RAF FEATURED SUPPORTER: CHRIS NUGENT

Chris Nugent, Arizona Pilots Association President, calls himself a “lifelong aviation geek” and has the CV to show it. He’d flown a J-3 in high school, then laid aside his flight aspirations for family and his demanding career. His aviation experience spans from simple stick and rudder, a glider rating, to building parts for Mars Rovers and Apollo launch vehicles during a 40-year career in aerospace engineering, including two decades at the Naval Test Center at Patuxent River, Maryland. He retired after serving as chief engineer for Pacific Scientific in Phoenix, building inertial reels, restraint harnesses, and explosive devices for ejection seats.

His wife then encouraged his own aviation journey with a gift of five flight training hours. When Chris entered the flight school, he spotted a Carbon Cub, and said to his instructor, “Let’s fly that instead of the Cherokee!” That preference led him to his embrace of everything the RAF does to preserve places a Cub might fly. Chris’s wife supported his decision to buy a Carbon Cub, and he never looked back with longing for anything else. “Experimental is the way to go,” he says, adding, “I don’t need permission to perform maintenance.” He also got his glider rating, since Arizona is the ideal place for training. Now his grandson is pursuing that rating, “A good foundation for tailwheel flying,” Chris added.

Engaging with the Arizona Pilots Association and the RAF deepens his aviation interests, and he pitches in on the collaborative work parties. “We just had a maintenance weekend at Grapevine. It was really productive,” he said. Thanks to RAF Arizona Liaison Mark Spencer and Tommy Thomason, who built a great working relationship with the US Forest Service, the District Ranger approves these volunteers to maintain the strips, saying, “Let us know if you need anything.” Chris was pleased with the RAF's work to organize a necessary architectural study for the bunkhouse at Double Circle Ranch, another USFS strip. Following the study, work will be planned to preserve the structure for pilots’ overnight use.

Chris finds joy in more than flying and working together. He is serving as APA President, and is especially proud that since its founding in 1978, the membership has funded significant scholarships for dozens of young people interested in flight and aviation maintenance. Just this year, members contributed enough for ten $3,000 awards. APA also has a dedicated backcountry committee that works hard statewide to preserve its recreational strips."We are grateful for our relationship with the RAF, which is awesome,” he says. In October, Chris attended an RAF educational conference in Silver City, New Mexico, and said, “I was impressed with the RAF's leadership and their commitment to the mission. It’s a good model to follow.” 

“I’d rather spend more time on scholarships and backcountry stuff,” he says, but he is also working hard to push back on proposed landing fees at Falcon Field, where he keeps his Carbon Cub and the J-3 he flew in high school. He also joined the MOSAIC initiative to broaden Sport Pilot privileges and expand Light Sport Aircraft size, weight, and speed specs. 

If you see Chris at one of his many aviation engagements, be sure to thank him for his devotion and advocacy to further both the RAF and APA missions. 

By Carmine Mowbray



Submitted December 15, 2025