Wings of the North sweepstakes winner can fly high – or cash out

Wings of the North’s fifth annual airplane sweepstakes concludes Saturday, Sept. 28, with a prize drawing during the group’s fall pancake breakfast at its museum at Flying Cloud Airport in Eden Prairie.

The pancake breakfast will occur from 8 to 11 a.m., with the drawing expected between 9:30 and 9:45 a.m. Access to the Wings of the North Museum is through Gate H on the northwest corner of the airport, approximately one mile west of Flying Cloud Drive on Pioneer Trail.

The winner of the sweepstakes will have the choice of an airworthy 1946 Cessna C-140 airplane or $30,000 in cash. The sweepstakes is a fundraiser for the nonprofit aviation history group, with all proceeds supporting its Minnesota-themed museum and programs.

Sweepstake tickets can be purchased on the organization’s website until 5 p.m. Friday, Sept. 26.

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Pancake breakfast tickets, which include museum admission, are $10 for adults and children 12 and up, $25 for a family of two adults and two children, $5 for children ages 6 to 11, and free for children 5 and under. Breakfast will be available while supplies last.

Jim Rasmussen, a 100-year-old World War II B-17 navigator who completed 32 missions over Europe, is set to draw the winning ticket. Rasmussen served with the 100th Bomb Group of the 8th Air Force and is featured in the upcoming Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks series “Masters of the Air.” He attended the Hollywood premiere of the series and was flown to Normandy for the 80th anniversary of D-Day.

Wings of the North, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, has been based at Flying Cloud Airport for more than 26 years. The organization hosts an annual aviation show and operates the Wings of the North Air Museum, which recently marked its first anniversary at its temporary location. The group is currently seeking a larger, permanent site at the airport.