Darrin Smedsmo’s Freed Stinson on Display at Oshkosh

After Darrin Smedmo’s 1946 Stinson 108 was confiscated following his engine-failure emergency landing on the Red Lake Nation’s tribal reservation on Oct. 15, 2025, the tribe finally released it after more than seven months. Smedsmo brought his Stinson to EAA AirVenture Oshkosh and displayed it mounted on a trailer outside the AOPA exhibit, highlighting AOPA’s help in returning the airplane and in the effort to change a 1978 Red Lake Nation resolution that claims sovereignty over airspace above the reservation up to 20,000 feet.

Luckily, other than the seized-up engine, there was no damage from the Stinson’s detention, while it was parked outside. When the airplane was released, Smedsmo’s mechanic and some friends helped remove the wings and loaded the Stinson onto a trailer and brought it back to Roseau, Minnesota.

On March 27, the FAA sent a letter to Red Lake Nation leaders reminding the tribe that the agency has jurisdiction over all airspace in the U.S. According to a statement provided to AIN, “The FAA informed Minnesota’s Red Lake Nation that its ban on aircraft flying over its lands at an altitude of less than 20,000 feet violates federal law and that it must stop enforcing it. The FAA also demanded the Nation stop its legal proceeding against a pilot who made an emergency landing on the Red Lake Reservation and return his aircraft that it unlawfully seized. The FAA’s letter notes that federal law gives the FAA sole jurisdiction over U.S. airspace, and the Nation’s ban conflicts with a public air route over the reservation.”

During the seven months that the vintage airlane was impounded, Smedsmo formed a non-profit organization to raise money to fight the Red Lake resolution. “We will continue to press for the federal case to get this clarified,” he said. “I got it back, but I believe the fight is has just begun. It was great to get my airplane back. It was a pawn, and I was willing to put it on the line for this fight for all pilots.”