Featured Supporters

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…

To simply call Chuck Jarecki of Polson, Montana, an “RAF Supporter” falls way short of the contributions this pilot and retired rancher has made to the RAF and to general aviation. He was one of those six fellows around the campfire who recognized the need to protect aviation access to the backcountry, and asked, “If…

It’s hard to believe that Ron Normandeau’s aircraft started out as a box of airplane parts. Ron, of Polson, Montana built a beautiful 1947 Aeronca Chief and now enjoys flying his own plane. He began flying in 1962 between junior and senior high school years, and earned his license. Ron’s wife Kathi earned her private…

During the summer of 1964 while on a 3,600-mile Canadian kayak trip, Gordon Rock of Mercer Island, WA learned that he could hire a floatplane to view two falls on the Hay River. “It turned into quite an experience that included landing between the two closely spaced falls. It was that experience that convinced me that I wanted…

“I’ve had a lot of good fortune,” RAF Supporter Bob Rose says of his career path. Rather than be drafted and sent to Vietnam, Bob applied for pilot training in his hometown of Syracuse Air National Guard unit and was selected for a year of active duty at Laughlin AFB in Texas for Undergraduate Pilot…

A breakfast when Kevin Johnson was in high school determined his future as a pilot. “My dad had served in the US Air Force Reserve as load master on the Fairchild C-119 Flying Boxcar, then got his private pilot license when I was five, so we were around flying. But when he flew me to…

There is no idle season for RAF supporter and hard working volunteer Lynn Mareth, now of Bigfork, Montana. If her Super Cub has to wait out the “soggy turf” season at her home airfield of Ferndale, she can be found on the slopes of Whitefish Mountain or out riding one of her horses along the…

RAF supporter Joe Feiler of Casper, Wyoming loads his tools into his Cessna Cardinal and brings his skills where the RAF is making an impact. Joe’s 35-years teaching Career and Technical education included woodworking, carpentry, and welding, and he readily puts his knowledge and experience to work as a volunteer. “I learned Tim Riley was…

From his gyrocopter, a Quicksilver, Rans S-12, a Maule, and now a Bearhawk for the backcountry, and a Piper Dakota 235 for cross country flights, Chet Leach has found a good balance after 46 years of flying as a private pilot. He began flying in 1975 in Lexington, Kentucky, and for the last 16 years…

Chris Arno of Dover-Foxcroft, Maine manages to mix his passion for flying in with his family of six, and the company he owns with his father, Northern Line Construction that builds and maintains utility power lines.  He acted on his long-standing love of flying in Bar Harbor, Maine in May of 2019. “I happened to…