Lynn Mareth

There is no idle season for RAF supporter and hard working volunteer Lynn Mareth, now of Bigfork, Montana. If her Super Cub has to wait out the “soggy turf” season at her home airfield of Ferndale, she can be found on the slopes of Whitefish Mountain or out riding one of her horses along the Flathead River, or she might be helping her husband RAF Director Mike Perkins refresh duck boxes in time for merganser and wood duck nesting season at their home along the Swan River. The couple moved to Montana from their mile-high airfield home in Berthoud, CO in 2019, but have spent most summers at a second home in Bigfork since 2013. After settling into her new location fulltime, she wanted to connect with other active women so she started a women’s adventure group on Facebook, and it now has over 300 members. It has succeeded in connecting active women who enjoy all things outdoors like hiking, kayaking, paddle boarding, skiing and horseback riding.

Lynn was born in New York and raised in Connecticut. She met Mike at Purdue University while they were earning degrees in computer technology and business. Lynn graduated in 1997, and worked for Kiwanis International as a systems analyst and designed their new in-house IT system. As soon as they could, Lynn says, “we high-tailed it out of Indiana for the mountains of Colorado.” The couple settled in Boulder and started a tech company, which they ran for 22 years before selling in 2019.

Mike’s grandfather had been instrumental in New Hampshire aviation. Mike had always wanted to fly but his duties in the Air Force did not include flying. Lynn bought flying lessons for him in 1999 and “he took to it quickly, and had his Private within two months,” and purchased their Cessna 180 soon after. But Lynn was one of those who prefers to jump out of airplanes – especially when the jump ship was intentionally flown low on gas, and skydivers were instructed to “get out now” each time the engine quit aloft, so she was pretty leery of flying very far in small airplanes.

She decided to learn to fly to be a reliable backup for Mike. Her flight instructor made her uncomfortable when he told her he’d had a troubling vision of a tragic event that involved her in the Skywagon. A few years later, Lynn and Mike were flying home from Idaho’s backcountry with their German Shepherd when a rocker arm boss broke and they experienced immediate engine failure. “Mike was on top of his game,” Lynn said, and got it into an abandoned airstrip at nearly 8,500 feet MSL, safely landing downwind, since there was no windsock. “We were ninety seconds to the ground,” she said. An FAA representative told them that that kind of failure usually kills people. “After that emergency, I figured that was the event. I was free of bad omens and was much more comfortable flying the 180,” she explains.

Lynn’s heart was set on a Super Cub, and she borrowed from her 401k, and sold her beloved BMW sports car in order to buy one. Mike flew all over the West, and eventually found one in Billings in 2006 with about 1,500 hours on the engine. Lynn trusted Blackstone Labs for an oil analysis on the older engine, and so far, has flown her Cub over 1,000 hours more.

Lynn and Mike were very involved with the Cessna 180-185 Club and with Mike becoming a new Director, they hosted the Cody, Wyoming Skywagon Convention in 2011. Mike invited John McKenna to speak to the group about the RAF and it really inspired the couple to become more involved in the organization. It seemed to be exactly what they love about flying, especially since they now owned both a Cessna 185 and a Super Cub, both capable backcountry airplanes. Visitors to Ryan Field often see Lynn arrive in her red and white Super Cub with the big tires, but she hasn’t dropped in just to relax. Lynn is always one of the first to put gloves on and work hard. “I’m very proud of the work that has been done at Ryan Field by so many volunteers and I’m so grateful that it’s located in our flying backyard,” she says.

“We envision piling in the Skywagon, doing a cross-country, visiting all the RAF airstrips someday,” she says, adding, “North Fox Island was definitely a treat, and it’s amazing how the RAF has grown. It’s really exciting to see how it all started, where we are now, and to envision where we are going in the future.”

Submitted on March 14, 2022.

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UBCP HELPS RAF REOPEN TAYLOR FLAT AND "EXPAND THE MAP"

June 17, 2026
Taylor Flat Airstrip, just a stone’s throw from the wild and scenic Green River as it carves through spectacular Utah canyons, is officially reopened. Thanks to a cooperative effort between the RAF and Utah Back Country Pilots (UBCP), Taylor Flat Airstrip, TF9, is one more recreational destination pilots can once again enjoy as the RAF works on Expanding The Map ! In 2023, dialog was initiated with the BLM to reopen the airstrip. Daggett County got involved, and RAF Utah Liaison Wendy Lessig navigated the required NEPA process. Lessig was instrumental in preparing a right of way (ROW) lease agreement application, coordinating between Daggett County, the BLM, and other stakeholders, and gathering information to assist the BLM throughout the required Environmental Assessment. “Thanks to Wendy taking action as the RAF Liaison, and her professional persistence following through the lengthy public review process, Taylor Flat Airstrip will reopen as another unique backcountry destination," RAF President Bill McGlynn said. The RAF and UBCP teamed up May 9 to revitalize the airstrip, which had lain dormant for thirty years. “The work party was a resounding success,” Lessig reports. ”We are grateful for the twenty-five volunteers who hand-picked rocks from the airstrip, and used them to mark the runway corners and threshold. “

WE'RE ALL PART OF SEE'ING

June 16, 2026
Starting this month, we’re sharing messages from our RAF Safety, Education and Etiquette “SEE” committee. We hope you like the way we present these stories, and most importantly, we hope you’re one of those folks willing to sit around the campfire and help your friends become better at this thing we call backcountry aviation. We all see things that might not end well. We don’t intend to call anyone out for what might already be a bad day in someone’s flying life. In the interest of safety, we’re inviting you to be part of the culture starting with, “see something, say something.” The hard part might be how to politely deliver that message, and even more important, how to react if we are on the receiving end of someone’s comment. It takes maturity to accept input, especially at one of those moments when maybe we realize things could have just gotten much worse for us. I know I’ve been in “that place” when some thoughtful input about my flying or behavior has been offered. Part of flying is to always strive to be better; and when we aren’t at our best, try to own our shortcomings, learn from them, and move forward. I think about this often. I worry that if we don’t work at getting this part right, at best we risk losing access due to bad practices or behavior; and at worst we risk people getting hurt or worse. It’s that last piece that keeps me up at night. Of all the joys that doing this work brings us at the RAF, the risk of people getting hurt is what I think about the most. Safety, education, and etiquette are tied. Getting these right means the best outcome. So, get out there this summer. Get some grass stains on your wheels, get some bugs on your windscreen, get better at your craft of flying the airplane, meet some new people, and for sure start to create those special friendships that begin around a campfire under a starlit night. - John McKenna, RAF Chairman Submitted June 16, 2026

TWO STRIKES AND WALK AWAY

June 15, 2026
By RAF Director Bill Brine and the RAF's Safety, Education, and Etiquette Committee. Too many backcountry accidents happen on the third approach. After two unsuccessful attempts at landing, the pilot is tired, anxious, behind the airplane, and making decisions with a brain that has been running down since the first go-around. The airstrip hasn’t gotten easier. Third time’s NOT a charm. What’s driving this is cultural. Baseball is “three strikes, you’re out.” Could this thinking have joined us in the cockpit? We aren’t playing baseball out here. The backcountry does not give you that third strike. It gives you consequences. Our RAF Code of Conduct calls on each of us to establish personal minimums based on sound aeronautical decision-making — before we need them. Decide your limits at the kitchen table. Write it down. Brief your passengers. Commit to it before you start the engine. That’s when the rule does its job and leads to that hoped-for experience you set out on. Here is one worth considering: two attempts, fly away, head somewhere else . Not because your mission failed, but because you made a sound decision. Flying away is not defeat. Head to your alternate. Land, shut down, and let everyone decompress. Unload gear, leave passengers, go back solo, or call it a day. Those are good outcomes. Submitted June 15, 2026 Photo Credit: Scott Newpower

RAF FEATURED PARTNER: REDBIRD SIMULATORS

By Carmine Mowbray • June 15, 2026
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GOING TO OSHKOSH? CELEBRATE OUR BIG NEWS WITH US!

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