Dan found time to learn to play the fiddle, and enjoys bluegrass music. At the time of this writing, he and his son Ted are preparing to fly the RV-7 that they completed in his shop at home in Sand Coulee. Their youngest son’s family lives close by, and their daughter is fulfilling a Navy career, currently based in San Diego.
Dan Prill
Dan Prill of Sand Coulee, Montana, has interests as varied as the snacks aisle at your supermarket. From flying his Cessna 185 off his own airfield, to the slower pace of trolling for fish in his kayak.
For many summers, Dan and his wife Margie flew their SuperCub on floats to his family’s rustic fly-in fishing lodge on Prill Lake in Saskatchewan. The couple treated fly-in guests to comfortable rooms, mornings fishing in the lake, abundant meals of fresh-caught walleye, Margie’s homemade blueberry pies, and a cooler full of adult beverages, all flown in.
Engineering runs in Dan’s family, and Ted and his twin brother Tom surprised Dan with a custom fabricated kayak trailer that he uses in Montana and Arizona to enjoy river and lake fishing. Dan and Margie also find great sport plying the Arizona, California, and Nevada deserts on their side-by-side, basing out of Quartzsite, Arizona in the winter.
A founding director of the Recreational Aviation Foundation, Dan served on its board for ten years; eight years as Vice President. “The RAF is especially proud of Dan’s work throughout the approval and construction of Russian Flat airstrip in Montana’s Lewis and Clark National Forest,” RAF Chairman John McKenna said.
“The RAF has always taken the ‘high road’ when dealing with policy makers. Our data is science based, and we approach issues in a kind and courteous manner,” Dan says. That approach had results, and in cooperation with the Montana Pilots Association, and the USFS District Ranger, the first new airstrip on U.S. Forest Service land in over forty years was opened for public use. Dan stayed on the task throughout seven years of meetings and two more years of construction, with all RAF and MPA volunteer labor. His efforts earned him an RAF Golden Pulaski Award, which honors exceptional volunteers for their hard work on behalf of the RAF.
“While working in Montana, we formed our mission and learned the right way to do things,” Dan says. The RAF then used those principles to advance its mission throughout the country. Early on, Dan was asked to accompany McKenna and other RAF volunteers to meet officially with federal lands managers in Washington, D.C. He met a half dozen times face-to-face with decision makers, always wearing the signature orange RAF shirt. On one of the trips, he and McKenna were invited to a formal Senate reception. McKenna looked at Dan in his orange shirt and jeans.
“You packed a white shirt, tie, and jacket?” McKenna asked.
Dan took a cab to the closest menswear store, took out his credit card and bought new black shoes, slacks, white shirt and sport jacket to be appropriately dressed. “I did buy an orange tie,” he quipped. His time and expense paid off. As a result of those meetings, the USFS Planning Rule now acknowledges the importance of recreational aviation.
Margie is just as devoted to the RAF mission, and has helped staff many trade shows and events. She cooks, serves, and turns out sweet baked goods at fly-ins, cheerfully including KP duty, and keeps the kids entertained with games and activities. Margie also serves as an RAF VP of Appreciation and has hand-written over a thousand thank you cards – and counting.
Prills have always included their family in their pursuit of recreational aviation, and both Ted and Tom are pilots. Tom and Dan helped roof the pilot shelter at Ryan Field. Dan and Margie have included their grandkids in aviation activities since they were tots, and the photogenic kids have appeared in many Ryan Field images. “We know how important it is to preserve this opportunity for future generations,” Margie says.
“Margie and I treasure the friendships we’ve made during our association with the RAF,” Dan says. As Director Emeritus, Dan still advocates for the RAF. He urges others to “support the organization by volunteering or donating, and enjoy the resources of recreational and backcountry airstrips. It’s why we do this. It’s why we learned to fly, so go enjoy them,” he adds.
Submitted July 14, 2023.
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At about this time, every year, we have this conversation at the RAF about what our year end letter (code for asking for your financial support) should say to you, and about the RAF and the accomplishments of the past year.
A Christmas gift of flight lessons from his parents started Scott Anttila’s aviation journey in 1985. “I learned at Johnson Field, a small grass strip tucked into the woods in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, and that early exposure to simple backcountry flying stuck with me,” Scott says. Growing up in the U.P., he spent a lot of time outdoors and found that flying was another way to get to the places he liked to explore—especially the ones most people never saw. As he earned more ratings and eventually moved to the Detroit area for work, Scott realized he needed a way to stay connected to northern Michigan. He bought an airplane and used it to get back to the smaller airstrips and lake country he enjoyed. Along the way, he also flew gliders out of Frankfort, soaring along the Sleeping Bear Dunes and towing sailplanes over the Great Lakes. “Those flights gave me a different appreciation for the landscape and made me even more interested in the small, out-of-the-way airports scattered around the state,” he says. Visiting those kinds of places, Scott first came across the Recreational Aviation Foundation. He started using RAF-supported airstrips both inside and outside Michigan. “I noticed how well-kept they were and how much access they opened up,” he says, adding, ”Over the years, I’ve watched a number of grass strips close, which made the RAF’s mission feel especially important to me. Maintaining these airstrips keeps aviation connected to the outdoors and makes it possible for more people to reach the quiet, remote areas that inspired me to fly in the first place.” Scott joins the other two RAF Michigan Liaisons, General Grant and Tanmoy Ganguly. He can be reached at santtila@theraf.org . Submitted December 11, 2025.
“The word that comes to mind when I think of our second Walker Ridge work party is magical,” RAF California Liaison Doug Lumgair said, "even though it started off again with a truck stuck in the mud.” Volunteers began arriving Friday afternoon in a tailwheel Rans, a Super Cub, and Lumgair in his Cessna 170. A pickup with a big dump trailer brought the Polaris Ranger, and more pickups arrived. The runway surface posed major problems with boulders protruding from the surface. Everyone was eager to get started with pry bars and remove them. Once they fired up the generators to power the hammer drills, they discovered that this was the best method for attacking the rocks below the surface and breaking them up into pieces that they loaded into the trailer for removal. “At times, it felt like we had taken on an impossible task. But with steady work and persistence, by afternoon, we began to see the light at the end of the tunnel,” Lumgair said. In the Friday evening fire circle, they made new friends while sitting around a propane fire pit that had been cleverly transformed into a radiant heater by placing a washing-machine drum over it. Walker Ridge lies in a dark-sky area. Before the full supermoon rose, Lumgair said they could see the Milky Way with the naked eye. The campsite at the south end of Walker Ridge has a gorgeous view of the valley, and the view became “even more breathtaking as Central Valley tule fog filled the valley and the supermoon lit the fog, creating a shimmering white lake.” Lumgair said. Saturday morning, two crews quickly organized with hammer drills, and others began cutting brush along the runway edges. Volunteers had already removed what Lumgair called an incredible amount of brush during their first work party, but Saturday, they hauled out twelve more trailer loads. Late on Saturday, they had enough time to work on the rock outcroppings in the south turnaround area as well. "It was amazing that we were able to cut and haul so much brush and break down rocks and fill the resulting holes—all in one steady, hard-working day. Thank you very much to everyone for supporting the RAF in so many ways,” he said. Some stayed Saturday night to enjoy another beautiful evening. Work remains, and Lumgair is planning more work parties in the coming year to complete further improvements, some of which will require additional approval from the BLM. “Please let me know if you get up there this winter. I’d love to hear your thoughts and see any photos of your experience, Lumgair added. Doug Lumgair can be reached at dlumgair@theraf.org . Submitted December 11, 2025.
Chris at TacAero in Fredericksburg, Texas to fly what he calls, "the mighty XCub. It's an awesome airplane,” he added.
That is the end of a quote that goes a bit like this: “It may not be easy, but if you don’t start, it won’t happen at all.” When I read that, I thought back 23 holiday seasons ago, about when the RAF got underway. We likely were a bit naïve about the road, or lack thereof, that was out front of the RAF, but we were wise enough to grasp that if the RAF were to become a successful contributor to our country’s recreational and backcountry aviation, the path would not be easy. What we did know was – and some of you have heard this before – “If not us, who? And if not now, when?” That simple realization got us started, or it wouldn’t have happened at all. The RAF works much that way today. We are a “jump in and figure it out” organization. We sense a need, and bypass the tendency to spend lots of time getting ready to get ready. As RAF Director Bill Brine of Massachusetts says, “The RAF has a bias towards action.” And we attract folks who have that same get-it-done attitude. What I try to do in this piece is relate these words to other parts of my life, and those who spend a few minutes reading them. With it being the giving season, I suggest that one of the best gifts you can perhaps give is one that says, “It might not be easy, but now is a good time to get going or (you guessed it), it won’t happen at all.” In this digital consumption world we live in, I urge you to be your best authentic you. We’re all bombarded with algorithms and social media. If you’re reading this, you are that authentic person the RAF seeks, who pitches in on the team that the RAF thrives on. You can be the wrapping paper around the gift of getting started, of helping others to take meaningful action, and accepting responsibility as opposed to taking credit, all while embracing the learning that comes from the occasional setback. If success had been a requirement ahead of passion, the RAF would not be where it is today. The RAF has proven that people with passion get things done. So, at this time of year, give that gift of passion and leadership, the kind the RAF works hard to exemplify. - John McKenna, RAF Chairman Submitted December 9th, 2025.
