July 2020 - Recreational Aviation Foundation

2020 SUMMER NEWSLETTER

Wondering what the RAF has accomplished? Your RAF volunteers have been busy working to improve, create and preserve airstrips for recreational access. Our grant program has helped complete projects from Washington State to Vermont. Meet our new State Liaisons, read about Colorado’s Airport of the Year, and get the update on Ryan Field. We are…

YOUR INPUT COULD SAVE A TONGASS FLY-IN CABIN

Alaska’s Tongass National Forest is the largest National Forest in the nation. There are 144 public use cabins in the Forest, accessible by boat, trail, seaplane, and wheeled aircraft. Twenty-six are accessed by flight only, and may be in jeopardy of closure. “These cabins are a true treasure in one of the most beautiful parts…

CREIGHTON ISLAND GETS LIVE WEBCAMS

Georgia RAF Ambassador Eric Davis reports that Creighton Island airfield now has a pair of runway cameras streaming video via separate YouTube channels. At this time, Eric recommends bookmarking this link as the easiest way to tune into the two live webcams: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCvNRmOSzakItdbaHKSZChrw/videos. In order to not overwhelm the resident’s home Internet service, Eric rate-limited the…

GETTIN’ IT DONE AT RED’S

How do you mow the tall spring grass on Red’s Wallowa Horse Ranch airfield in Oregon’s Eagle Cap Wilderness – without the use of motorized equipment? You trail in 20-year-olds Bird and Bat, who team up for the kind of job they know well. With just the right experience, these two mules – with Jim and Holly Akenson…

RYAN FIELD BARN RAISING

Maybe you’ve already seen the gem of an airstrip called Ryan Field near Glacier Park, Montana, and know about the RAF’s vision to “raise the barn.” Thanks to the response from generous donors from across the country, our plans are coming together! When Ben and Agnes “Butchie” Ryan first saw the tamarack, pine and cedar…

RYAN FIELD HAS BEEN DISCOVERED!

Not surprisingly, word about a place as beautiful as Ryan Field gets out. The RAF welcomes visitors with backcountry flying skills appropriate for this special place. RAF volunteers have built rustic amenities that campers are welcome to use. During the construction project now through October, we expect our contractors and volunteers to create extra traffic.…

KATERINA BARILOV

California State Liaison Originally from Russia, Katerina lives and works out of a small airport in Santa Paula in southern California. Along with a team of engineers based in Silicon Valley, she is growing a start-up that is building an electric aircraft that will help first responders get to the scene of an accident in remote areas…

HARPER GOODWIN

Arkansas State Liaison In eighth grade, Harper’s dad gave him a book, How to Become an Airline Pilot, then career day in high school “sealed the deal,” Harper says. “The job was described to me as something like, ‘Fly around the world in fast moving jets with lots of levers, knobs, gauges and important procedures,…

NEW CALIFORNIA LIAISON KATERINA BARILOV

Please welcome Katerina Barilov as a new Liaison for California. Since January, 2019, she had served as an RAF Ambassador. Originally from Russia, Katerina lives and works out of a small airport in Santa Paula in southern California. Along with a team of engineers based in Silicon Valley, she is growing a start-up that is building an electric aircraft that will…

NEW ARKANSAS LIAISON HARPER GOODWIN

In eighth grade, Harper’s dad gave him a book, How to Become an Airline Pilot, then career day in high school “sealed the deal,” Harper says. “The job was described to me as something like, ‘Fly around the world in fast moving jets with lots of levers, knobs, gauges and important procedures, while wearing a cool…