I am very fortunate to come from a family, generations, of aviators. This is a photo of my grandad, Oliver Walton Simmons, taken in front of his Stearman trainer when he was only 22 years old. While later in life he was far too humble to have considered himself part of “the Greatest Generation”, that is exactly what he was for aviation and more. He flew the B-26 closer to the end of WWII and later privately for business in Georgia. He passed his love of aviation on to all three of his sons: Bill – a naval aviator, Bob – an aerospace engineer; and John (my dad) – a flight medic in the Army. They all did the same for their families and the legacy continues today to its fourth generation with my son Clay.
WORTH THE READ: TODD SIMMONS 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 Todd Simmons, the President of Customer Experience at Cirrus Aircraft, and the Vice President of the RAF.
Give me a sign …
In a world of non-stop stimuli, streaming anything and near limitless ‘information’, it can pay to take a step back from it all to find real direction and guidance in our lives. Those influences often can come from people we are close to, especially when a) we look carefully; and b) their life experiences have shaped them in significant ways.
Let me briefly share with you how three particular folks have been an important part of my life and how the way they lived their lives and their accomplishments have shaped and inspired my thinking about The RAF and our purpose.
Next is my close friend Jeff Smith…on the far right in this photo as we flew the backcountry together at the end of Summer just a few weeks ago. Jeff is instrument-rated, tailwheel, two-time airplane builder (RV and Carbon Cub), EAA chapter vice president; and in addition to all that he’s the most recent director of world’s premier research institution, the Oak Ridge National Laboratory in East TN.
There he led more than 6,000 of the world’s foremost scientists, engineers, researchers, and staff; oversaw the Enterprise Frontier, the world’s first and fastest exascale supercomputer; and two of the world’s most powerful sources of neutrons for research: the High Flux Isotope Reactor and the Spallation Neutron Source…you get the point. Jeff has used these resources and the platform of ORNL to help address some of the most complex national and global challenges that society faces. With breakthroughs in science, medicine, materials, technology – aviation – and more, through his leadership he has empowered and inspired others to pursue and achieve very (very!) big ideas and outcomes.
Third, we all lost a proficient and passionate aviator, tireless flight safety advocate and true RAF supporter with the very untimely and recent loss of Richard McSpadden. Here we are together with friends at Trigger Gap a few years back. A former Commanding Officer of the Thunderbirds and most recently the recognized voice for general aviation flight safety, I was fortunate to know Richard personally, fly the backcountry with him, and call him a mentor.
Through his thoughtful guidance and counsel, five years ago he helped me find the courage, humility, and voice to tell my own accident story….which was then and still is the best therapy I have ever received. I am eternally grateful to Richard for that.
But it’s his own words that paint the picture of someone who so well understood his opportunity to make an impact in aviation. ‘Flying has brought so much to my life and in many ways has been my life. The feeling of gratitude to the many people who’ve boosted me here comes back frequently… in ways that it seems unfair that I was exposed to aviation and given opportunities few have…and I feel a growing urge to give back, cast a wider net and expose more people to this splendid experience that can change the trajectory of a life.’ I know I speak for all of us when I say that the gift of Richard’s contributions to aviation has been ours, that it is actually all of us that have unfairly but so gratefully had him in our lives and that together we shared the sky and a passion for flight.
So what do Oliver, Jeff, and Richard all have in common in the way that they each live or have lived their lives, their commitment to others, and the lasting legacy and impact of their efforts? Summed up simply, each has ‘left flying and aviation better than they found it’ …profoundly so.
And so it is for each of us and our talents, gifts, effort and engagement with The RAF, our commitment to the mission, and our motivation to sustain the culture – culture that I believe can be summed by that same simple phrase that the lives of these three folks represent. I am confident you each know similar folks that challenge, inspire, and motivate – think about them often and the example of their lives when you appreciate the opportunity, privilege, and obligation we have to ‘leave things better than we found them’ through The RAF.
Fly safely,
-Todd
Todd is the President of Customer Experience at Cirrus Aircraft, where he has worked for 15 years. His passion is recreational flying, primarily in his SuperCub, with his wife Melissa, son Clay, and daughters Anna and Cameron. He furthers his passion by serving as the Vice President of the RAF.
Submitted on October 26, 2023
Posted in Guest Editorial, News
Recent Posts
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.
