MAINE AIRSTRIP BENEFITS FROM RAF-FACILITATED NATIONAL GUARD WORK
Pilot Ken “Cowboy” Winiarski owns Cowboys Air Ranch, 84ME in Maine’s “Sunrise” Washington County — the easternmost point where the sun first rises on the nation. The airfield and camping facilities are open for public use, but the runway, at 1,500 feet long, is not suitable for a wide range of GA use.
To make the facility more accessible for a more diverse array of aircraft, and to be available for community service like firefighting and medical evacuations, it needed to be graded and lengthened.
RAF Maine Liaison Andy Rowe was aware of the National Guard’s Innovative Readiness Training program, in which Guard civil engineers obtain real-life experience to prepare them for scenarios where similar skills and work are needed, while providing benefit to community infrastructure, construction, and improvements.
Rowe was able to secure the 185th Engineering Support Company of the Maine Army National Guard to undertake grounds preparation through application by the nonprofit RAF. In June of 2025, this round of work was undertaken to lengthen and level the runway. The National Guard engineers brought equipment from their base in Presque Isle and moved and graded 13,500 cubic yards of earth over a 100-ft wide by 1,200-ft long section of the airfield. “Cowboy’s Air Ranch is a wonderful training opportunity for the reservists,” Rowe said. After their work is completed, Winiarski will gather RAF volunteers to help seed and prepare the anticipated 3,000-ft long runway. The RAF will announce its completion, planned for 2026.
“The work facilitated by the RAF to maintain, build, and keep open these remote airfields is so valuable to everyone in aviation,” Winiarski said, as he regarded the work on the turf airfield.
Submitted on July 18, 2025.