JULY FEATURED AIRSTRIP: LINCOLN, MONTANA

Each month we highlight an airstrip with hopes that you will get out and enjoy these special places. In honor of our 20th anniversary month, we’re featuring Lincoln, Montana.


Flying to Lincoln, Montana S69, you’re within sight of the Bob Marshall Wilderness. The airport, owned by Montana Aeronautics Division, is a paved, lighted 4,240 foot airport at an elevation of 4,600 feet within the Helena-Lewis and Clark National Forest. It lies along the Blackfoot River. For A River Runs Through It fans, those are the waters that haunted Norman MacLean. You can camp at the west end of the field, close enough to hear its riffles. It features a dedicated tie-down area, outhouse, fire rings, and tables. Potable water is available at the most western hangar hydrant. 

Fortunately, the abundant local wildlife stays on the wild side of the airport perimeter fence, but you can see a beautiful (static) grizzly bear specimen at the Forest Service Ranger Station, on your shortcut toward the hamlet of Lincoln. Try breakfast at Lambkin’s along Highway 200. You’ll receive a warm Montana welcome. Also across Highway 200 from the Ranger Station is the Blackfoot Pathways: Sculpture in the Wild http://www.sculptureinthewild.com/. An airport courtesy car is available for use by incoming pilots and their passengers, and volunteers have provided bicycles for the two-mile trip to town.

Speaking of volunteers, this airport is lovingly tended by the “LAF” or Lincoln Airport Foundation, the brainchild of founding RAF Director Jerome Cain. He’d purchased his retirement ranch a few miles west of Lincoln in 1990, and the purchase included a hangar at the Lincoln Airport. This motivated Jer to earn his pilot license in California prior to his retirement and permanent move to Lincoln in 1994. In 2019, he decided there needed to be a 501c3 Public Charity to support Montana Aeronautics’s efforts at S69, so he created LAF – consisting of all Lincoln’s hangar owners. LAF volunteers plow snow to keep the airport open throughout the winter, and mow grass all summer. In return, Aeronautics has funded many of the improvements requested by the LAF. 

Lincoln hosts an annual Fly-In barbecue potluck on the fourth Saturday of July, which Jer started in 2003. He expanded it to a Lincoln Airport Community Open House which has continued ever since with sponsorship by the LAF. Typically, hangar doors roll open for viewing aircraft, EAA members conduct Young Eagle flights, and community emergency service organizations display and demonstrate equipment. Mark July 22, 2023 on your calendar and fly on in to share a dish and enjoy fellowship and great food with your pilot friends and community members! (See the RAF Calendar for details.)

RAF supporters have another big reason to thank Jer. In 2003 during a strategic planning session in Bozeman MT, he created an IRS 501c3 Public Charity for the newly-forming RAF, authorizing donors to get tax benefits for their contributions, and the rest is RAF history.

Featured photo by Bob Frank-Plumlee.

Submitted on June 28, 2023.

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FEATURING: RAF PULASKI GLASSES Raise a glass to the work that keeps backcountry aviation alive! These RAF Pulaski Glasses are a perfect addition to your bar or a thoughtful gift for any aviation or backcountry enthusiast. Each glass features the RAF’s signature Pulaski tool, a tribute to the hardworking volunteers who preserve, improve, and protect airstrips across the country. Just like the tool itself, these glasses celebrate grit, utility, and a commitment to getting the job done. The Pulaski is a versatile, heavy-duty tool used for trail building, chopping wood, and clearing brush, making it an essential part of backcountry work for RAF volunteers. Made in the USA from high-quality glass, they’re built to last. Get yours today. 

FEATURED AIRSTRIP: DRIGGS-REED MEMORIAL, ID

By Carmine Mowbray • July 1, 2026
You’d have a hard time finding a more beautiful place to fly than Driggs-Reed Memorial Airport (KDIJ). The Grand Teton, Big Hole, and Snake River mountain ranges surround this eastern Idaho valley. Driggs has become a world-class destination for the pilot community. National Geographic magazine listed Driggs as “one of the ten best outdoor recreation destinations in the U.S.” Just a 45-minute drive over Teton Pass is Jackson, Wyoming, a famous Western destination. The airport, at an elevation of 6,257, accommodates aircraft on both its 7,300-ft paved runway and 3,000-ft turf landing area, marked with cones. Note: The SW 3,451 feet of the paved runway is closed until August for reconstruction. Check NOTAMS before landing. Fly-in visitors are welcome to camp underwing at its grassy tie-down area. It’s an ideal gateway to the Idaho backcountry. Enjoy views of the nearby Teton Range from the 12' x 16' cedar pilot shelter. There is potable water, a toilet, power, a gas barbecue, and a charging station nearby. Within walking distance of the campground is the Forage restaurant. A bike shed and loaner bikes, provided by the Idaho Aviation Association Borrow-A-Bike program, are available to ride into town. If you desire a more urban experience or wish to explore further, the airport has rental cars. “It’s a great destination for the pilot community, with access to hiking, biking, fishing, floating, golf and a small town with numerous shops and restaurants,” RAF Director and Driggs resident Tim Riley says. He and a local RAF supporter recently completed a spring cleanup to ready it for the season. The amenities were provided cooperatively through the RAF, the Idaho Aviation Association (IAA), the City of Driggs, and its Airport Board, with financial contributions from each. For more information on Driggs, see the Airfield Guide . Submitted July 1, 2026 By Carmine Mowbray

VOLUNTEERS COMPLETE SEASONAL TASKS AT RYAN FIELD

June 30, 2026
It’s bear grass season around West Glacier, Montana, and nearly a score of volunteers from three different states drove in to Ryan Field June 12-13 to complete seasonal maintenance, and enjoyed spotting the showy blooms throughout the woods. Bear scat was also seen in several places – a reminder that a clean camp protects both campers and wildlife. The airfield remains closed until the new runway grass has stabilized for landing, so watch the Airfield Guide for an announcement that the field has re-opened. As a result, there was no annual Ryan Fly-in this year. Volunteers removed downed trees, cleared and marked hiking trails, mowed around the buildings and part of the runway, cleaned bear boxes, the pilot shelter, cabins, and barn. “We welcomed new volunteers and continue to work hard maintaining the field. We are as eager as everyone for the grass to take good hold so the runway can open again,” Administrative Director Tricia McKenna said. Submitted June 30, 2026

MAGEE, ID FLOOD MITIGATION ASSESSMENT BEGINS

June 26, 2026
RAF President Bill McGlynn met in mid-June with the US Forest Service, Idaho Dept of Aeronautics, and Idaho Aviation Association to evaluate steps to improve Magee (S77) airstrip, 23 nm east of Coeur d’Alene. On the way, Bill picked up Joe Sober, one of two airport engineers from Oklahoma City who have volunteered their professional services and have been instrumental in creating maintenance and remediation plans on Idaho backcountry airstrips. “The Forest Service engineering teams have too much on their plate just addressing roads, so having this resource to make airstrip engineering assessments and plans is instrumental to resolving challenges on USFS airstrips like Magee,” McGlynn said. The improvement project at Magee has been organized through a Cost Share Agreement that the RAF has with the USFS. McGlynn, Sober, Willy Acton of the Idaho Airstrip Network, along with USFS District Ranger Holly Hampton, Don Macintosh of IAA, Dan Conner of Idaho Aeronautics, and RAF Idaho Ambassador George Weaver investigated the sources of flooding that plague Magee airstrip every spring and analyzed means of redirecting the problematic water. Magee airstrip was created in the 1940s by the Corps of Engineers as a hidden fighter base in case of a Japanese attack on the western US coast. A dike that was built to channel water away from the runway has eroded over the past eighty years. Sober took numerous measurements and will develop a plan to submit to the USFS for approval. Work could begin over the next year or two to recover about 700 feet of runway. “We truly could not do this work without our volunteer engineers and are very fortunate to have their expertise,” McGlynn said. Weaver said, “The airstrip is a real gem, and the restoration work will make it a great backcountry destination.” Submitted June 28, 2026

TEAMWORK GETS THINGS DONE AT HISTORIC MEDICINE BOW, WYOMING

June 26, 2026
“It was really nice to spend some time with Wyoming folks cleaning up a little piece of history,” RAF WY/UT Ambassador Karen Larson said of the May 30 work party at Medicine Bow airport, on the historic US airmail route. RAF Wyoming Liaison Joe Feiler organized the work and reports that about 15 people with a wide range of backgrounds arrived at 9 am to help. Attendees included RAF supporters, EAA Chapter 420 members, local residents, as well as Lee Cook, Medicine Bow airport board member and town council member.