NO REGRETS

Fellow pilot and RAF board member Tim Riley recommended that I read a book by Bill Perkins entitled Die with Zero. The gist of this book is a self-help reflection guide on “getting all you can from your life and your money”, and doing so at the appropriate times in your life. 



A chapter that was particularly interesting to me was the section on life regrets. One of the top regrets is not pursuing your own dreams in order to live a life others expect of you. It takes courage to resist this tendency. 


So what has this got to do with the RAF? Thirty-five years ago, Trish and I decided that what we wanted to do was fly and camp and see the world from the vantage point of an aircraft. Other pursuits, priorities, and activities had to be set aside as we chose to fly. We have not one single hint of regret about any piece of that choice we made – be it the airplanes we were so fortunate to own, or the money we spent to pursue that dream. Our memory bank account has been filled to the limit with beautiful places and enriching people deposits. 

When it became obvious that something needed to be done to protect these special places and the opportunity for people to continue to enjoy them, the RAF was born. When that question, “If not us, who – and if not now, when?” was asked, Trish and I had little to no hesitation to throw in with the other founders to see what we could do.


Twenty years later, here we are, with thousands of enthusiastic like-minded supporters across the country.


This writing is not about recapping accomplishments, but rather about the joy of life, as well as the no-regret approach. I discovered that if we wait until we all have more time, more money, more talent, we likely would not all be enjoying all the RAF has brought. So I am hopeful you are doing your best to live a life free of regrets and that you and your loved ones are pleased with your decision to be a part of the RAF.

-John McKenna, RAF Chairman

Submitted on April 13, 2023.


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Jake Hampton

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AR Ambassador

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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.