Posts by Lisa Ellington

The North Fox Island work weekend on June 17-19 was a huge success according to Michigan State Liaison Brad Frederick. Seventeen aircraft brought 24 volunteers who cut brush and trees and mowed grass. RAF president John McKenna and board member Alan Metzler found their niche removing ant hills. George Stevens delivered the port-a-john and assembled…

RAF joins its aviation industry friends to sign FAA Reauthorization Letter. On June 8, a letter was sent to House Speaker Paul Ryan and Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi urging the U.S. House of Representatives to pass the FAA Reauthorization Act.  The letter states that aviation is vital to the U.S. economy, “contributing nearly $2 trillion in…

For pilots flying the Northwest, summer flying season is off to a great start! And the Recreational Aviation Foundation is “open for business” – that is, the serious business of safe and memorable recreation! Maybe you are headed north to Alaska and are looking for great places to land and camp or explore in Montana.…

The Green River Chapter of the Washington Pilots Association and the RAF held their annual work party at Greenwater/Ranger Creek Airport (21W) on Saturday, May 7.  About 40 volunteers and 15 planes showed up to get the airstrip ready to open for the season. They cleared the runway, raked, pulled weeds and tree sprouts, and replaced windsocks. A team assembled…

Team effort between the Recreational Aviation Foundation and the Arizona Pilot’s Association is producing great results! The process of placing the Grapevine airstrip back on the Phoenix sectional, replacing the closed airport symbol that has marked the place of the Grapevine for nearly 20 years has begun! In  my mind, it seems like just last…

​Homesteaded by George Stevens and his Apache bride in 1878, under the Desert Lands Act, the Double Circle Ranch was once one of the largest cattle ranches in the southwest. It’s place between Willow and Eagle creeks at 4,800′ made it a coveted place by not only the ancient pueblo Indians, but by the then…

In its mission to preserve and create airstrips for recreational access, the RAF seeks to provide credible information during public lands management planning. In 2014, the RAF was awarded an AOPA Foundation grant toward the cost of a two-year study to determine if there are noise effects around backcountry airstrips, and if so, how these…

On Saturday March 19th with temperatures lingering in the single digits, Pete Smith, Donald Hartrich, Ralph Rogers  and RAF Director, Alan Metzler, all Montana Pilot’s Association (MPA) members as well as members of the Recreational Aviation Foundation (RAF) ventured out to the Cow Creek airstrip north of the Missouri River along the Cow Creek drainage…

Great Florida weather and two great aviation organizations came together for a delightful three-day weekend at Melrose Landing (FD22) at the end of January.  Florida Sport Aviation, Antique, and Classic Association (FSAACA) and the RAF co-hosted. No ice, no snow, no grey skies, just lots of camaraderie among the families from 40-plus aircraft and ten RVs. …

December isn’t typically the ideal time for a work party in Montana, but RAF’s BLM Liaison Pete Smith and some intrepid volunteers decided it was for this project. Motor vehicles had left deep ruts on Cow Creek airstrip within scenic Missouri River Breaks country. A fence was needed to restrict abuse. Working between rainstorms to land and bring in…