News

Click here to read RAF Supporter Rich Schlink’s article about the lessons he’s learned during his career as a Cal Fire Air Tanker Captain/Grumman S2F-3AT Instructor and how they relate to backcountry flying.

“We could not be more impressed with the turnout we had today for the RAF work party at N41 Waterbury Airport,” RAF Connecticut Ambassador Brian Thomas said of the July 29 airfield event. RAF Connecticut Liaison Andrew Lyons, Ambassadors Greg Delp and DJ Nicholson, and members from local EAA chapters accomplished a variety of tasks. “The group of…

RAF California Ambassador Alan Cossitt coordinated a successful work party on June 17 at Gravelly Valley Airport in the Mendocino National Forest. Volunteers helped to drag and smooth the gravel 4,000-ft runway. “A special thanks goes to Frank Aebly, District Ranger, for working with the RAF to make this happen,” Cossitt said. Gravelly Valley Airstrip…

“Since 1926, planes have been rolling on the grass at Waterbury. Through the hard work of many, N41 exists today and has earned its right to be preserved so that future generations of aviators can experience true grassroots aviation,” RAF Connecticut Ambassador Brian Thomas says. In that spirit, Brian applied for, and was awarded an…

The RAF has added a new podcast about flying, airplanes, and how and why people bond with this organization. In podcast #12 you’ll hear host Bill McGlynn’s conversation with our first Alaska Liaison Al Clayton, native of Seward and raised along the famous Copper River. Find out if a glacier really does toss Copper River…

Moose Creek Ranger Station is one of the oldest in the USFS at 102 this year. The short runway (04/24) at the Ranger Station turns 92 this year. The runways were created with heavy equipment brought in piece by piece and reassembled, but once the Wilderness Act was signed in 1964, mechanized equipment was no longer allowed.…

Each year, the Montana Pilots Association coordinates a work party with the US Forest Service at Meadow Creek airstrip, 0S1 above the South Fork of the Flathead River along the Bob Marshall Wilderness. MPA volunteers, MT Aeronautics staff, the occasional state aircraft and RAF volunteers mow the airstrip, tie-down and camping area, clean the R.T.…

The RAF supports the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) to protect and maintain the primitive airstrip adjacent to the historic Rager Ranger Station. Located in the Ochoco National Forest in Central Oregon, the Rager Ranger Station served as the administrative site for the Paulina Ranger District for over 105 years. The administrative functions of the station were…

RAF Washington State Liaison Dave Whitelaw was awarded an RAF grant in April to preserve amenities and increase safety at Avey Field, (O6S) near Laurier, WA. Whitelaw’s intention has been to tend to the field to keep it open. The funds provided for a new windsock, the re-setting of the outhouse on a new vault, and leveling…