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Herren-Bess Hollow airport, LL77 at Kamaroo Farms is as interesting a place as its name. Located near Kampsville, IL, the airfield has hiking trails, fishing ponds, and a “gold mine” for kids to explore. Exotic farm animals such as camels, kangaroos ostriches, and emus make this a family friendly destination. You can camp under an old walnut tree and soon…

The number of backcountry accidents (13 in Idaho so far), a fatality, and near disaster at Smiley Creek has put all the pilot organizations on high alert this summer. The RAF has been a charter member of the AOPA – Air Safety Institute led Backcountry Safety Coalition since it began, and we are all feeling…

We’ll be at AirVenture again this July, and hope to see you throughout the week! Join us on Tuesday, July 23 from 9 am-11 am on Hartzell’s rooftop (#296) for coffee and Manderfield’s gourmet donuts. Enjoy sharing the love of aviation with folks from all over the country during this popular standing-room only event! Throughout…

The conversation was as lively as June’s dynamic weather for the June 28-30 Fly-in this year at Ryan Field near West Glacier, Montana, especially when RAF Director Tim Riley landed and parked the spectacular RAF-branded Husky in front of the barn. Matt Hoefeldt from Aviat had arranged for this special aircraft to make an appearance…

Nearly 40 volunteers pitched in for what RAF Director Jeff Russell called, “A very successful RAF work party,” in early June at Gillette’s Lakewood Lodge, 14WS in northern Wisconsin. “One small measure of this success was the turnout of so many volunteers willing to roll up their sleeves and dig in to help. Attendance was more than…

The RAF congratulates and welcomes friend and active GA pilot Mike Ginter as he takes on leadership of AOPA’s Air Safety Institute. Mr. Ginter earned his private pilot certificate at 18. He continued flying GA aircraft, including owning a T-6 Texan. Ginter then served in the U.S. Navy as an aviator with more than 5,300 flight hours and 555 carrier landings.…

Improvements at two Connecticut airfields, Goodspeed, 42B near East Haddam, and Waterbury, N41 near Plymouth have been funded by RAF grants, thanks to RAF Connecticut Liaison Brian Thomas. At Goodspeed, Thomas has lined up volunteers, and will use the grant to purchase materials for four 10-ft x 10-ft tent platforms to establish a desirable camping…

In today’s “watch me” world, and the bombardment of colorful imagery, it’s sometimes difficult to discover who the RAF is, and how we do things. Mostly because we always try to shine the spotlight outward as opposed to inward. Naturally, the RAF does utilize social media to get our message out, and to tell stories…

Fourth-generation pilot, aircraft broker, and builder Clay Simmons sits on the RAF’s new Backcountry Etiquette Team. The group formed out of concern for the growing impact of increased backcountry activity by a variety of users. On the RAF podcast hosted by RAF President Bill McGlynn, Clay explains experiencing Idaho’s backcountry as a very young passenger. When his dad survived a serious airplane…