Posts by Carmine Mowbray

Volunteers celebrated the RAF’s twentieth anniversary November 10-12 at Florida’s Blackwater Airfield with a party in the RAF style – a work party! The group included RAF Florida Liaison Bobby Capozzi and his wife Kim, who serves as an RAF VP of Appreciation; as well as RAF Ambassadors Shane Hartman, Lynn Gardner, Cole Pearson and Joe DeLeon. The team…

Please welcome Chip Vignolini, who joins the RAF team as PA and WV Liaison! Chip was born in Fort Myers, Florida, but feels that Western PA is home, since his family settled there when he was ten. His dad served in the Air Force and the family moved around the country quite a bit when…

RAF Arkansas Liaison Harper Goodwin used an RAF grant and the help of Arkansas Liaison Dave Powell and a host of volunteers to build fencing for an observation area at Trigger Gap airfield, 17A. “Sixteen faithful volunteers were on hand for a full day of hard work on November 18. With the good turnout and…

If you were fortunate, you’d have had the chance to meet Frank Borman out at a small airport. Maybe he’d just landed after a bird’s eye view of his ranch near Bighorn, Montana with his son Fred. Frank’s fascination with aviation never wavered, and after his stellar career as an astronaut and airline executive, he…

Washington Island airport, 2P2 is special for a lot of reasons, one of which is that for the last 70 years, the local Lions Club has hosted an annual Whitefish Boil. The well-loved event draws scores of airplanes to land on what RAF Director Jeff Russell calls, “its two generous turf runways that are always in remarkable shape.” Both are a bit over 2,200 feet…

Each month we highlight an airstrip with hopes that you will get out and enjoy these special places. This month, we’re featuring Sacaton, New Mexico. There are plenty of reasons to enjoy recreating at Sacaton Airstrip, NM16 near Buckhorn, New Mexico. The runway lies on a “finger mesa” along the Gila Wilderness, America’s first federally designated wilderness. “It will…

It may be out there, but we don’t know of another organization with such dedicated volunteers. We feel the RAF stands out with its more than 11,000 supporters spread throughout our entire country – six time zones – and functions nearly entirely on volunteer efforts. “Around 150 volunteers are actively working year-round on RAF mission-related…

RAF California Ambassador Jeremy Lezin reports that Las Trancas airstrip (17CL) on a bluff above the Pacific shore north of Monterey Bay “received a much-needed haircut” in early November. He and RAF supporters Barry Porter and Ken Locke-Paddon rented a large Kubota tractor and flail mower to chop down aggressive weeds and bushes surrounding the…

“It was eye opening to witness how completely the Forest Service entrusted the RAF to plan, prepare, and airlift heavy materials into Moose Creek Ranger Station to replace hundreds of feet of fence,” RAF Supporter Tom Jensen said, as he pitched in with other volunteers to help replace jackleg fence at the Idaho USFS airstrip…

The RAF’s Mike Perkins and John McKenna flew into Ryan Field to complete annual seasonal maintenance in preparation for the colder months. All running water is off, but the field and outhouses remain open for hardy campers during this beautiful Autumn season. The RAF thanks each of the many volunteers who helped host and maintain…