NEW PILOT SHELTER AT ASTRONAUT KENT ROMINGER AIRPORT

From left to right: Airport manager (and RAF member) Jay Sarason, County Commissioner John Nofsker, CO State Liaison Tom Haefeli, County Administrator Trish Slater, County Commissioner Chairwoman Suzanne Bothel, County Commissioner Gene Glover

Thanks to a $30,000 grant from the RAF, a new pilot shelter is near completion at Astronaut Kent Rominger Airport (KRCV) in Del Norte, Colorado.

RAF Colorado Liaison Tom Haefeli reports that other funding includes $5,500 in cash donations, $18,200 in donated labor, supplies, heavy equipment use and operation from the various contractors involved. Rio Grande County supplied the balance of funding from its Airport Fund. “It was truly a community project,” Haefeli said.

The Airport Advisory Board developed an idea for a multi-use facility that would be easy to maintain and could be of benefit to the local community as well.

The facility will offer WiFi, refrigerator, stove and restroom with shower. Next spring will see the addition of prepared campsites adjacent to the pilot shelter to accommodate people flying in to recreate in the area.

Haefeli has served with Pat Romano as an RAF Colorado Liaison for the past six years. In that time, the RAF invested in the area with a grant to the Rio Grande Headwaters Land Trust to assist in their successful effort to acquire a conservation easement for La Garita Creek Ranch. The RAF also provided a grant to the owners of the La Garita Creek Ranch for maintenance of the recreational use airstrip located there.

Haefeli invites pilots to come and enjoy the new facility while exploring the many recreational opportunities in the region. “I especially want to thank Lisa Yund for designing the eye-popping interior,” he added. Watch for the upcoming Grand Opening this summer!

– RAF Colorado Liaison Tom Haefeli

Pilot Shelter exterior

Submitted on December 11, 2019

Posted in News

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