News

RAF Southeast Alaska Liaison Jeff DeFreest has motivated volunteers to help preserve some of the 140 US Forest Service cabins in the vast Tongass National Forest. Some are in jeopardy of closure due to perceived lack of use. “RAF volunteers delivered our USFS approved RAF informational letters throughout August, September and October to seventeen of these…

The RAF is very proud of the work its volunteers accomplished to create a pavilion at Trigger Gap (17A) in the beautiful Ozark region of Arkansas. We are excited to share this Voortex Productions’ inviting six and a half minute video that brings you right into the action! Learn how the RAF partnered with The Nature Conservancy and Fly OZ…

RAF President Bill McGlynn will be a panel member on the AOPA Air Safety Institute’s “Back to the Back Country: 2021 in review” live webinar Thursday, November 18 from 8-9 pm EST, 5-6 pm PST. This free webinar is a segment of the Air Safety Institute’s Backcountry Safety Initiative that the RAF participated in last May.  …

The FAA is continuing their effort to update its database of Private Use airports, according to RAF Director Jeff Russell. “We want to make RAF membership aware of the FAA’s January 20 deadline and encourage owners to update their airport data in time,” Russell emphasized. The FAA initiated this project in 2020. Thousands of Private Use…

The RAF is pleased to announce the preservation of Las Trancas airstrip, (17CL) located on the Pacific Ocean north of Monterey Bay. This beautiful airstrip provides pilots an opportunity to enjoy spectacular coastal scenery and easy beach access for recreational opportunities. The RAF signed a lease with the airstrip owners, Big Creek Timber Co., to…

The weather was September spectacular, and folks arrived to help with seasonal chores and projects at Ryan Field the weekend of September 24-26. It was a busy weekend for RAF volunteers across the country as other airfield improvements were in progress from California to Connecticut.  Winters are tough near West Glacier, and volunteers finished installing…

Not all RAF initiatives are accomplished by flying into the backcountry with work gloves and hand tools. RAF Texas Liaison Tres Clinton saw the need to commit some time within the halls of the Texas State Capitol wearing his best suit, with positive results.  In 2003, the Texas Legislature passed a law to protect riverbeds and freshwater areas from…

“It was a beautiful day for a work party, with good local support for our campsite buildout at Waterbury,” RAF Connecticut Liaison Drew Lyons said of the September work weekend. Waterbury-Plymouth (N41) lies 20 nm northwest of New Haven, Connecticut and has two turf runways, the longest of which is 2,000 feet. This pastoral area is only about 80…

The second successful cooperative project between the RAF and the Town of Keene has been completed at Marcy Field, (1I1) a 2,390 turf airfield near Keene, NY in the Adirondacks. The field lies in an area popular for recreation and the summer farm market. “There is world class fishing on the Ausable river and local…

RAF Montana Liaison and Montana Pilots Association Past President Scott Newpower reported that a half dozen planes and a helicopter landed at Schafer Meadows for a short-notice work party September 3-4. Schafer Meadows is Montana’s only airstrip within a Wilderness area, and as such, mechanized equipment cannot be used for maintenance. MPA volunteers have historically…