State Liaison
MIKE PURPURA
Illinois State Liaison After his enlistment in the Navy, Mike earned a degree in Environmental Science and went on to start a brokerage in Eastern Oregon specializing in agricultural land and ranches. Hiring local pilots to ferry him and his clients around large ranch properties, proved to be expensive and complicated. He decided to buy…
Read MoreDREW LYONS
MA and RI State Liaison RAF MA and RI Liaison Drew Lyons was born and raised near Boston, always dreaming of being an airline pilot, but “life eventually had different plans,” he said. After serving in the US Army 82nd Airborne Division and finishing college, Drew finally achieved his dream of becoming a pilot, earning…
Read MorePATRICK ROMANO
Colorado State Liaison Patrick Romano always knew he wanted to fly. So it was not a surprise to anyone when he took his first lesson at age 14 and started instructing by the time he was 18. After a decade of flying everything from helicopters to business jets, he had to get a real job. …
Read MoreTOM HAEFELI
Colorado State Liaison Tom was intrigued with flying from the very beginning as a child, in a family whose business was beekeeping in southern Colorado “I worked in the business through high school then – being a typical teen – I couldn’t wait to get out into the world,” Tom says. He earned his first…
Read MoreRICHARD "RICK" LACH
California State Liaison Richard “Rick” Lach, from Kernville, CA, has had a passion for aviation from an early age. He can recall riding his bike to Van Nuys Airport, where he would sit on the railroad tracks and watch planes land. After joining the Air Force he spent four years maintaining F-100, F-101, and F-105…
Read MoreDAVE POWELL
Arkansas State Liaison Few pilots can say they began flying in a Texan T-6 at the age of 12. That’s when Dave Powell was first exposed to flying by his father. They also flew a Navion his dad’s company used for business. Once out of college and working, Dave made the time and had the…
Read MoreMARK SPENCER
Arizona State Liaison and Public Lands Liaison Mark has lived in Arizona since 1974 and has had a long career in the Aerospace industry beginning with Sperry Flight Systems in the early 80’s. From Sperry he moved on to W.L. Gore & Associates where he was involved in microwave coaxial interconnect designs used in avionics,…
Read MoreAL CLAYTON
Alaska State Liaison Al was born in Alaska and has been stuck there ever since. As a teenager, he got a ride in the back seat of a Super Cub to a remote hunting camp in the Wrangell Mountains, which convinced him he needed wings. He went off to Oregon for college with a plan get smart…
Read MoreAMRAT CHUGANI
Florida Liaison Amrat’s interest in aviation began as a child. He would travel frequently between the US and Singapore. Prior to the terrorist attacks in New York, security was more relaxed and Amrat was allowed into the cockpit. The pilots gave him “junior wings” and said that he had now become one of them. “It…
Read MoreAMY GESCH
Minnesota State Liaison Amy says “I adopted my aviation family through volunteering with various organizations,” and she has stepped up from her RAF Ambassador position to fulfill Liaison duties in Minnesota. “I look forward to learning the ropes from the great team of RAF volunteers,” Amy added. Her passion for aviation began in high school…
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