Jerry Wilke

When Jerry Wilke believes in an organization, he invests his heart, his soul, and leans his shoulder in. He observes, finds the best fit for his experience, and has come away from his 35-year career with Harley Davidson with a mastery of what motivates people to seek and find fulfillment in a sport, a product, and a lifestyle. For a guy who has experienced life through the eyes of diverse customers from the Hell’s Angels to the California Highway Patrol and everything in between, it’s obvious Jerry has done a lot of observing.


Some are old enough to recall the shock when a beloved America-born and raised company changed hands, lost market share and prestige, and faced a potential drop into the dustbin of failed American enterprises. When Jerry Wilke and a small team took charge of Harley-Davidson’s marketing, he knew how to create sizzle as well as rekindle demand for an American icon and restore its notoriety and prestige around the world.


Jerry, a passionate private pilot, served for ten years on Cirrus Aircraft’s Advisory board, as well as the board of the AOPA Foundation. He and his wife Karen, who is always ready to act as “copilot” for the next flight, enjoy long cross-countries in their Cirrus. They spend winters in Naples, FL, and he is active in the aviation community there. Living in northern Wisconsin during summers of long daylight and plenty of lovely lakes, he added a Husky on amphibs. Jerry has committed many hours working with the local community to promote the benefits of investing in their “sidecountry” Manitowish Waters Airport, D25, where pilots must heed coyotes and deer crossing both its paved and turf runways. He also serves as chairman of the airport committee working with Wisconsin’s Bureau of Aeronautics and the FAA to provide financial support for airport improvements.

Recently, Jerry and his son Ross bought a Skywagon, but to enjoy simpler, more leisurely access to the backcountry, they also fly a Husky on Bushwheels. 

Ross is as serious about flying as his father, but Jerry admits, “I watched with a bit of apprehension as Ross did his short takeoffs and landings in our stock Husky during the STOL demonstration at Oshkosh a few years ago. These guys are landing in two hundred-thirty-something feet.” Ross shares his thoughtful approach to becoming an ever-safer pilot in a 16-minute AOPA Air Safety Institute “Beyond Proficient” video. It’s well worth the watch.

The Wilkes support the RAF because its mission aligns with their desire to access the backcountry, and to preserve the privilege. But it means even more to the family. “It’s the people connection, the relationships, campfire buddies, new lifelong friends, and kindred spirits, like knowing Bob and Judy Gillette, thanks to the RAF,” he says. 

So when Jerry says, “The RAF is clearly operating beyond its mission,” he explains that it’s an exceptional gathering of generous, inspiring, intelligent people who give back, so the next generation and beyond can experience the freedoms we enjoy, flying to these special places.



By Carmine Mowbray

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Jake Hampton

December 15, 2025
AR Ambassador

RAF ADDS MICHIGAN LIAISON SCOTT ANTTILA

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.