The Fildes family enjoys sharing the beauty and solitude of the Ochoco Mountains with visitors. To improve access to their remote ranch, the RAF helped the Fildes to plan and develop an airstrip. The RAF assistance included confirming suitability of the location and airstrip alignment, identifying approach and departure routes, reviewing the Oregon Recreational Use Statute, allaying the ranch’s insurance company’s concerns, developing a pilot’s safety briefing, and preparing the FAA Forms for recording and charting the airstrip.
SUNRISE VALLEY RANCH IN OREGON
Sunrise Valley Ranch is an 11,000 acre working cattle ranch located approximately 40 miles by air, or 85 miles by road, due east of Bend, Oregon. Nestled in a small valley surrounded by the Ochoco Mountains, the ranch is owned by Larry and Susan Fildes. Three generations of their extended family live on the ranch and work alongside Larry and Susan.
The 2,100 x 60-ft dirt airstrip was constructed with local pilot volunteer support and was opened to the public in the spring of 2017.
At an elevation of 4,400 feet, and surrounded on three sides by 6,400-ft mountains, the airstrip can be challenging on hot, windy days. Review of the safety briefing, and due consideration of pilot and aircraft capabilities, is essential before use.
Visitors to the ranch are welcome to camp adjacent to the airstrip, stay in the ranch’s rustic lodge, or just stop in for a delicious family style meal. Local pilots have already made this a favorite destination for weekend breakfast and the dining area is often crowded, so be sure to call ahead. Activities available at the ranch include hiking, horseback riding, and mountain biking, or simply enjoying the peaceful environment.
Contact details:
541-477-3711
Email: sunrisevalleyranch@hotmail.com ;
facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/Sunrise-Valley-Ranch-187822117996190/
Submitted on August 13, 2017.
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At about this time, every year, we have this conversation at the RAF about what our year end letter (code for asking for your financial support) should say to you, and about the RAF and the accomplishments of the past year.
Our many RAF supporters have such vast and varied experience, and we’re capturing some of their words of wisdom to share with you. This guest editorial is by Stef Goza, a pilot and an RAF Alaska liaison.
Bill credits aviation for much of his success in business and the ability to serve his companies and family. What began in a Champ, and a Tri-Pacer owned by five people, turned into what Bill calls, “a key business tool” in which he accumulated 9,000 hours – in a Cheyenne, a Pilatus, and a TBM, where ninety-five percent of his flying was for business. “My retirement enabled me to recall ‘Why I Learned to Fly’, a slogan from an old RAF video.” Bill’s son, Patrick, purchased the C185 they now share. “While attending a business function, some associates arrived in corporate jets. As they joined up on the tarmac, the jet pilots gathered around Patrick’s 185, and one of the passengers asked, ‘What’s special about this?’ No explanation needed for this RAF audience,” Bill says. “My involvement in the RAF is, in a partial way, repaying the rewards aviation has endowed me with. Having been involved in many worthwhile nonprofits, this is one where financial support is only part of the picture. Physically participating in great projects that have a lasting effect, with good people, returns a great personal benefit,” he says. “My only regret is that I wasn’t there at the start.” Bill and his wife Jane are privileged to be able to split time between their long-time home in eastern Nebraska and Scottsdale, Arizona. While still serving on several boards, he enjoys golf “about every third shot,” biking, cars, and reading, but always looks forward to the time he can be involved in the RAF. “It’s flying with a purpose,” he adds. Bill can be reached at bdugan@theraf.org
AR Ambassador
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.
