Archive for 2023
Naming the RAF as a full or partial beneficiary of your traditional IRA or 401k can save estate taxes, and tax on the ordinary income. You can even specify a project if you wish! Consult your tax/legacy planner, then contact us for help in considering this way to leave a legacy. There are several other ways…
Dug Bar Airstrip (OR8) lies along the Snake River in Hells Canyon National Recreation Area, managed by the USFS. Access to Dug Bar is easiest by aircraft, jet boat, “Or you can arrive there after a two-hour drive on a primitive road from the town of Imnaha, Oregon,” RAF Oregon Liaison Bill Ables says. Ables…
A January 2, 2024 US Forest Service news release commends its partnership with the RAF for the rehabilitation of Gila National Forest’s Sacaton Airstrip. RAF New Mexico Liaison Ron Keller organized volunteers for a series of work parties that resulted in reestablishment of the long-abandoned runway, and installation of
Our many RAF supporters have such vast and varied experience, and we’re capturing some of their words of wisdom to share with you. This month’s guest editorial is by Roy Evans II, the President of Utah Back Country Pilots Association. Throughout my journey in aviation, I’ve been guided by many mentors. In my adolescence, I found…
Our many RAF supporters have such vast and varied experience, and we’re capturing some of their words of wisdom to share with you. This month’s guest editorial is by Roy Evans II, the President of Utah Back Country Pilots Association. Throughout my journey in aviation, I’ve been guided by many mentors. In my adolescence, I found myself taxiing across a spacious apron following the tire tracks of countless flight students like me. Immediately my instructor slammed the brakes, turned towards me in the tight confines of that Cessna 152 and asked me, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” I quickly replied, “I want to be a professional pilot.” Twice as fast as I had replied, my instructor said, “Then start right now and get on the yellow line.” The benefits of an active, engaging mentor/mentee relationship are often overlooked. Our modern, connected lives rarely find time for the peace and solace many of us find while flying and enjoying the backcountry. In the state of Utah, we are the benefactors of the exemplary stewardship of recreational aviators who enjoy our historic, unparalleled backcountry. When two members of the Utah Back Country Pilots Association were out enjoying a fair weather day and landed at an airstrip they were met by park rangers. When questioned about pilots’ rights in landing at this airstrip, their true professionalism shone. What transpired over those tense moments for these two became the foundation that our organization has been striving for. Their innate stewardship for aviation’s access to our public lands made the impossible happen. Utah’s first airstrip located in a state park, Temple Mountain, once on the chopping block of existence, now thrives as an airstrip with access to Goblin Valley State Park. Etiquette and customs traverse generations — not in books or signs — but in actions. Each time we roll our tires in the backcountry, our impacts on the future of recreational aviation are felt across the world. Learning more about how we can turn our errant marks into positive impressions lies in our individual efforts to engage with those who’ve made this all possible, and the organizations that perpetuate those impressions to the impressionable. Whether it be your membership dues, your participation in work parties and public comment periods, many times a simple email or phone call can bridge the gaps our adversaries exploit in restricting or removing one of America’s greatest freedoms. While we all will find ourselves straying from the yellow lines from time to time, it’s important to surround ourselves with those with the passion to help us steer back on course. Organizations such as the UBCP, Idaho Aviation Association, Montana Pilots Association, and RAF are chock full of mentors looking for ways to help preserve and protect backcountry flying, and I know they would love an extra set of hands. During this winter season, while many of us wait for the snow and the skies to clear, let’s take this time to engage with our local aviation community. Find a mentor who will empower you to continue to make better aeronautical decisions; and prepare ourselves to serve in a similar role. Start making better decisions today that will provide even more opportunities for recreational aviation in the future, and find joy in keeping the dreams of backcountry flying alive. Roy Evans II has been flying airplanes since he was eight years old. Having the opportunity to make a career out of being a professional aviator, Roy volunteers as the President of the Utah Back Country Pilots Association, preserving and protecting Utah’s backcountry airstrips while enhancing the safety of pilots across the west. When his chores are done, he’s likely flying around in his Cub Special with one of his children in the back teaching them how to read a sectional while navigating them to the nearest huckleberry milkshake. Submitted December 21, 2023.
RAF Arkansas Liaison Harper Goodwin used an RAF grant and the help of Arkansas Liaison Dave Powell and a host of volunteers to build fencing for an observation area at Trigger Gap airfield, 17A. “Sixteen faithful volunteers were on hand for a full day of hard work on November 18. With the good turnout and collective efforts, two days of work was done in one,” Goodwin said. “It was a perfect Ozark fall day which saw a good bit of traffic fly in and out, including a group of Stinsons,” he added. Trigger Gap Airfield is located on The Nature Conservancy land. “We feel that this and other positive RAF projects will strengthen our relationship with TNC. We are also very focused on neighborhood support, which overall has been outstanding,” Goodwin said. Volunteers repositioned the existing gate and fence, and constructed other fencing to provide for a viewing area for spectators. Walkthrough access was provided to the airfield, and the gate has a combination lock which limits drive through access. In addition to the viewing area, volunteers constructed a traffic pattern indicator around the windsock, and built two firewood storage racks and stocked them with firewood they’d cut and split. Picnic tables were ordered but not delivered in time, so assembly will be scheduled at a later date. “I always find it surprising that most people have no idea that this backcountry thing even exists. This observation area will be a wonderful place for interested individuals to bring kids and others to learn about the RAF, backcountry flying and TNC,” Goodwin added. Pilots are asked to fly with respect to others in the environment. Trigger Gap was designed to be a destination airstrip. Land, get out, and enjoy lunch or camp. To reduce noise issues, please do not conduct multiple landings and take offs or fly low over the area. Find information on Trigger Gap in the Airfield Guide .
RAF Arkansas Liaison Harper Goodwin used an RAF grant and the help of Arkansas Liaison Dave Powell and a host of volunteers to build fencing for an observation area at Trigger Gap airfield, 17A. “Sixteen faithful volunteers were on hand for a full day of hard work on November 18. With the good turnout and…
Our many RAF supporters have such vast and varied experience, and we’re capturing some of their words of wisdom to share with you. This month’s guest editorial is by Nicolas Chabbert, the Senior Vice President of Daher’s Aircraft Division and CEO of DAHER Aircraft, Inc and Kodiak Aircraft, Inc. As the world’s oldest ai
Volunteers celebrated the RAF’s twentieth anniversary November 10-12 at Florida’s Blackwater Airfield with a party in the RAF style – a work party! The group included RAF Florida Liaison Bobby Capozzi and his wife Kim, who serves as an RAF VP of Appreciation; as well as RAF Ambassadors Shane Hartman, Lynn Gardner, Cole Pearson and Joe DeLeon. The team accomplished seasonal clean up and maintenance along with other RAF Florida supporters who came out to celebrate. The Experimental Aircraft Channel came by during the fly-in and recorded an 11 minute YouTube video that you can view here . It features RAF Florida Ambassador Shane Hartman’s homebuilt 400 hp Moose. Hartman also acknowledged and thanked Florida State Forest for allowing the public to access the 2,500 foot turf strip, 8FD3, in the Blackwater River Forest adjacent to the Krul Recreational Area campground. For more information about Blackwater Airfield and the required safety briefing, visit the Airfield Guide. Submitted on November 29, 2023 By Carmine Mowbray, Photos by Ambassador Lynn Gardner
The RAF’s recent efforts at Moose Creek, Idaho have been featured in a stunning video by FLYING Magazine’s Julie Boatman. Watch it now, below.
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RAF Wyoming Liaison Joe Feiler has tapped his passion for teaching and is applying an innovative approach to building a pilot's shelter or “ramada” at Lusk Airport in southeastern Wyoming. Feiler was awarded an RAF grant for materials for this planned 12 x 20-ft ponderosa timber-framed structure, and he has gathered a team of career and technical education teachers from all over Wyoming to collaborate on the structure, to be built of Wyoming-made materials. “While it would be relatively easy to gather a small group of pilots and construct a basic shelter in just a few days, the true value of this project lies in the collaboration and educational opportunities it creates,” Feiler said. The project begins with Casper College engineering students providing plans. The timbers will be milled at the Devils Tower Wood Products sawmill located in Hulett, WY. The University of Wyoming will host a timber framing workshop, offering graduate credit to career and technical education educators interested in expanding their knowledge of timber framing. Local pilot volunteers from the Lusk community will work alongside Career and Technical education teachers to construct the 12 x 24-ft concrete pad. The final phase of the project will be the erection of the ramada, completed by SkillsUSA middle school students for their community service project, which will be entered in the 2027 Wyoming State SkillsUSA contest. Gold medalists advance to the national competition. “It is noteworthy that these students earned a national gold medal in 2025 for a previous Lusk community service project,” Feiler pointed out. Each student participant will benefit from the practical experience in carpentry and woodworking, construction planning and safety, team-based project execution, and gain the skills aligned with Wyoming’s workforce needs. “By intentionally integrating education, industry, and community needs, this project becomes more than a pilots’ shelter—it becomes a hands-on learning environment and a showcase of high‑quality construction using locally sourced materials,” Feiler added. Learn more about Lusk by visiting the Airfield Guide . Submitted April 14, 2026
By Matt Foster, RAF Director and Safety, Education, & Etiquette Committee Chairman
The RAF is proud to call the Arizona Pilots Association an early partner in its mission to preserve, improve, and create airstrips for recreational access. From GA advocacy at Falcon Field, a towered Class-D airport, to picking rocks and chopping brush at remote backcountry airstrips, APA volunteers selflessly work to fulfill their mission of “Promoting, Preserving, Protecting General Aviation in Arizona – Advocating the common interests of Arizona's general aviation community at the local and state level.” Since their founding in 1978, they’ve accomplished this by promoting aviation safety and pilot education, elevating public awareness of GA; preserving, and re-opening Arizona’s backcountry airstrips; broadcasting Arizona aviation news; and connecting Arizona pilots through aviation events. One of the RAF’s first state liaisons was APA then-vice president Mark Spencer. By 2012, Mark emerged as the ideal person to engage the US Forest Service in his vision to upgrade some of Arizona’s under-used and abandoned USFS airstrips. Mark formed a lasting “orange and green” alliance, with many successes to show for the partnership. The restoration of Double Circle Ranch airstrip, rehabilitating Grand Gulch in the Arizona Strip, and repaving and adding visitor amenities to Grapevine near Roosevelt Lake are just a few destinations that have new life and visitation to show for it. APA volunteers contribute labor and resources, and thanks in large part to these early efforts, the RAF executed a Cost Share agreement with the USFS to work on further improvements to airstrips in the Tonto National Forest and the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest. APA volunteers' ongoing efforts continue to help facilitate airstrip improvements through the RAF's Cost Share agreements in Arizona. APA efforts include attention to all of Arizona’s public-access airports and the wide scope of GA flying. Pilots can find an impressive lineup of resources online, listing local safety seminars and backcountry airstrip safety briefings, maps, and videos. Pilots can win honors through APA’s Passport program – created with help from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University students – that promotes pilot proficiency. You’ll find an event calendar, listings for scholarships for aspiring students pursuing careers in aviation, and more. Current President Chris Nugent said, "APA has volunteers from all over Arizona and other states who support Arizona aviation in many different ways, including people who have volunteered for decades and continue to participate even after they've stopped flying." Go to arizonapilots.org and tempt yourself with the flying opportunities that APA has fostered throughout the Grand Canyon State. Submitted April 13, 2026 By Carmine Mowbray Photo credit: Matt Haag, Grapevine Airstrip
RAF Oregon Liaison Richard Mayes reported that at the end of March, the RAF collaborated with the Oregon Department of Aviation (ODA) to complete improvements at McKenzie Bridge Airport (00S). The 2,600-ft turf airfield is located within the Deschutes National Forest. For the past ten years, RAF volunteers have assisted the ODA and US Forest Service to maintain and improve the airfield facilities for recreational use. Using a skid steer-mounted masticator, the brush that was adjacent to the airfield was removed to improve safety. A vibratory compactor, donated by RAF supporter Paul MacClanahan, was employed to compact and improve the runway surface. McKenzie Bridge is a popular destination in the Central Oregon Cascades. The airfield has a primitive camping area maintained by RAF volunteers. Just a short walk from the airfield is recreational access to the McKenzie River, and the popular McKenzie River mountain bike trail with over 20 miles of single-track hiking and biking through Douglas firs, with waterfalls and river views. Find more about this airstrip in the Airfield Guide. Submitted April 13, 2026
“The only people who can change something are the ones who really want to. And not everybody does.” When I read this, it took me back to the early days of the RAF. We saw a troubling trend taking place — the loss of airstrips across the country with no real organized voices to help put the brakes on the decline. And we really wanted to change that. Change demanded new ideas from us. Ideas that we assumed would initially be resisted. This defined our purpose. Good ideas come with the burden of effort and purpose. That separates those with a strong purpose from those without. We wanted to create an organization that would counteract the attrition of backcountry airstrips we saw taking place. We rolled up our sleeves and didn’t look back. Easy to say now that the RAF was lucky, but it was purpose that drove the organization in the early years; that really formed who we are today. A group of people with a purpose who knew we needed more people who thought like we did, and cared; people who took this idea called the RAF and added to it, keeping it unique but effective. We felt that most of the existing business models in the nonprofit space were not what we needed to be, and we pushed forward persistently with our thinking – thinking that required putting our own personal desires aside and pursuing ones that were for a greater good. You joined in. You, too, found purpose in the RAF and now look where we are. Nearly 15,000 of us are making the necessary sacrifices to make our voices heard, to create a better environment for the future of recreational aviation. We have more opportunities today because of you. Each one of us is important to continue the momentum we have gained. To determine what the RAF can do to further our mission to preserve, improve, and create airstrips for recreational access. To prioritize the many opportunities coming our way. It is about us, and what we are going to do with the time we have left on this earth. This organization will hopefully give you purpose now and in the future. Most importantly, I really hope it will give you as much sense of accomplishment as it has me. Thank you for what you continue to do. - John McKenna, RAF Chairman Submitted April 15, 2026
