Volunteers cut many downed trees and stacked the firewood, weed whacked three camping areas, filled gopher holes, mowed the entire airstrip, and replaced both windsocks. Some cleared downed timber from the trail to the Flathead River gorge. The Montana Pilots Association provided lunch. “Thanks also to Karen Hallenbeck and Montana Aeronautics for their continued support,” Newpower added.
VOLUNTEERS COMPLETE SEASONAL WORK ON MONTANA USFS AIRSTRIPS
RAF Montana Liaison and Montana Pilots Association past president Scott Newpower organizes cooperative annual work parties prior to flying season on the Flathead National Forest Airstrips. He has reported two highly successful gatherings so far.
The Spotted Bear work weekend was June 7-8 and brought 17 people. Volunteers replaced both windsocks, filled gopher holes, rolled the runway, removed small trees from the runway approach, and removed bushes and small trees in the runway environment.
MPA Kalispell hangar president Mitch Fontenot helped organize the work party and lined up Chris Lipp from Big Sky Wings and Rotors to provide lunch. “Thanks also to Matt Lindberg from Montana Aeronautics for their support and help at the work party,” Newpower said.
The following Saturday, volunteers showed their support at Meadow Creek by completing needed maintenance. “This work party had one of the largest turnouts in recent memory. We had nearly 30 people fly in as well as hike in to the airstrip,” Newpower said.
The crew installed new bear box support posts, and new shelves were built under the bear boxes to keep firewood dry. “These shelves were designed and built by Trevert Adkins, son of long-time Meadow Creek visitor and supporter, the late RT Adkins,” Newpower pointed out.
The next Flathead Forest work party will be July 19 at Schafer Meadows in the Great Bear Wilderness. Visitors are reminded to be considerate of other Wilderness users, as the runway lies close to the Middle Fork of the Flathead River, which is very popular for rafting. Please call Newpower for work party details, 406-670-3169; and see the Airfield Guide for information on Schafer Meadows.
Submitted on June 23, 2025.
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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.
