Archive for May 2019
ANDY ROWE
Maine State Liaison I may be the slowest learner in aviation history as I first soloed in 1963, but did not get my private license until last summer….2010! I followed up with a seaplane rating a month or so later and am presently working on an instrument rating. I’ve owned 2 aircraft, a Champ (in…
Read MoreJEFF SMITH
Kentucky State Liaison Jeffrey grew up in rural New Jersey near the Delaware Water Gap. His father exposed him to flying at 15 with an introduction to Ernie ‘Pete’ Billows at Trinca Airport in Northern New Jersey. Jeffrey soloed on his 16th birthday in a J-3 Cub on skis, landing in a cornfield. “After a…
Read MoreMIKE PURPURA
Illinois State Liaison After his enlistment in the Navy, Mike earned a degree in Environmental Science and went on to start a brokerage in Eastern Oregon specializing in agricultural land and ranches. Hiring local pilots to ferry him and his clients around large ranch properties, proved to be expensive and complicated. He decided to buy…
Read MoreMANY POSITIVE CONNECTIONS MADE – MIDWEST RAF MINI EDUCATION CONFERENCE
The first of three RAF mini educational conferences (RMECs) took place May 17-19 at Thaden Field (VBT) in Bentonville, Arkansas. RAF members and spouses from 12 states participated in part or all of the event. Arkansas Liaison Dave Powell had arranged for the group to meet in beautiful Thaden Fieldhouse overlooking the parklike runway environment and several attendees flew…
Read MoreCAL SCHOLTEN
Tennessee Ambassador
Read MoreOREGON PILOTS MAKE PLANS OVER BREAKFAST
Oregon RAF members got together on Mother’s Day to catch up and plan for the future. Twelve supporters in nine airplanes flew from Central and Eastern Oregon into Sunrise Valley Ranch (29OR) on a beautiful spring morning. Attendees enjoyed a hearty breakfast prepared for them by Chef Becky. After breakfast we discussed our efforts to maintain a…
Read MoreFormer Senator Carmine Mowbray
RAF Featured Supporter Carmine Mowbray If there was ever an individual who epitomizes volunteerism for the RAF, it’s Carmine Mowbray, from Polson, Montana and St. George, Utah. She volunteered to publish RAF Newsletters, worked on the pilot shelter at Ryan Field, swung a Pulaski cutting sagebrush at a Missouri Breaks airstrip, and staffed the RAF…
Read MoreA Very Special Passenger
I’ve been flying throughout MT with my father since my earliest memories as a child and have been flying throughout the state and elsewhere since I was 17. Like all aviator fathers, I search out opportunities to share that passion with my kids. This weekend for me posed the most fortunate opportunity to collage an…
Read MoreJo Schumacher
The RAF can’t say enough about Jo Schumacher and all she does for the organization. “Jo works her fanny off at Sullivan Lake, Sun ‘n Fun and other events, helping “man” the booths, cooking for RAF crews, cleaning, and organizing,” says RAF’s Tricia McKenna. “She is just a great cheerleader, supporter, and hard worker. And…
Read MoreBen Ryan
I was born in Belleflower, California in 1923. My father was an oilfield worker and wildcatter. Mother graduated from college at age seventeen with an engineering degree from Penn State University. Teaching was her first career but much later, she went into the contracting business. At one time was the only woman in California to…
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