Jerry Cain

“When I raised my hand at a Montana Pilots Association’s Directors retreat in Bozeman in September of 2003, I had no idea what I was getting myself into,” Jerome “Jerry” Cain says of his role in the eventual formation of the RAF.


Jerry, as one of the original six Founders, tapped his Defense Department Federal Executive experience and lost no time completing the application for the RAF’s official Montana State and federal 501(c)(3) nonprofit public charity status. By December 2003, the RAF had the credentials to solicit tax-deductible donations. “Jerry was one of those who stepped up and said, “I got this,” and his knowledge and follow-through were invaluable, laying the groundwork for success,” RAF Chairman John McKenna says. Jerry then volunteered to take on the vital task of Secretary/Treasurer on the RAF board.

During fundraising efforts for backcountry airstrips, Jerry and his wife Liz, both animal lovers, donated dog sled rides around their Lincoln, Montana home. “By the end of 2004, we had about $15,000 in the bank and a roster of several hundred,” Jerry recalls. By the time he retired from that role eight years later, RAF membership had grown to several thousand, from all fifty states and about a dozen foreign countries. “I was spending ten to fourteen hours almost every day trying to keep up with it,” he adds. “It’s extremely satisfying to observe how the RAF is progressing and growing.”

Jerry and Liz purchased their retirement ranch a few miles west of Lincoln in 1990 and are devoted to their horses. Liz is a published authorwww.elizabethcainauthor.com, and is passionate about poetry, music, and horses. She campaigned by horseback around her Montana House District during her two runs for State Representative. 


The Cain’s ranch purchase included a hangar at the Lincoln Airport, S69. This motivated Jerry to earn his pilot license in 1993. Having recently sold his Cessna 182, Jerry still keeps his Husky in his hangar there, and

organizes an annual barbecue potluck in July for the local and flying community. Fly-in visitors are invited to camp in the adjacent campground along the Blackfoot River, and hike or bicycle the short distance into town and tour the unique “Blackfoot Pathways Sculpture In The Wild.” Montana Aeronautics Director Tim Conway says, “Although much of the [airport] funding is provided by the FAA and Montana Aeronautics Division, most of the labor is provided by a network of local volunteers, headed up by Jerry. The volunteers play an important role as the airport’s eyes and ears to maintain its safety and usability.” In 2019, Jerry formed the Lincoln Airport Foundation (LAF) as a 501(c)(3) public charity to formally assist the state in the maintenance and improvement of Lincoln Airport. Since then, the airport has remained open year round. Snow storms may close it – only until the volunteers immediately take on plowing to re-open it.


Jerry serves as a volunteer pilot for Pilots N Paws, flying shelter dogs to their new homes. Since 2017, he has personally taken on the task of coordinating rescue flights throughout the northwest (WA, OR, ID, MT, and WY) to and from all over the country, successfully completing transports five to six times each month. He recommends that pilots register with PNPwww.pilotsnpaws.org.

Jerry still loves backcountry flying in his Husky, and as RAF Director Emeritus, Jerry monitors RAF activities. “I could not be more proud of the RAF’s accomplishments, the Directors, and all the other volunteers who make this all possible through their generous support of both their time and their dollars. The RAF is now nationally recognized as the ‘go to’ organization for anything related to recreational and backcountry airstrips.”



Submitted on August 10, 2023.

By Carmine Mowbray

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IF WE COULD . . .

By Kodi Myhre • December 11, 2025
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.

RAF ADDS MICHIGAN LIAISON SCOTT ANTTILA

By Taylin Trafton • December 11, 2025
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.

VOLUNTEERS ENJOY MAGICAL VIEWS WHILE PREPARING WALKER RIDGE

By Taylin Trafton • 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.

RAF FEATURED SUPPORTER: CHRIS NUGENT

By Taylin Trafton • December 9, 2025
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IT WON'T HAPPEN AT ALL

By Taylin Trafton • December 9, 2025
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.