Peyton, a Wisconsin native, grew up with a passion for adventure and fully embraces an active, outdoor lifestyle. With a degree in Marketing, she has established herself in the digital space within the outdoor industry.
WORTH THE READ: PEYTON ARNDT 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 Peyton Arndt, a pilot and volunteer for the RAF’s Social Media Team.
As I delve deeper into the world of aviation, I realize just how unique my introduction to flight has been. Unlike many, I didn’t grow up with my eyes fixed on the sky or obsessing over airplanes. It wasn’t until my early 20’s that I even discovered the world of general aviation. However, my childhood was spent immersed in the outdoors with a love for adventure and exploration, which laid the perfect foundation for what would come later – my introduction to the RAF.
My path to aviation was anything but straightforward. It was long, bumpy, and filled with unexpected turns, but nonetheless it’s brought me here today. Life is full of choices and moments that alter our course, shaping us in ways we can never anticipate. For me, that defining moment came in the remote wilderness of Canada, where a boating accident left me with a traumatic T10 spinal cord injury. In a single, life-shattering instant, everything changed.
I was suddenly at the edge of a life I could no longer recognize, grieving the future I had always imagined. But in the midst of that devastation, I made a choice – to pick up the cards that life had dealt me and play them with everything I had. My recovery led me down unexpected roads, introducing me to people and experiences I never would have otherwise crossed paths with. One of those first encounters was with a pilot who owned an airplane back in my hometown, a meeting that would become a pivotal turning point.
What began as an escape – flying to feel free from the weight of the world on the ground – quickly transformed into something much more profound. Becoming PIC didn’t just give me command of a machine that defied gravity – it reignited a belief in myself to take back control of my own life. The privilege of flight helped me find the courage I once knew that had been hiding out beneath the surface. Although, none of it was easy. I quickly concluded that there was no fixed path for individuals like me, I’d have to carve out my own.
As time turned aviation into a passion, along came the RAF, seamlessly weaving together the different chapters of my life. The organization felt like a rare haven – one where goodness, camaraderie, and purpose still thrived in this world. I immediately felt a deep sense of connection and community within the world of aviation.
With that sense of connection came a deep desire to give back. Aviation had been an unexpected gift in my life, and I’m determined to pay it forward. I’ve started by volunteering my time and marketing skills but aspire to do more. As someone once told me, “One day I would tell my story – how I overcame everything I went through – and it would serve as someone else’s survival guide.” So, that’s exactly what I’ve set out to do.
It has become my personal mission to advocate for those who dream of flying but are uncertain about the unique path it will take to get there. Whether by sharing my own struggles and triumphs or by being a voice for the Able Flight scholarship that gave me the chance to earn my pilot’s license, I am dedicated to making aviation accessible for all. With MOSAIC on the verge of transforming the one-size-fits-all approach to conventional FAA certifications, the opportunities for sport pilots are expanding like never before. I want to show others how they too can build an adapted airplane to fit their needs and achieve what once seemed impossible.
People often say, “The sky is the limit,” but I believe the sky should have no limits. The freedom to soar into remote backcountry places—the heart of the RAF’s mission—should be within reach for anyone bold enough to dream it. It’s the boundless sense of possibility that I hope to share with others, inspiring them to chase their own skies, no matter the adversity.
In 2020, she became an Able Flight scholarship recipient, earning her sport pilot license—an achievement that fueled her passion for aviation and led her to build her own experimental airplane. Outside of work, Peyton enjoys traveling to new destinations and cherishing time with her family and beloved dogs.
Submitted October 20, 2024.
Posted in Guest Editorial, News
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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.
