Posts by Lisa Ellington

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…

Volunteers from the RAF and Arizona Pilots Assoc. rolled up their sleeves this fall and worked into the nights to reclaim beautiful Grapevine Airstrip, located on the Tonto National Forest, just 1,400 feet from the shores of Roosevelt Lake.  Thanks to their hard work and financial support; and special contributions from Crafco, Inc, and Otto Trucking,…

The Recreational Aviation Foundation (RAF) has been working for several years to re-open North Fox Island airstrip, located on a state-owned 820-acre island in Lake Michigan. Many volunteer man hours have gone into preparation and negotiations in order to reclaim and return the airstrip to a safe condition. North Fox Island is approximately 27 miles northwest of…

What do you do when flying to great recreational destinations is just not enough?  For some the answer is to pick up a camera and capture those moments and views to share with others.  Yesterday, we lost a grand master of aviation photography Jim Wark.For over 20 years Jim provided a view of our country from…

Thanks to an abundance of willing labor, the old Double Circle Lodge in the US Forest Service Apache Sitgreaves​ Clifton District got a new porch roof May 8-10. The USFS and local support has made the Recreational Aviation Foundation’s efforts possible at the old Double Circle, and RAF’s work on the national scene helped grease…