Archive for May 2024
Day job: Retired business owner/CPA. Next adventure: This summer flying cross country with three friends to First Flight (FFA)-Kill Devil Hills/Kitty Hawk. Then to Dayton-Wright Brothers home and USAF Museum. Then to Oshkosh for Airventure and on to Ryan Field where I am hosting during August. Favorite airstrip: Where
Have you ever read our Code of Conduct? The RAF offers recommendations to advance flight safety, professionalism, consideration, and courtesy toward the people and wildlife who share the recreational environment. This is a great tool to use out in the backcountry, and we encourage all RAF supporters to read and follow
Chicken Strip in Death Valley National Park’s remote Saline Valley is a gravel airstrip within a short hike of the Saline hot springs grouping. RAF California Liaison Katerina Barilov was concerned that the closest weather currently available comes from Tonopah, NV, 82 nm away. In the interest of providing pilots accur
RAF Washington Liaison Ray Ballantyne received an RAF grant to install a vault toilet and shower at Olympic Airfield, WA45 near Port Townsend, WA near a camping area among the trees. A water landing area lies parallel to the turf 2,759-ft runway, and there is a pond and dock where small seaplanes can be secured.…
Dave and Julie Powell of Rogers, Arkansas were honored with the “Wind Beneath Our Wings” award during the RAF’s biennial education conference in May. This award recognizes extraordinary efforts to further the RAF mission. This award was created and sponsored by RAF co-founders/volunteers Dan and Margie Prill, and Chuck
Over 120 RAF volunteers and noted speakers from across the country gathered in Bozeman for the RAF’s biennial Education Conference May 16-19. A dozen flew their own GA aircraft, lining BZN’s ramp with an impressive array. One stalwart volunteer, RAF Maine Liaison Andy Rowe, took honors for longest distance road trip in
Rainelle, (WV30), a privately owned turf airfield on top of a mountain in southern West Virginia now has a spiffy dual restroom and shower house, thanks in part to an RAF grant and hard-working local volunteers. RAF Pennsylvania/West Virginia Liaison Chip Vignolini tracked progress on the grant and reports that the fac
RAF Utah Liaison and Utah Back Country Pilots board member Wendy Lessig reports that this spring, UBCP volunteers completed work to preserve several airstrip treasures. Recently Locomotive Springs was dragged. “Both runways are smooth enough for most planes to land, for now,” Lessig said. Here you’ll stand on the trans
The BLM is taking public comments on two Travel Management Plans, (TMPs) and the Bears Ears draft Resource Management Plan (RMP), which you’ve already heard about. RAF Utah Liaison and UBCP board member Wendy Lessig has followed the progress of each and urges that your help is needed NOW to preserve many Utah backcount
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 Joyce Woods, an RAF friend and volunteer who also facilitates the NM Airstrip Network. “Value is Created with Partners” was my new manufacturing boss’s ma
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John was blessed to have two neighbors with 1000s of hours in Cessna 185s, and obtained his private pilot license with their encouragement in 2013. They introduced him to the magic of backcountry Idaho and the amazing capabilities of a 185. He purchased his own at the Big Creek Lodge in 2014. John was introduced to the RAF in 2018, at a fly-out to Seeley Lake around AOPA’s Missoula fly-in, and a few weeks later at RAF’s fly-in at Ryan Field. He is a firm believer in the RAF’s mission. Without RAF’s advocacy, he fears the steady loss of precious resources. John retired from the Coca-Cola system in 2017 after 25 years of service. His career prior to Coke included five years in operations consulting with Booz Allen & Hamilton, and three years with Hewlett Packard in Boise, Idaho – where his love of the west was born. When not flying, John enjoys tennis, photography and woodworking – a skill he is actively applying to a new house he and his wife Blythe are building in Longboat Key, FL. His border collie, Tot (pictured here perched on her RTIC cooler throne), isn’t a fan of how loud a 185 is, but thinks Johnson Creek’s airstrip is the most amazing place to chase a frisbee on the planet. jhodgson@theraf.org Submitted October 30, 2025
Liz grew up in Louisiana, but she has lived in Georgia with her husband, Mike, for the past 35 years. They have two grown sons, John and Will. Liz’s interests include reading, DIY projects, walking/hiking, hanging out with friends, and accompanying Mike on camping trips, fishing excursions, or flights in his Carbon Cub. She enjoys spending time at their lake house and especially at their home in Driggs, Idaho. Her favorite vacations usually involve a national park. ltouchstone@theraf.org Submitted October 30, 2025
Ed wanted to fly as long as he could remember. Growing up as an “Air Force Brat,” his early life involved living on air bases, watching airplanes and living among Air Force pilots. His father flew P-47, P-38 and P-51 fighters in the South Pacific during the Second World War. Ed has enjoyed GA flying since getting his license to fly in 1977. He was exposed to and fell in love with backcountry flying only a few years ago. Among other airplanes, Ed has flown several types of backcountry planes. He currently flies a C182 King Katmai. Ed believes in the RAF and wants to do all he can to support the RAF Mission. ecooper@theraf.org Submitted October 30, 2025
Posted in Idaho Ambassador
Paul Kosubinsky’s logbook tells the story of his true love affair with flight – from the J-3 Cub to the Boeing 747. Though he’s flown many different airplanes, “My heart has always remained in the Cub,” he says. Paul has stepped up to take on the role of RAF Virginia Liaison and will team up…
