Ron learned to fly through an Air Force aero club, and in 1984 at the age of 27, he earned his private certificate. He has been involved with the New Mexico Airstrip Network (NMAN) since its beginning. He belongs to RAF, NMPA, USPA, IAA, AOPA, and EAA. He retired from his FAA career in electronics and has served as the Aviation Safety and Education Administrator for New Mexico Aviation Division.
WORTH THE READ: RON KELLER 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 Ron Keller, the RAF’s New Mexico Liaison.
My interest in aviation started as a child on our small farm in Ohio. When I saw an airplane fly overhead, I always wondered what the world looked like from up there. My first introduction to aviation was during my enlistment in the US Air Force, as an aircraft instrument systems specialist, maintaining fixed and rotary-wing aircraft at Kirtland AFB in Albuquerque. After my enlistment, I continued the profession at Kirtland, then designed, constructed and maintained electrical systems on Cockpit Procedure Trainers for the same group.
But I missed working on real aircraft, so I obtained a full-time position with the NM Air National Guard and maintained electrical and avionics systems on several aircraft, including F-16s. As really good luck would have it, the FAA needed experienced electronics technicians, and I was hired as a radar technician at Albuquerque ATCT. After 9/11, I was promoted to maintenance coordinator for radar, ILS, VOR, and communications. I retired from federal civil service in 2011. For the next three years I served as aviation safety and education administrator for the NM Aviation Division, until my wife retired.
My father-in-law was a CFII, so I started flying lessons through the Air Force Aero Club in Albuquerque and earned my private pilot certificate in 1984. He helped me select my first airplane, a 1955 Cessna 170B, and he checked me out for my tailwheel endorsement.
Soon, I started landing at a backcountry airstrip next to property my in-laws owned. When the New Mexico Pilots Association formed a backcountry group in 2010, I volunteered to help former RAF NM Liaison Larry Filener, and met the RAF. We teamed up with many dedicated volunteers to begin improving Negrito, a USFS airstrip. The District Ranger was pro-aviation and allowed us to get to work. Because we were able to prove our worth as a volunteer team with a strong RAF-NMPA partnership, we were allowed to continue making improvements and having fly-ins. In 2014 we formed the New Mexico Airstrip Network, 13 partners who support recreational aviation opportunities. The RAF is a highly valued partner.
In 2016 I was asked to become an RAF Liaison. I was relieved that most of the duties were tasks I’d already been doing for several years. My wife Mary Ann was so impressed with the RAF way of doing things, she supported me becoming a Liaison as a great way for me to “give back” to aviation.
As Liaison, I work with private landowners, the State of New Mexico, US Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management, and local governments. There are challenges common to each agency. The turnover rate among key personnel is substantial. This makes it necessary to make new introductions and establish good working relationships.
Airstrip maintenance is a “dirty job,” so I bought a tractor, mower, disc, and seeder. A great pilot friend donated a box blade. A custom drag was also added to the list. Mowing, dragging, and replacing windsocks was accomplished, and many rewarding projects followed, such as installing an accessible vault toilet at Negrito. In 2020 we received permission from the USFS to rehabilitate Rainy Mesa, an airstrip that had been dormant for over 40 years. Small trees had to be cleared, and we really worked the tractor, blade and drag. Several work parties later, and with a dedicated core of volunteers, Rainy Mesa was registered and reopened.
In 2022, after the RAF/Gila NF Challenge Cost Share agreement was signed, we rehabilitated Sacaton airstrip after four decades of dormancy. A good pilot friend and I put our tractors and blades to work, along with another great crew. It was registered and charted and is a gem of a location just outside a wilderness boundary. Before the delivery of the new vault toilet, I drove the route and measured 11 cattle guards to ensure the semi-truck and trailer could fit through them all.
Being an RAF Liaison is challenging sometimes, but always rewarding. I particularly enjoy overseeing a project from start to finish like the rehabilitation and reopening of airstrips. I also cherish the solitude available when I am mowing all six USFS-managed airstrips on the Gila National Forest. No matter how big an airstrip project may be, it is the satisfaction of knowing it will make a difference for generations to come.
In closing, I obviously enjoy flying in the backcountry. Also, very rewarding are the opportunities to make a difference in “preserving, improving, and creating airstrips for recreational access.”
Submitted April 29, 2025
Posted in Guest Editorial
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You’d have a hard time finding a more beautiful place to fly than Driggs-Reed Memorial Airport (KDIJ). The Grand Teton, Big Hole, and Snake River mountain ranges surround this eastern Idaho valley. Driggs has become a world-class destination for the pilot community. National Geographic magazine listed Driggs as “one of the ten best outdoor recreation destinations in the U.S.” Just a 45-minute drive over Teton Pass is Jackson, Wyoming, a famous Western destination. The airport, at an elevation of 6,257, accommodates aircraft on both its 7,300-ft paved runway and 3,000-ft turf landing area, marked with cones. Note: The SW 3,451 feet of the paved runway is closed until August for reconstruction. Check NOTAMS before landing. Fly-in visitors are welcome to camp underwing at its grassy tie-down area. It’s an ideal gateway to the Idaho backcountry. Enjoy views of the nearby Teton Range from the 12' x 16' cedar pilot shelter. There is potable water, a toilet, power, a gas barbecue, and a charging station nearby. Within walking distance of the campground is the Forage restaurant. A bike shed and loaner bikes, provided by the Idaho Aviation Association Borrow-A-Bike program, are available to ride into town. If you desire a more urban experience or wish to explore further, the airport has rental cars. “It’s a great destination for the pilot community, with access to hiking, biking, fishing, floating, golf and a small town with numerous shops and restaurants,” RAF Director and Driggs resident Tim Riley says. He and a local RAF supporter recently completed a spring cleanup to ready it for the season. The amenities were provided cooperatively through the RAF, the Idaho Aviation Association (IAA), the City of Driggs, and its Airport Board, with financial contributions from each. For more information on Driggs, see the Airfield Guide . Submitted July 1, 2026 By Carmine Mowbray
It’s bear grass season around West Glacier, Montana, and nearly a score of volunteers from three different states drove in to Ryan Field June 12-13 to complete seasonal maintenance, and enjoyed spotting the showy blooms throughout the woods. Bear scat was also seen in several places – a reminder that a clean camp protects both campers and wildlife. The airfield remains closed until the new runway grass has stabilized for landing, so watch the Airfield Guide for an announcement that the field has re-opened. As a result, there was no annual Ryan Fly-in this year. Volunteers removed downed trees, cleared and marked hiking trails, mowed around the buildings and part of the runway, cleaned bear boxes, the pilot shelter, cabins, and barn. “We welcomed new volunteers and continue to work hard maintaining the field. We are as eager as everyone for the grass to take good hold so the runway can open again,” Administrative Director Tricia McKenna said. Submitted June 30, 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 that 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 redirecting the problematic water. Magee airstrip was created in the 1940s by the Corps of Engineers as a hidden fighter base in case of a Japanese attack on the western US coast. A dike that was built to channel water away from the runway has eroded over the past 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.” Submitted June 28, 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.
