VOLUNTEERS WORK TOWARD REOPENING FLYING M RANCH AIRSTRIP

RAF Nevada Liaison Julian Pridmore-Brown has been working with Nevada State Parks to make improvements to reopen the historic Flying M Ranch airstrip in western Nevada, 18 nm west of Hawthorne. The famous ranch was owned by hotel magnate Barron Hilton, who turned the property over to the State of Nevada on his passing. Hilton, widely acknowledged as an accomplished pilot himself, hosted guests from around the world at the ranch, including many famous pilots and astronauts. The ranch is well known in the glider community for the Hilton Cup, a multi-day competition bringing glider pilots from every continent, and thousands of spectators.


Pridmore-Brown organized a work party for the February 7-8 weekend as part of an America 250 event supporting the surrounding Walker River State Recreation Area. “This weekend was a huge success on several fronts,” Pridmore-Brown said. About 32 RAF supporters and a dozen additional volunteers from Nevada, and from as far away as California and Oregon, helped. Several of the Park’s top management were on hand working side by side with volunteers, pounding posts in rocky soil and stringing barbed wire nearly 3,700 feet around the crosswind dirt runway. They cleared brush from a nearby fishing pond using a dump trailer supplied by an RAF volunteer. “The State Park folks are very committed to this project and it was clearly evident,” Pridmore-Brown reported on his visit to the project site earlier. Three semi trucks of supplies had been brought in, and he said about 15 people were on site getting things prepped, and installing the fence corners. 

The volunteers were given special permission to land and were given access to the main house. “Nevada Parks were outstanding hosts, providing lunch and making hand tools available,” Pridmore-Brown said. “Thanks to the hard work of volunteers and strong support from Nevada State Parks, the fence is nearly complete. Park staff expect to finish the remaining section quickly. There is clear momentum from leadership to open the airstrip to limited public use later this year,” he added.


The airstrip remains closed for now, so watch for future updates.


Submitted February 13, 2026

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By lellington • 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 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 re-directing the problematic water. Magee airstrip was created in the 1940s by the Corp of Engineers as a hidden fighter base in case of Japanese attack on the western US coast. A dike that was built to channel water away from the runway has eroded over the 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.”

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.

STEVE JONES

By lellington • June 25, 2026
Steve Jones was born and raised in Columbus, Ohio just an hour from the birthplace of aviation. He fell in love with airplanes at an early age and has been flying ever since. That passion grew exponentially when he landed off-airport in a tailwheel airplane for the first time and discovered the world of backcountry aviation. He first encountered the RAF while attending a “Peaks to Pavement” seminar in 2019, where he met Ohio State Liaison Christine Mortine. Since that time he has enjoyed supporting the RAF including getting his hands dirty helping with campsite improvements at Noble County Airport. He has also supported technology projects for the HQ team and RAF volunteers. As a State Liaison for Ohio he will be focused on initiating new grant projects, adding more recreational airports in Ohio to the RAF Airfield Guide, and increasing RAF engagement and collaboration. Steve is a graduate of The Ohio State University with a BA in Aviation Management and is a loyal Ohio State Buckeyes football fan. He works in Flight Operations for a large private aviation company where he has worked for the past twenty years. He resides in Pickerington, Ohio with his wife Kasey who is also an aviation enthusiast. Steve can be reached at sjones@theraf.org (614) 353-8895 

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By lellington • June 25, 2026
Joining RAF Ohio Liaison Christine Mortine is Steve Jones, who is stepping into a Liaison role from having volunteered on RAF technology projects. Raised in Columbus, Ohio just an hour from the birthplace of aviation, Steve fell in love with airplanes at an early age. That passion grew exponentially when he discovered the world of backcountry aviation. He first encountered the RAF while attending a “Peaks to Pavement” seminar in 2019, where he met Christine. Since then, he has enjoyed supporting the RAF by helping on campsite improvements at Noble County Airport. As a new Ohio Liaison, he will focus on initiating new grant projects, adding more recreational airports in Ohio to the RAF Airfield Guide, and increasing RAF engagement and collaboration. Steve is a graduate of Ohio State University with a BA in Aviation Management and is a loyal Ohio State Buckeyes football fan. For the last twenty years, he has worked in Flight Operations for a large private aviation company. He resides in Pickerington, Ohio with his wife Kasey who is also an aviation enthusiast. Steve can be reached at sjones@theraf.org

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