Posts by Lisa Ellington

RAF team showed up in force at Arizona’s Grapevine Airstrip for a weekend of fun, camping, food and friendship. RAF  Board member Alan Metzler and his wife Jill, from PA enjoyed their first camping in the Sanoran Desert landscape along with RAF’s first state liaison, Ron Normandeau and his wife Kathy. Of course AZ Liaison Mark Spencer and roughly 35 other RAF and…

EXPO is the major Light Sport show in the USA and we exhibited at last year’s show to learn if there was much interest in the RAF and recreational airstrip flying from Sport Pilots and those flying under Sport Pilot rules.  Turned out the interest was substantial even though very few folks had heard of the…

Arriving this week in our nation’s Capital were RAF Arizona Liaison Mark Spencer and his wife, Stefanie; and RAF President John McKenna. It’s a working trip, since Congress is getting back to business after the holidays. “It’s important that new members of Congress recognize the value of recreational aviation,” John said. The RAF delegation was especially pleased to…

“How many of you have had your Forest Service District Ranger camp out at your fly-in for two nights, play fiddle, and then serve dinner to your gang?” asks RAF Arizona Liaison Mark Spencer. Grapevine airstrip in Arizona’s Tonto National Forest was the site of the recent backcountry camp-out. About twenty aircraft showed up and enjoyed…

“Everywhere you turn, there are new opportunities for the RAF and Recreational Flying,” said RAF California Liaison Rick Lach after meeting Kirk Hawkins, founder and CEO of ICON Aircraft. (See their website at: http://www.iconaircraft.com) ICON is bringing a new light sport amphibious aircraft to the market.  They received FAA Certification and are producing a movie about the aircraft. They…

RAF president, John McKenna was a guest on Al Watelroo’s radio talk show on Sunday evening. They really had a great time and we want to share the link just in case you missed the show.  Al’s comments were, “What a great show! We had a fabulous time.  You can definitely tell that John is…

RAF Georgia Liaison Eric Davis responded to a recent plea to help airlift close to 1,000 endangered turtles from New England beaches to facilities in Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas. What better way to help these slow-moving creatures get to rehab centers quickly than by Bonanza?  Some GA pilots donate their services transporting dogs from overcrowded shelters to…

Well, maybe not exactly international, but with 25 aircraft, including a brand spanking new Cessna Caravan and 50 plus people, anyone would have wondered what was going on at the USFS Pleasant Valley (24AZ) airstrip this weekend.  When the USFS reached out to the aviation community to ask for volunteers we thought eight to ten volunteers showing up…

Imagine RAF Arkansas State Liaison Dave Myrick’s surprise when RAF President John McKenna dropped in on him for a visit.  Dave joined TEAM RAF in June, 2012, and hit the ground running. That year, while building his Highlander, he managed to volunteer over 150 hours on RAF projects.  By June of 2013, he’d completed his…

The annual Arizona Copperstate Fly In turned out the numbers for backcountry again this year! Ever since the RAF and APA got together for a joint booth and backcountry forums, the excitement over backcountry aviation in Arizona has blossomed. Beginning in 2011 organizers quickly noticed that the backcountry forums drew the crowds with the chairs filling…