Introducing Our Newest Members
On the right is Dana Walsh. Dana who is married to Nikki with two daughters, Becca age 9 and Erika age 6.

Dana works for ZTR Control Systems in Shakopee, MN as an Operations Center Manager.

Danas' previous aviation experience was mostly in his early 20s obtaining several ratings including a Multi-Engine Commercial Licence as well as his CFI-A. Shortly after obtaining his CFI, flying fell of his radar for about 20 years until he joined MSC.

Dana is also a member of the Civil Air Patrol in Eden Prairie where he has held several positions including Administrative Officer, Emergency Service Officer and now he is the Professional Development Officer. Dana is looking forward to many years of soaring with his new friends at MSC.

In the middle is Owen Connolly.  Owen grew up near Pittsburgh and served aboard the U.S.S. Intrepid. He married Marcella and graduated from the University of Detroit and American University Law School. He moved to Saint Paul in 1975 and worked for the Internal Revenue Service for 30 years. Owen and Marcella have two sons and two grandsons. During the winters he teaches skiing at Afton Alps and works as a groundskeeper at Prestwick Golf Club in Woodbury during the summers.

On the left is Marv Vikla: My interest in aviation goes back to when I was a preschooler and we lived a half block from the Naval Air Station entrance on 34th Ave S in Minneapolis. My father was in the Naval Reserves and he would take me to the base and let me crawl through the Lockheed P2V Neptune maritime patrol aircraft. Our house was also on approach for Navy blimps still in service in the mid-1950s. We moved to rural Rosemount, very near the Minnesota Zoo and Chuck Doyle’s sod airstrip. I would walk to his shop where P51 and other World War II fuselages and wings were stacked in long rows waiting to be restored. In 1965 my father was transferred to Alameda, California where we lived under final approach for North American A-5 Vigilante doing approaches at the base.

I flew my first solo in a Cherokee 140 on July 27, 1972 at Anoka County Airport and in August I got my private pilot certificate.

After commissioning in the Air Force as a 2nd Lieutenant in June 1973 I got orders for Columbus AFB, Columbus, MS. I was in a test program called “proficiency advancement” and myself and six others (including “Sully” Sullenberger of Hudson River airline-glider-fame) completed the 200+ hours of T37 and T38 training in nine months instead of the usual 12. Upon graduation I was given a choice of assignments and chose the Lockheed C-130 Hercules in the 61st TAS (Green Hornets) at Little Rock AFB. We had equipment that allowed us to air drop men and equipment while IFR, at night, in formation. I progressed to Aircraft Commander with minimum time and flew to two dozen countries in Europe, North Africa, Central America, the Gulf region and Asia; plus ops in remote regions such as the Aleutian islands, and off beaches on the Arctic Ocean. I left the Air Force in 1980 with 2,000 hours in the Hercules.

I have daughter, Beth, who has run her mother’s quilt shop since she passed away last year. Linda and I were together for 37 years as I dragged her around the country and to Singapore while being gone much of the time on business.

I met Mary this year on eHarmony, and she is willing to give me time to fly. First test passed! We are getting married on October 1; I won’t be at Stanton that day.

Quinton Thiele Thank you for the opportunity that I was given this summer. Soaring was and is a memory I will always cherish. As for my bio, I am a graduate of Totino-Grace High School and will be attending the University of North Dakota. I will be majoring in mechanical engineering with an aerospace emphasis and will also be in Air Force ROTC. I am an Eagle Scout and have been one since 2009. I will hopefully be flying fighters for the Air Force upon graduating from UND. If there is anything else you want feel free to let me know. Thanks again for everything.

Vincent Gennarelli:
Vince is seen here after a very successful training flight with his instructor Tom Rent.
Vincent is 15 years old and will be a sophomore at Eagan High School this fall. He enjoys Walleye fishing and boating in the spring and summer and pheasant hunting with his dad and yellow lab, Rocco, in the fall. Last year Vincent joined the Alpine Ski racing team at school and plans to race again this year. For the past several years he has enjoyed playing baseball.
Vincent has always wanted to be a pilot and is grateful for the opportunity to be a member of the Minnesota Soaring Club. He hopes to achieve his goal of making his first Solo flight this year.

Vincent’s parent’s names are Bill and Betsy. His oldest sister, Vanessa, will be going to the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities as a freshman this fall and his younger sister, Bridget, will be going into 8th grade.
Shown here is Betsy who succumbed to the temptation of a glider ride with Tom Rent. Her smile was even bigger after the ride.