Featured Supporters
Jack and Arlene Alexander
When Jack Alexander’s kids were grown and he decided to satisfy what he admitted was his midlife crisis he learned to fly in 1989. He bought a 1965 Cessna 172 and based it in Plymouth, MA. For recurrent training after his 2015 cataract surgery, his instructor was the tailwheel-endorsed banner-towing Arlene Myers from Cape Cod.…
Read MorePresley Melton
After years of experience flying his Boeing Stearman, Decathlons, an RV8, his award-winning 1943 Howard DGA, and a variety of other aircraft, RAF Ambassador Presley Melton of Arkansas says he has the most fun in his open-cockpit AirCam. Years ago, Presley journeyed out west in his RV8, enjoying Idaho’s groomed turf airfields, but realized he wanted something that he…
Read MoreBritt Lincoln
Aviation runs deep in Lincoln family history. Brittanee grew up on a Montana ranch next to her family’s grass airstrip. She loved exploring the backcountry with her father who taught her to fly. Britt became their fourth generation pilot in 2017, and obtained five ratings within a year. At the age of 38, Britt has…
Read MoreAlaine Olthafer-Lange and Andy Lange
You’ll notice a buzz of youthful activity at A&A Aviation at Platteville Municipal Airport, (KPVB) in southwest Wisconsin. The young couple Alaine Olthafer-Lange and her husband Andy Lange began with a Cherokee for instruction. They expanded into an FBO, adding another aircraft and pilot services. When the airport manager retired, they became airport managers, taking…
Read MoreRichard Greensted
There’s aviation, and then there’s recreational aviation. Pilot Richard Greensted knows both. Beginning at age 14 with his intention to become a commercial pilot, he is fulfilling an aviation career flying for Alaska Airlines, based in Portland, Oregon. He and his family love camping, and his kids have grown up camping at Nehalem Bay State Park in…
Read MoreBogdan Gutowski
So, where does the name “Bogdan” come from? “Poland” is his answer. Bogdan’s parents immigrated to the East Coast when he was a child. “They were farmers in Europe, and came over with the four of us kids, and like many Poles, Dad went to work in the steel mills,” he explained. Bogdan chose the…
Read MoreDuane Francis
This photo is unusual because Duane is standing still. He has rarely been seen standing still since he landed his Cessna 205 at Ryan Airfield in the Spring of 2018, and immediately began helping maintain the place. Duane’s high school job was as a country-western radio DJ, but he saw more of a future in…
Read MorePerry and Sandra Null
Pilot and RAF member Perry Null ignited a multi-generational love of flying, especially exploring the backcountry. He began flying “late in life” and often flew between his home in Gallup, New Mexico and Texas in his Cessna 210, and his Cessna 206. He modified his current craft, a 1976 I/O 550-powered 182 with VG’s and…
Read MoreBill and Yvette Tracy
Most pilots hanker for ever-faster aircraft after attaining their pilot privileges, eager to get from point A to B swiftly. But not RAF members Bill and Yvette Tracy of Elyria, Ohio. “It takes us a week to get to Montana,” he says, obviously preferring that slower pace. “I flight plan for 80 miles an hour,…
Read MoreRay Huot
Ray and his wife load up their 200-hp “Back Country Explorer” and enjoy camping at airstrips in Alaska’s Wrangell-St. Elias National Park. He’s worked on a few of those airstrips, installing vault toilets, windsocks, and making other improvements with the RAF, alongside volunteers from other aviation groups. “[RAF Alaska Liaison] Al Clayton has done a…
Read More