Gary Schmidt, Tanis Aircraft president, dies in crash

Gary E. Schmidt, president and owner of Tanis Aircraft in Glenwood, Minn., died in an aircraft accident near the Glenwood Airport Dec. 9, 2004. Schmidt bought Tanis Aircraft Services in January 2002 from the family of Peter Tanis, the company’s founder. Schmidt had a long career in marketing and used his skills to promote Tanis products worldwide. He also encouraged his employees to develop new products, resulting in a line of helicopter preheaters, remote on/off systems, new aircraft canopies and products for emergency medical systems.