GETTIN’ IT DONE IN UTAH

RAF Utah Liaison and Utah Back Country Pilots board member Wendy Lessig reports that this spring, UBCP volunteers completed work to preserve several airstrip treasures. Recently Locomotive Springs was dragged. “Both runways are smooth enough for most planes to land, for now,” Lessig said. Here you’ll stand on the transcontinental airmail route and one of the concrete directional arrows, a sort of early GPS for early twentieth century pilots. Potato Ridge was dragged, as was McKay Flat, with nearby slot canyons, and a likely glimpse of wild horses. A new windsock and pole were put up at Spiral Jetty airstrip, featured by the RAF in March 2024. 

Utah Back Country Pilots website tabulates details of 219 Utah airstrips and pilot reports about their condition. UBCP invites volunteers to pitch in on their robust schedule of seasonal maintenance and improvements to many Utah backcountry airstrips. Lessig invites you to step up to help and enjoy a day or overnight preserving these special places with like-minded folks! Contact Wendy at wlessig@theraf.org. 

See the UBCP website here. With one click, UBCP members can log in and subscribe to Updates. See the RAF feature on Spiral Jetty here.

By Carmine Mowbray
Submitted May 31, 2024