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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“The only people who can change something are the ones who really want to. And not everybody does.” When I read this, it took me back to the early days of the RAF. We saw a troubling trend taking place — the loss of airstrips across the country with no real organized voices to help put the brakes on the decline. And we really wanted to change that. Change demanded new ideas from us. Ideas that we assumed would initially be resisted. This defined our purpose. Good ideas come with the burden of effort and purpose. That separates those with a strong purpose from those without. We wanted to create an organization that would counteract the attrition of backcountry airstrips we saw taking place. We rolled up our sleeves and didn’t look back. Easy to say now that the RAF was lucky, but it was purpose that drove the organization in the early years; that really formed who we are today. A group of people with a purpose who knew we needed more people who thought like we did, and cared; people who took this idea called the RAF and added to it, keeping it unique but effective. We felt that most of the existing business models in the nonprofit space were not what we needed to be, and we pushed forward persistently with our thinking – thinking that required putting our own personal desires aside and pursuing ones that were for a greater good. You joined in. You, too, found purpose in the RAF and now look where we are. Nearly 15,000 of us are making the necessary sacrifices to make our voices heard, to create a better environment for the future of recreational aviation. We have more opportunities today because of you. Each one of us is important to continue the momentum we have gained. To determine what the RAF can do to further our mission to preserve, improve, and create airstrips for recreational access. To prioritize the many opportunities coming our way. It is about us, and what we are going to do with the time we have left on this earth. This organization will hopefully give you purpose now and in the future. Most importantly, I really hope it will give you as much sense of accomplishment as it has me. Thank you for what you continue to do. - John McKenna, RAF Chairman Submitted April 15, 2026
FEATURING: THE RAF DOG COLLECTION MODELED BY JOSIE & MUD Outfit your four-legged co-pilot for every adventure! From airplane rides to backcountry trails, this collection has everything they need to travel in comfort and style. Featuring two new additions—a stainless steel Orvis dog bowl and DawgMuffs—alongside RAF favorites like the collar, leash, and bandana. This collection includes items designed and created by RAF supporters. Shop the Dog Collection here. If you have questions, please email contact@theraf.org or call 406-582-1723. Your RAF Outfitter purchase is greatly appreciated and furthers the mission to preserve, improve, and create airstrips for recreational access. You can support the RAF mission all year by shopping at the RAF Outfitter online store. Products are being added regularly, and items are thoughtfully selected for durability and suitability for pilots, by pilots. We welcome photos of supporters using RAF gear! Please send your images to ewhite@theraf.org , and let us know if we have permission to post them on social media or our website. Submitted April 5, 2026.
Call To Action Volunteer
As you're planning your 2026 flying adventures, remember to review safety briefings for the airstrips you plan to visit. The RAF strongly recommends you review safety briefings and print a copy to have in your airplane - it's even required to fly into some airfields, like Ryan Field (2MT1). For those airfields, pilots flying in are required to review the briefing on an annual basis, and now is the perfect time to catch up on any changes to the runway/area that happened throughout the winter. You can find safety briefings on the RAF Airfield Guide . If an airfield in the Airfield Guide has a required briefing, the airfield listing will clearly indicate it and have a tab to view the briefing. Submitted March 30, 2026 Photo By Jim Stevenson
RAF Texas volunteers and Ranger Airfield Foundation volunteers helped begin restoration of the historic 1928 Ranger Airfield hangar on March 28. “A Wright biplane landed here at the field in 1911, and people have been using it ever since,” Ranger Airfield Foundation Founder Jared Calvert said. He noted that Amelia Earhart landed there in a Pitcairn Auto Gyro. Richard Bach, Pancho Barnes, and General Patton also landed at the field. It’s the oldest continuously used turf field in Texas.
