Lynn has her private pilot rating with ASEL, ASES, instrument rating, high performance, complex, and tailwheel endorsements. She enjoys flying her Super Cub “54-Pop” equipped with 31” Bushwheels around the backcountry of Montana during the summer/fall, and switches to smaller tires and hydraulic wheel skis during the winter and spring months in Montana. She currently serves as an RAF Ambassador and the leader of the RAF’s Backcountry Etiquette Team.
WORTH THE READ: LYNN MARETH GUEST EDITORIAL
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 month’s guest editorial is by Lynn Mareth, an RAF Ambassador and leader of the Backcountry Etiquette Team.
Spring is in the air here in northwest Montana. The swallows have returned to our place and are making lazy figure eights through the air as they swoop over the river in search of a tasty meal. I just finished a lovely flight in my Super Cub along the jagged snow-capped peaks that border our now lush green valley. As I descended over the Middle Fork of the Flathead River near Hungry Horse, I marveled at the roiling waters of the spring runoff and how they elegantly joined a long thread of emerald green waters at its confluence with the South Fork. It’s a sure sign that spring is here and that summer is on its way.
With the summer flying season right around the corner, our RAF Backcountry Etiquette Team has been quietly working in the background on initiatives that promote responsible aviation in the backcountry. Our goal is to help educate and mentor newer pilots and remind seasoned pilots to respect and protect our special places to ensure these airstrips will remain accessible for future generations to enjoy.
When I first envisioned promoting backcountry etiquette within the RAF in the fall of 2023, I wasn’t sure where it would lead, or if it really aligned with the RAF’s mission. The McKennas suggested that we share the idea with supporters during the next regional educational conferences. The consensus was that the RAF should pursue the initiative as it does align with the RAF’s mission to preserve airstrips. Next, we assembled a diverse team of pilots who are passionate about what we are trying to accomplish. The team has been collaborating on a lot of great ideas that we have started to implement, and I am hopeful that our message is well received.
I’m always in awe of the caliber of people we have supporting the RAF. Many of these volunteers willingly provide all three T’s of philanthropy: their Time, Talent and Treasure. It is very rare to have so many volunteers like this in an organization as they continue to work tirelessly in support of the RAF’s mission throughout the year. Sometimes I feel insignificant with what I do in support of the RAF, but I know that even my small contributions are an essential cog in the wheel that keeps us moving forward like the annual cycle of the changing seasons.
Aristotle once said, “The whole is greater than the sum of its parts,” which makes me believe that it is the combined interaction of our RAF family that makes this organization so special, and one that I’m truly grateful to be a part of.
Submitted May 23, 2025
Posted in Guest Editorial
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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.
