AMRAT CHUGANI

Florida Liaison

Amrat’s interest in aviation began as a child. He would travel frequently between the US and Singapore. Prior to the terrorist attacks in New York, security was more relaxed and Amrat was allowed into the cockpit. The pilots gave him “junior wings” and said that he had now become one of them. “It made me feel very honored. Even if it was for a brief moment, it was unforgettable,” he says.


After high school, Amrat served two years in the Singapore Armed Forces in the 8th Singapore Infantry Regiment as a full-time serviceman. It was in the military that he decided to pursue a career in aviation. It had never occurred to him that he could own his own plane and enjoy backcountry flying. “Owning a plane seemed like a very far-fetched dream,” he said.

After his military service, Amrat enrolled in Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach, FL. While there, he attended the Tampa AOPA Fly-in and met former RAF Director Tim Clifford who was standing under the wing of a plane next to a bright orange tent. He warmly invited Amrat to the seminar on backcountry aviation. When Amrat appeared, Tim famously remarked, “I had a feeling you’d come!” And Amrat became an RAF member.

“Through the RAF I have had many adventures. I have enjoyed meeting people who never thought backcountry aviation would be for them. I have especially enjoyed nights around the campfire, surrounded by tents and hammocks, enjoying the company of my peers at places like Creighton Island, Arcadia, Sun n’ Fun, and others.”

“Aviation is a lot more than just flying from point A to point B,” he says. “As the new Florida Liaison, I’m going to be part of the concerted effort and dedication on the ground to preserve, improve and create opportunities for these experiences for all to enjoy.

achugani@theraf.org
703-505-1536

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By Taylin Trafton • December 11, 2025
A Christmas gift of flight lessons from his parents started Scott Anttila’s aviation journey in 1985. “I learned at Johnson Field, a small grass strip tucked into the woods in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, and that early exposure to simple backcountry flying stuck with me,” Scott says. Growing up in the U.P., he spent a lot of time outdoors and found that flying was another way to get to the places he liked to explore—especially the ones most people never saw. As he earned more ratings and eventually moved to the Detroit area for work, Scott realized he needed a way to stay connected to northern Michigan. He bought an airplane and used it to get back to the smaller airstrips and lake country he enjoyed. Along the way, he also flew gliders out of Frankfort, soaring along the Sleeping Bear Dunes and towing sailplanes over the Great Lakes. “Those flights gave me a different appreciation for the landscape and made me even more interested in the small, out-of-the-way airports scattered around the state,” he says. Visiting those kinds of places, Scott first came across the Recreational Aviation Foundation. He started using RAF-supported airstrips both inside and outside Michigan. “I noticed how well-kept they were and how much access they opened up,” he says, adding, ”Over the years, I’ve watched a number of grass strips close, which made the RAF’s mission feel especially important to me. Maintaining these airstrips keeps aviation connected to the outdoors and makes it possible for more people to reach the quiet, remote areas that inspired me to fly in the first place.” Scott joins the other two RAF Michigan Liaisons, General Grant and Tanmoy Ganguly. He can be reached at santtila@theraf.org . Submitted December 11, 2025.