The Recreational Aviation Foundation preserves, improves, and creates airstrips for recreational access.

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HOW DO I JOIN?

The RAF is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, however, we are not a membership organization. We rely solely on donations to fulfill the RAF mission. To become an RAF supporter, click the Join Now button or click the Donate button in the website menu. To become a volunteer, click the Volunteer button to learn about volunteer opportunities.


Welcome to the RECREATIONAL AVIATION FOUNDATION

The Recreational Aviation Foundation (RAF) was founded by a group of Montana pilots who realized that the threat of recreational airstrip closure was of national concern. They also recognized that there was the need for a unified effort by pilots everywhere to protect public recreational opportunities. The RAF is dedicated to preserving existing airstrips and creating new public-use recreational airstrips throughout the United States.


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Team RAF


Support our work with your tax-deductible donation. The RAF is a 501(c)(3) organization.

GET TO KNOW US


The RAF Way

Ryan Barn, MT

Trigger Gap, AR

The RAF implements its mission through these Guiding Principles:

➢ We believe that aviation is a valid form of accessing recreational resources on public and private lands.


➢ We believe in collaboration with both public and private entities to arrive at solutions that provide benefit to all parties.


➢ We value the relationships of all stakeholders – both public and private – and commit to fostering relationships based upon integrity and transparency.


➢ We believe that creation of new recreational airstrips will encourage the general aviation community to get out and recreate as well as provide more dispersed recreational opportunities.


➢ We prioritize safety - from pre-flight planning to the experiences on the ground where our planes have taken us - and consider it a lifetime commitment, rather than an isolated event.


DID YOU HEAR? RAF supporters will receive a $1,000 discount on the purchase of Hartzell Propeller's Voyager, Pathfinder, Explorer, and Trailblazer propellers through 2025. Read the Press Release!

Latest News

By lellington December 4, 2025
Day job : Airline guy Favorite airstrip: Marble CO Next adventure: Fly the AlCan Highway to AK and back.
By Kodi Myhre December 1, 2025
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. We try to keep the message to the point, not loaded up with things that seem to just blow our horn. At the same time, we want you to know what we have been up to with the support you have given us thus far. To say the RAF has been busy with its nearly all-volunteer crew would be an understatement, but it is the kind of busy that we love here at this organization. The RAF knows one thing for sure. We are on the front lines of preserving, protecting and creating aviation access to special places. If we could listen to each of you around a campfire, across your kitchen table, on the ramp, or in the boardroom, we surely would. What you contribute in the way of monthly and annual dollars gives us the confidence to run the RAF day to day. What you then pitch in to fund special projects has allowed us to do some pretty big things; then there are people who are including us in their legacy, financial, and estate planning. Those legacy dollars give the RAF the confidence to look way over the horizon, something that we tend to believe is important. If you would care to discuss how you can support your favorite project, or strategies pertaining to your giving, please do reach out. So to fulfill our pledge to engage personally if we could, please reach out with your questions or comments. We believe having a direct line to us is more valuable than sending you those pie or bar charts that often appear in these kinds of letters. If you are new to the RAF, perhaps you are not familiar with how we operate. With no formal dues structure, we send this annual one time request for support. For those who know us a little better, you know we only ask once at year end. Finally, for those who are just watching, we truly would like to earn your support. If we could, we would talk to each of you and hopefully through that conversation encourage you to help out. So, support from you is vital to the work we do, and without it we would just have to do less. The less part is not something that we are very good at. We simply try to do work that matters for people who care. With this being the only time of year we ask for your support, we hope you know just how vital this is to the continued future of the RAF Mission. Sincerely, RAF Board of Directors: John McKenna Chairman Bill McGlynn, President Tim Riley, Vice President Mike Perkins, Treasurer Bill Brine Joe Brown Matt Foster Jeff Russell Steve Taylor
By Carmine Mowbray November 26, 2025
Ragmuff Airport lies in the heart of the North Maine Woods on private forest land. It had been closed and disused for decades when RAF Maine Liaisons Andy Rowe and Steve Mason recognized its recreational value. They worked hard with the landowner to get it reopened and charted with the FAA identifier ME26 in 2023. RAF Maine Ambassador Larry Grenier was just awarded an RAF grant to pay for materials for a new picnic table and fire ring that volunteers will install in the spring. “The Bowman Flying Club from B10 – about 100 nm south – is planning a work day to go up with a brush hog and tools to Ragmuff for field maintenance, clearing overgrowth around the runway and camping area,” Grenier said. Rowe says, “The west branch of the Penobscot is just a mile and a half hike and offers good fishing for brook trout and landlocked salmon. Fall is the premier time to be there – colors turn, it becomes bug-free and partridge and fishing seasons overlap.” Ragmuff is listed in the Airfield Guide, with Andy Rowe as the main contact. For more information about the airfield, see the Airfield Guide . Submitted November 26, 2025 By Carmine Mowbray
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Volunteer for the RAF

Did you know…the Recreational Aviation Foundation (RAF) achieves its mission almost entirely through the efforts of volunteers?

It's why you learned to fly

Aviators are hungry for new places to go, where new and memorable adventures await.

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