An Old School Flight School - Riggin Flight Services Madison, SD
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- Опубликовано: 1 авг 2021
- Just an amazing find on our way home from Airventure 2021 while stopping for fuel in Madison SD. Real grass roots stick and rudder flight training that's getting very hard to find.
LINKS: Riggin Flight Service: www.rigginflightservice.com/
Learning The Finer Points:
www.learnthefinerpoints.com/ 
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Great interview! I miss the "good ol' days' in the late 70s up until '81 (the controller strike and firing) when flying was cheap (i learned in a C150 at $12/hr + $3 for the instructor) and you could find these mom & pop airports all over the country. I was returning from Oshkosh one time and stopped at a grass-field airport in southern Illinois where the woman-owner came out and refueled my Cessna. I explained that I'd just come from the airshow and I was heading to STL and then on to Dallas. She said, well you must be hungry; come on in the office and I'll make you a ham and cheese sandwich. As I pulled out my wallet to pay her in cash for the gas, she looked at the money I had and said that I should just write her a check because I was going to need that money if I was going to the big city. I don't think such a scenario would happen these days.
Yep, I learned in 1969. Cessna 150 was $10/hr and $5 for the instructor. Taught several people how to fly in a 7KCAB Citabria and the ones that liked to fly upside down and do aerobatics. That’s when flying was fun! I finally retired in 2015. After 46 years of flying lots of different things, the old birds were the best. Dad and I bought a 1946 Cessna 140 with a cruise prop. That thing would do 120 mph indicated. What a great plane!
Took my first lessons in '64 in a J-3...$5 total per 15 minutes of logged time...airplane and instructor LOL.
@@steve-o5600 J3, what a great airplane. The only plane I have ever seen that could takeoff and land in the same spot without making a turn. Lol
@@albradley5527 lol, you forgot to mention the 3000 feet of runway to get it airborne. And the look of disbelief on the faces of the 172 drivers you would pass.
Heidi is so cheerful. She reminded me of Fargo every time she spoke.
I'm from Michigan, and Heidi sounds like a stereotypical Youper. (Evidently SD has a very similar accent.)
You betcha!
Heidi actually isn’t from the Midwest at all.
Salt of the earth people. South Dakota seems to have the market cornered on this.
Thanks Juan that was so good.
I love that young lady's casual explanations about winter flying, when it's 30 below. It falls into that category of -- gotta do what ya gotta do. I grew up in NE MT and my late hubby grew up in north central MN, both of which required alot of doing what ya gotta do.
So fine, Juan. So fine.
There's something about the old school folks who really still have great passion for aviation and it's application, "stick and rudder", glad he's passing on the education to the young ones, great video!
At $20.00 a night accommodations, that makes it a perfect place to learn to fly! I would guess that the flight training, plus the accommodations combined is way cheaper than many big city flight schools. I do hope they get a big bump in business from your visit, an old school heart of the country kind of place like this deserves that kind of support.
Now that’s America the way is was supposed to be! Godspeed Riggin Flight Service.
Stupid dems ruined everything
Matt, take a look around dude! America as founded is being systematically destroyed! Geez!
This was a nice video and I like this company. But apparently this is the comment thread where morons are assembling.
Very good interview Juan. I am sure the exposure you have given Riggin Flight Service will drive some new business their way. You discovered a valuable resource for tail dragger pilots. Thanks for sharing.
It was great meeting you at the ACCA's. You are a gentleman and a great announcer! Thanks also for wearing that DTSB hat in your video at Whiteside while investigating with Dan.
I agree - was thinking of learning tail draggers. Reasonable cost and “a quiet corner of the world” sound really nice and relaxing.
Are you the person that made those DTSB hats for Dan?.
Because that is really cool.
Already planning a visit. Thanks Juan!
@@AviationNut That would be me. I asked Dan for permission to make them twice via email but received no response. I was relieved that he liked them. Thanks
@@marklaw1434
That's really nice of you for doing that for Dan the man.
This is the kind of school that we need more of ,turn out stick n rudder knowledge pilots
Still have the book on my shelf.
Ah, yes, my kind of airport. The Good Ole Days are in Madison, SD!
A Great excuse to stop in and visit such a historic airport, still in business from years ago.
This is why I watch Blancolirio. Great content!
This was so cool to see all of those planes and the vast knowledge of Mr Riggin!
Great interview Jaun. Enjoyed meeting you at Whiteside County Airport during ACCA. Talked with Pete for a few minutes. What a gentleman he is. It pays to wear a Blancolirio hat. Bruce
Oh the memories of soloing in a J-3 Cub in 1963. The first flight was in the cold winter in Rochester, NY, and the Instructor climbed in the back seat, and as I was climbing into the front, my snowy boots slipped an the boot when right through the fabric of the strut ... Instructor calmly said: You should go be a plumber.... :) I followed him into Delta and started as a flight engineer and he said when we met: Well I see you became a plumber! :) Thanks for your great videos!
I not a pilot, I never expect to be one, and I don’t like to fly. Yet this is one of my favorite channels and this stuff fascinates me. I can’t say that I am envious of you pilots out there but I hope you realize how mysterious and enticing what you know and do is to some of the rest of us. Or at least to me.
Diggin' that baby bell chopper in the hangar.
Think thats a Hiller.
This is one of my favorites! Am a big fan of REAL stick and rudder skills.
Terrific interview, thanks for taking the time on your way home!
That sounds like a place i would love to fly at.
I always stop in for fuel at Madison, SD. and visit with the Riggins crew. Cheapest around and you know damn well it hasn’t been sitting in their tanks very long. Great video JB
There is nothing like your flight videos out there Juan…great job!
Flew a new Super Cub from Lock Haven to San Jose about 1965. Carried 2 5-gal cans in case you got lost or Wx. No radios. The first 4 hours were a thrill. The last 26 were a literal pain in the ass. Got a lot of arm exercise using the frame tubing to hold my butt off the seat.
You win for aviation content this week!
One of the best videos you have done IMHO as it took me back to the time and stuff I learned in....that young lady knows her stuff. Its wonderful to see some of the old ways are still around...Thank you
G, day to Juan and all the folk's at Rigging flight service.
No more Barnstormers (whiskey under the bridge).
Fantastic storey showcasing the products and services offered by this team. What is apparent, is to train A&P (technicians) in radial pistons engines of the vintage and warbirds.
In keeping: "thank a farmer you your next meal" Riggin is meeting the agricultural sector in pest control, 'good job'.
Great film, Juan
🌏🇦🇺
I’ve flown about half of the airplanes you showed. I received all of my ratings at Riggin Flight service except for my flight instructor rating. Great place to learn at.
Really liked this episode. What a place to live and train.
What lovely people, great job
Wow... Great interviews and tour! Man, they're the last of their breed I suspect. What a treasure trove of neat old airplanes and skills!!
Wish there were more airports like this one.
In the 70’s I flew with an old salt that started in the 30’s. He said the day he got his license went like this. He shows up in his airplane, think he said a Cessna 120, as soon as he lands this blue pickup truck comes out on the runway and parked along the side. This guy was the check airman giving him the license. Where he was parked is where he wanted me to touchdown. So I took off came back around and touched down right in front of him. I taxied up to him and shut down. Then he handed me my license and said Good job! That was it. The whole check ride.
This was so cool! As a kid in the late 60's I loved watching old crop dusters at work in west Texas.
Juan, thank you what a great fuel stop. This may go down as one of your favorite (best) videos. The young lady was so impressive with her flying energy. This is a pilots video that you save forever.
Juan, again THANK YOU!!!!
Oh my gosh Juan, how do you find these places/these people/these operations...
A place in this country where time has pretty much stood still..., and in this case all for the better...
A real treat for us viewers to see, and I/we thank you for another
great insight into a bygone era...
I went out to Riggin Flight Service in 2016 to finish my private license. Pretty sure I flew that exact champ, and took the checkride in it with Morris, before it had all the spraying equipment. It was such a good learning experience to get away from the Class B SF Bay Area environment and fly out there. Love your channel and so funny to see these worlds collide! Thanks for the video.
Interesting stuff JB. What a pleasant young lady who knows her stuff.
Great interview with the owner. That little fan resembles a RAT. Lol
Take care and fly safe. 🤟🏽🖖🏽
I watched this video over and over. My gosh, Heidi and Morris,, national treasures. Please have them on again. I could listen to Heidi all day long.
It is so nice to see this operation. I started laughing when Morris said a Cub weighs about 800 lbs. I'm going off the path here a bit but I was laughing because I own a Harley-Davidson Heritage Classic, that, with out any fluids in it, weighs 723 lbs. With all fluids and with me on it, it is around 975 lbs. I would rather have a Cub!. Great video and it is nice to see old school operations.
What a neat place! Thanks Juan.
I worked at Evergreen field in Vancouver taildraggers, Apache multi trainer, best instruction time you can get. I love this , life lessons you can't learn in a simulator..
This accidental stop turned out to be your best video of the tour. What a find!
Juan!! You’re the man!
Diamond in the rough!
OH MY GOD I LOVE LOVE LOVE THIS !! MY Kinda airport more importantly MY KINDA PEOPLE!
The best kind of flight school..
Glory days of aviation !
I can verify the sentiments of Mr. Riggen on tricycle trained pilots learning tail wheels. I earned my PPL in tomahawks and warriors. I got checked out in a tail wheel (Citabria) after many years of Warrior time. Since then, I nearly ground looped...twice. Shortly after a rather uneventful landing, I quit flying it like I did with warriors, and came about as close to a ground loop as you can get without actually going around.
Didn't hurt the airplane but sure bruised my ego. Someone saw my first one and said "Nice save out there". 😳
Moral of the story, like he said when landing tail wheel aircraft, unlike tricycles, when you touchdown is when the fun begins.
Fly the aircraft all the way to the hangar.
That was really cool, a blast from the past. I soloed on my 16th also and seem to be a bit older. What caught my attention was the way she described flight characteristics, my dad was a bit gruff for training, many unanswered questions. Now I know where to go, if I get the urge. Those light bars are intriguing as I learned solo to race planes on dirt roads to flag.
Once i jumped a crossing with our old flag car racing airplanes to the field, it had an old rickety potholed bridge on the other side, i popped three tires! My Dad was not happy! Oops
@@429thunderjet2 - Yeah, flagging stories. Can't think of any appropriate to tell in public. Back then though the A&P and I would go to all the crash sites. That reminds me, one time a flagger from another outfit radioed that he needed oil fast so this guy fills a four quart metal pitcher(?) and hands it to me to hold on the way and the guy launched the A&P's Ford short-bed over an elevated canal and oil went everywhere when we hid the ceiling, even under where both of us sat, and I never let go of the container. Afterwards while cleaning the truck together the A&P showed up right behind me and things got ugly.
Such great information Juan! Thanks for keeping the camera running to get us all the details. I'll be heading to Madison later this year. What a great resource at Riggan flight services!
Such an interesting interview. Fabric work requires considerable craft and patience. Thank you for sharing.
Excellent interview, I learned to fly in northern Idaho back in 1973. The airports had curtesy cars furnished by the state for transportation to towns, Sandpoint, Bonners Ferry ect. No cost to use just keep the gas tank full and the oil, they had warning placards on the dashboard that car would self destruct if driven over 45 mph they did shake rattle and roll, beat the heck out of walking. Some had APs for annuals, I was 23 and they were ancient gents, good work and didn’t break the bank.
Looks like an awesome place!
She makes me smile. I like her enthusiasm. And this is coming from a retired B737 Alaska Captain
Just awesome Juan, thank you for sharing! Looking forward to getting my taildragger endorsement out there, would love to meet Morris. #history
What a pleasure it would be to drop into an airport like this again. Very nice to see people like this again. I was so lucky to have learned in a tailwheel and my instructor an old military instructor and that's all he had was tailwheel planes. Years later I ended up buying the 170B I learned in. ( Tomah WI.)
Great vid,
Lee
.
Heidi Is wonderful...if I was not already happily married, I would be heading to SD to give Heidi a shout!
That kinda operation is the backbone of aviation
Soon they will be historical aircraft. Great assortment of small fabric planes.
JUAN, sure hope to see ya at the RENO show if this new virus do not shut the show down...... STOL parking Thursday or Friday.
Heidi is delightful.
I really enjoyed this. Great to see an old school family aviation business. Such nice people. Thanks for taking the time Juan.
This is the way it supposed to be. Thank you for sharing this.
That was wonderful. Thank you
Juan, that was awesome. Only thing missing was having you take off from a trailer and land on the grass. Hopefully in a future episode?
Good idea!!!
My favorite video! Thank you for making and sharing.
Glad you stopped in my state, Juan. There are any treasures here, Riggin Flight Service is one of them. Next time you're in my state, let me know. I'll buy ya a big ol steak and a beer.
Great content on this one Juan. I could have listened to you and Morris talk for another hour about this kind of flying. It reminds me of conversations I had with mechanics and pilots as a 16 y/o kid at the FBO I worked for at ILG. had never heard of Call Air before...great stuff!
What a great operation!!
That poor girl was so nervous, but she's a heck of a trooper to make it all the way through!
Ok, I could listen to this sweet girl all day. So bright, cheerful, and happy.
What loverly people you have happened upon here Juan. I have really enjoyed watching and listening to them. It for sure looks to be a unique propper old school aviation oasis.
David in the U.K.
Pure Gold!!
This is awesome... I might need to make a trip to SD for a bit... I'd love to pursue my PPL... Just the cost is stopping me.. Never knew of anywhere like this still be around...
I started watching at the first outset of Oroville. Now I watch because I learn a good deal about aircraft. Juan a couple years in still going strong.
Great video. Mr. Riggin is a great person, I have met him years ago.
A great interview Juan. I love seeing old school America. I could only wish those days would continue.
I'm a half hr. From RIGGINS. The folks are the best in the biz ! And excellent people. Nice Job Juan !
That guy is a treasure!
This video made me so happy. I don't know if Mr. Riggin knows how much exposure he just got, but it's deserved. This is American Aviation. God bless them. Fly safe Juan. PS: I'm a youngish (50's something) TG instructor.
Heidi is an absolute ACE... go back there to get your float endorsement just so we see Heidi fly :-)
Whoa...that's a blast from the past. I got my private in a PA-12 and my multi in the Apache. Old school training.
10x the quality of an Embry-Riddle or similar education at a fraction of the cost.
If I was a young aspiring aviator today I would give this a serious look.
I have visited Riggin Flight Service.
They are a class act.
My nephew moved to Grand Forks ND a few months ago. Just yesterday in a txt he said "the wind never stops blowing here!"
Well, occasionally it does in the prairie! But not often😂 we are aways east of there and so we have some trees n stuff.
Great series Juan! Wish I would have run into you at Oshkosh this year. Maybe next year I will have a better plan...
Plan to go to ACCA. A lot smaller. You can't miss him.
If we had more instruction schools like this we'd have way less preventable accidents... STICK AND RUDDER!!!!
Yep, 5000 hrs and never a functioning autopilot !
Chris I agree 1000% with you!!
What an awesome operation!
Wow…150 BP champ! Have a bunch of time in a 85hp champ and would love to fly the 150 hp one.
Great video, interview and an awesome story!! Really enjoy your sincere enthusiasm for aviation as well as your knowledge. Great job! Thanks for bringing this story to us!
Great little video. What a lost art all of the old flying and old equipment. Too bad kids now want to hold
the cell phone in their hand nowadays instead of tools or the stick and keeping history and legacies moving forward. When it's gone, it's gone.
You never know what type of adventures you may find when you are looking for cheap fuel for that thirsty 310! Great story. Great people. Great job my friend!
Thanks Fire Pilot!
I learned to operate aircraft with a couple of Riggins instructors,(my fault not there's) but Heidi taught me to fly. Morris get's students from all over the world, he has a top notch operation that'd I'd put up against anyone's. Thanks to her and a few other tailwheel buddies I'm enjoying life with my '46' Taylorcraft! Great interview Mr. Brown!
Glad to see you making a stop in my state and even making a video about it.
amazing young lady right there !!
Exactly the kind of school that many young men should learn flying at.
I was fortunate to experience this , in Houston Texas.
Great memories.
Cheers from France america…..god , I miss your country so much!!!
What a great video. I could listen to him talk for days. I'm not a pilot, but I love hearing real world history! Thank you Juan!
So awesome to see Riggin Flight Service on your channel! I did all my training with them, all the way up to my CFI plus the ag course, and they are some great people!
In the early 70’s, I had gotten out of 4 years in the Marines, was going to college, worked for Asplundh Aviation in the summertime, they sprayed power line right-of-ways with herbicides to keep the brush & trees from growing. I would go on the road with a spray crew all over the North/East United States.
We used Bell G4 Helicopters with a spray bar or rotary disk sprayer depending upon the herbicide being used. The spray bar nozzles also have a pressure value so that no chemical leaks when the spraying is stopped and there is no longer any pressure. Anyway, learned to fly at a Piper Flight Center, got a A.A. Business/Computers, fortunate to get a job, Mainframe Computer Systems Analysis/Programmer 25 years, now Retired 72.
Very interesting stop along the way. Thanks for sharing. Oh did I miss a posting. You haven't said much about the that vintage twin you brought to the shows. Have a safe flight.
Awesome Juan. Thanks for finding and sharing this place with us.
I love to fly to a place like this
Starter taking dual in a '40s something Aeronca Chief at Governor's Airpark in Richton Park, Illinois in 1953. Walt Thielman my 1st flight instructor. In '57, took some dual in a Champ owned by a fellow Marine at MCAS Cherry Point, NC. In those days, taildraggers were "conventional gear". Hand propped, no electrical. Had great fun doing full stall/spin recoveries above the beach at Moorehead City, NC. Never got my ticket, but always loved aviation since childhood.
At 86, I'm tempted to drive the pickup out to S.D. just to meet Morris and see everything.
Long trip for me - Home at Windsock Village in Ossipee, New Hampshire. Moved here over 20 years ago at invitation of a couple of Marine Corps buddies who have since passed.
What a great outfit! Such down to earth enthusiastic, honest folks. Thanks for sharing.