Dan Prill

Dan Prill of Sand Coulee, Montana, has interests as varied as the snacks aisle at your supermarket. From flying his Cessna 185 off his own airfield, to the slower pace of trolling for fish in his kayak. For many summers, Dan and his wife Margie flew their SuperCub on floats to his family’s rustic fly-in…

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ANNUAL MAINTENANCE COMPLETED AT MONTANA’S MEADOW CREEK

Each year, the Montana Pilots Association coordinates a work party with the US Forest Service at Meadow Creek airstrip, 0S1 above the South Fork of the Flathead River along the Bob Marshall Wilderness. MPA volunteers, MT Aeronautics staff, the occasional state aircraft and RAF volunteers mow the airstrip, tie-down and camping area, clean the R.T.…

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MOWER RELAY ENDS SUCCESSFULLY AT NORTH FOX ISLAND

When former RAF Director and pilot Peter Burwell learned that it was taking twelve hours to mow the turf field at Michigan’s North Fox Island, he began the search for a suitable John Deere mower. Burwell, CEO of C&B Operations, a network of John Deere dealerships throughout the Midwest, located a mower in Luverne, MN,…

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WORTH THE READ: MIKE TODD GUEST EDITORIAL

Our many RAF supporters have such vast and varied experience, and we’re capturing some of their words of wisdom to share with you. This month’s guest editorial is from Mike Todd, a career pilot and longtime RAF Supporter. You might think that it would get old and stale, this flying thing. Modern avionics make navigation accurate…

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COOPERATION ON HELL’S CANYON AIRSTRIP MAINTENANCE

RAF Oregon Liaison Bill Ables reports that April 22 brought perfect weather and 16 aircraft from Washington, Idaho, and Oregon into Hells Canyon to help with an annual Canyon airstrips volunteer work party.   Everyone arrived at Dug Bar, OR8. “We enjoyed the heat of a campfire for a short time while we introduced ourselves around the group of…

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MAINTENANCE AT OWYHEE RESERVOIR AIRSTRIP

Owyhee, 28U is an 1,840-ft dirt airstrip along the west side of the Owyhee Reservoir in Eastern Oregon, where the crappie and bass fishing is said to be “pretty darn good” according to RAF Oregon Liaison Bill Ables. (You’ll need an Oregon angling license.) “The airstrip boasts the Owyhee Hilton cabin for folks to overnight…

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WORTH THE READ: JIM HANSON GUEST EDITORIAL

Our many RAF supporters have such vast and varied experience, and we’re capturing some of their words of wisdom to share with you. This month’s guest editorial is from Jim Hanson, a career aviator and longtime RAF Supporter. The RAF Turns 20: There is so much to be proud of on this 20th anniversary of the…

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WORTH THE READ: JOE BROWN GUEST EDITORIAL

Our many RAF supporters have such vast and varied experience, and we’re capturing some of their words of wisdom to share with you. This month’s guest editorial is from Joe Brown, the Chairman of Hartzell Propeller. An RAF Flatlander Reflects on Good Fortune: Eight years ago I was standing in a stranger’s crowded living room in…

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HOW MONTANA PILOTS AND RAF RESTORED SIX BREAKS AIRSTRIPS

Thanks to a group of Montana pilots and RAF volunteers, you can fly into about half a million acres that is much as it was when Lewis and Clark first described it on their trip through Montana in 1805. From Ft. Benton, MT, to St. Louis, MO, the “Missouri Breaks” are the last significant chunk of ground whose face hasn’t…

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RAF AND FOREST SERVICE PLAN ONGOING PROJECTS

On April 4, the RAF met virtually with U.S. Forest Service staff representing seven of the USFS’s nine Regions, and Washington, D.C. The meeting was facilitated by Scott Haas, Acting Dispersed Recreation Program Manager, and regularly District Ranger at Clear Creek, Colorado.  The USFS representatives outlined the airstrip projects and challenges in their regions. A…

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