Minnesota Aviation Hall of Fame 2023 Inductees
Minneapolis, MN (January 18, 2023) -The Minnesota Aviation Hall of Fame strives to recognize and honor Minnesota’s aviation pioneers and leaders who have impacted the field of aviation in a lasting and significant way. The Hall of Fame not only acknowledges its inductees, but the organization also serves as a repository of biographical files such as interview tapes, photos, memorabilia, and archival material such as scrapbooks, logbooks, papers, news clippings, etc. Each year, the Hall of Fame Selection Panel meets to determine six new inductees to be installed at a ceremony every spring. The Board of Directors of the Minnesota Aviation Hall of Fame is proud to announce the names of six persons to be inducted into the 2023 class of the Hall of Fame.
WALTER FRICKE – Combat helicopter pilot in Vietnam, Founder/AirBoss Veterans Airlift Command.
ROBERT D. HODGE – WWII veteran and a Game Warden pilot, with an extensive career in the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources.
BARBARA MACK – Renowned Minnesota flight instructor, and FAA designated aviation examiner, holding several type ratings.
JOHN J. PARKER – WWII combat veteran with a distinguished career with the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources as a Game Warden pilot.
RANDALL L. SOHN – An Air National Guard and North Central pilot, who was pivotal in establishing the Southern Minnesota Wing of the Commemorative Air Force.
ROBERT D. WIPLINGER – Minnesota aviation businessman and manufacturer of Wipline Floats, and creator of the FireBoss fire-fighting aircraft.
Randy Sohn, was a life member of the CAF and was inducted into the CAF Hall of Fame in 2011.
About the Event Saturday, April 1, 2023, 4:45 p.m. at the Minnetonka Ballroom at Mystic Lake Center at 2400 Mystic Lake Blvd., Prior Lake, MN 55372. For more details and to purchase tickets, visit the Hall of Fame website at mahof.org.
About the Minnesota Hall of Fame The purpose of the Minnesota Aviation Hall of Fame, Inc., is to establish and maintain an ongoing means of honoring native individuals who have contributed significantly to the development, advancement, and promotion of aviation in Minnesota, or elsewhere. Or to honor individuals who were not native to Minnesota but enhanced the aviation climate in Minnesota in their careers. The goal is to foster, promote, and encourage a better sense of appreciation by the public for those persons’ contributions and the role of aviation in Minnesota and elsewhere, and to perpetuate the memory of those honored using public displays and announcements. Archival materials such as photos, letters, scrapbooks, interviews, logbooks, and awards given are collected while researching the lives of outstanding Minnesota aviation personalities.
