Featured Supporters

For a fellow who’s flown every sort of aircraft, and has landed all over the world with the late Hall of Famer, Buzz Kaplan, Mr. Jim Hanson of Minnesota still finds complete joy in flying low and slow, and sharing the joy with others. He loves flying his Lake Amphibian among what he claims are…

When Jerry Wilke believes in an organization, he invests his heart, his soul, and leans his shoulder in. He observes, finds the best fit for his experience, and has come away from his 35-year career with Harley Davidson with a mastery of what motivates people to seek and find fulfillment in a sport, a product,…

A few moments with Tom Jensen of Evergreen Sky Ranch, 51WA near Auburn, Washington, and you learn he’s had a vast amount of aviation, aeronautical, volunteer, and life experience. “I caught the aviation ‘disease’ very early. I was hand cranking a Navy N3N open cockpit biplane. You put the crank through the side of the…

When you meet Bob and Judy Gillette, it’s easy to imagine them sailing their traditional two masted teak ketch off the California coast, or tooling around the Midwest countryside in one of their vintage wire-wheeled Jaguars. Visitors have enjoyed Gillette’s warm hospitality after landing on their 2,400-ft turf airfield at Lakewood Lodge in northern Wisconsin,…

John Sowles of North Yarmouth, Maine has been fascinated with both powered and non-powered aviation since youth. His dad was a Naval aviator in WWII, and the interest rubbed off on John. He joined the Pittsburgh Soaring Club during college and solo’d. He earned his private pilot license, and to fulfill his penchant for old…

These two Montanans were raised in the little timbered town of Trout Creek, along the Clark’s Fork of the Columbia River as it heads northwest to Lake Pend Oreille in north Idaho. Their families were in the logging business, where Becki “Pete” and Dan picked up their work ethic and resourcefulness. Dan absorbed an acute…

To say Margie Prill is husband (and RAF co-founder) Dan’s “backup” is true, but it only tells part of the story. “We hosted a burger barbecue in our hangar in Sand Coulee way back in about 2002. More than a dozen folks came, and the topic was backcountry recreational flying, and building interest in preserving…

Joyce Woods simply and wholeheartedly “gets it” when it comes to the RAF mission. Not only does she get it, she loves to work with people to make a difference in aviation. “I’m a facilitator. I work behind-the-scenes, pressing for clear action plans and follow through.”   Maybe her career in chemical manufacturing prepared her.…

Bill McGlynn was raised in Butte, Montana, and was so intent to learn to fly that he joined the Civil Air Patrol at Bert Mooney Field. But CAP activities were all about marching, not flying, so he jumped at the chance when a local pilot offered a ride. He loaded three kids in a Cessna…