre
03 Sep 2020 – Iowa schools reopen in COVID wave, lawsuits fly

August 2020 aviation safety roundup

Here is a list of recent aviation safety incidents in Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and northwest Ontario that were reported to the Transportation Safety Board through 15 August 2020:

17 Jul 2020 – C-FHBS gear up landing at Olds-Didsbury AB
17 Jul 2020 – C-GDUK load jettison near Slave Lake AB
18 Jul 2020 – C-GUSD emergency landing near Winnipeg-St.Andrews
21 Jul 2020 – C-FFVS load jettison north of Red Lake ON
21 Jul 2020 – C-FVIY landing gear issue at Lethbridge
21 Jul 2020 – C-GQNS wire strike at Medstead SK
23 Jul 2020 – C-GRGO equipment failure near Calgary
24 Jul 2020 – C-FBRG damaged on landing at Chapleau ON
27 Jul 2020 – C-GEDF damaged on takeoff near Calmar AB
28 Jul 2020 – N370JA, N53134 loss of separation at Fort McMurray
29 Jul 2020 – AMT200 gear up landing at Regina
30 Jul 2020 – Learjet bird strike on takeoff at Thunder Bay
31 Jul 2020 – C-GKGA cowling separation incident at Regina
01 Aug 2020 – C-FSCT damaged on landing near Sault Ste. Marie ON
04 Aug 2020 – C-FCJZ icing incident at Regina
04 Aug 2020 – C-FHZB damaged on landing at Springbank AB
04 Aug 2020 – C-FSPN control issues at Leaf Rapids ON
04 Aug 2020 – C-GKIB damaged on landing at CFR7 (AB)
08 Aug 2020 – C-GQIF fuel spill at Estevan
11 Aug 2020 – C-FAJR hit by drone at Winnipeg-St.Andrews

Here is a list of recent aviation safety incidents in the Dakotas, Iowa, upper and western Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, Wisconsin, and Wyoming, as reported to the Federal Aviation Administration through 14 August 2020:

17 Jul 2020 – N1962N damaged on landing at Osceola WI
20 Jul 2020 – N47T gear up landing at Burlington WI
20 Jul 2020 – N570WH wire strike near Dickeyville WI
21 Jul 2020 – N208MP damaged on landing at Thompson Falls MT
21 Jul 2020 – N2943C damaged on landing at Cambridge MN
25 Jul 2020 – N327WB crashed near Imperial NE
25 Jul 2020 – N502KJ fatal crash near Grant NE
27 Jul 2020 – N9278G emergency landing at Hartington NE
27 Jul 2020 – N53163 fatal crash near Corsica SD
27 Jul 2020 – N570WH collision on landing at Dakota WI
27 Jul 2020 – N771GB emergency landing at Hebron NE
29 Jul 2020 – N22709 emergency landing near Watertown SD
30 Jul 2020 – N4388T emergency landing near Powell WY
30 Jul 2020 – N337V fatal crash in Madison County MT
31 Jul 2020 – N16810 wire strike at Hubbard NE
01 Aug 2020 – N58B emergency landing near Helena
03 Aug 2020 – N45303 downdraft crash near Jackson Hole
03 Aug 2020 – N185GK runway excursion on landing at Kalispell
03 Aug 2020 – N67CD gear up landing at Sioux City
08 Aug 2020 – N5580W runway excursion on landing at Sparta WI
09 Aug 2020 – N89LA crashed near Logan IA
09 Aug 2020 – N6849B crashed in residential area near Burlington WI
10 Aug 2020 – N298WY crashed near Grover WY
12 Aug 2020 – N6299R emergency landing at Mosinee WI

ExpressJet regional airline shuts down

The Summer 2020 Midwest route network for ExpressJet. ExpressJet announced its imminent shutdown on 30 Jul 2020. (ExpressJet)

United Express regional airline ExpressJet is shutting down. The metro Atlanta-based airline announced the move in an e-mail notice to staff on 30 July 2020. Most ExpressJet staff have already been laid off, and have now lost their jobs.

CommutAir, another United Express regional airline based in metro Cleveland, will now operate the aircraft and destinations previously used by ExpressJet.

The move affects the United Airlines network at all remaining ExpressJet destinations, including Fargo, Sioux Falls, and Peoria. In October 2019, before the pandemic reduced demand for airline tickets, ExpressJet was serving Cedar Rapids, Des Moines, Fargo, Grand Rapids, Green Bay, Lincoln, Madison, Milwaukee, Minneapolis, Omaha, Peoria, Rochester, and Winnipeg.