The Kodiak also flew to Lewistown, Montana, to pick up a dozen new USFS steel fire pans that were distributed to several of the airstrips. These new pans replaced the original ones that had rusted out after a decade of service.
RAF LEANS IN ON USFS PROJECTS IN IDAHO
RAF President Bill McGlynn has worked for years with the Nez Perce-Clearwater National Forest, advocating for a way to ensure the ongoing preservation and maintenance of seven airstrips on the Forest. Moose Creek, within the Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness; Shearer along the Selway River; Dixie USFS with access to the Gospel Hump Wilderness; Orogrande along Crooked Creek; Wilson Bar along the Salmon River; Cayuse Creek, and Fish Creek in the Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness, are all irreplaceable airstrips for the enjoyment of Idaho’s famous backcountry.
Thanks to McGlynn’s efforts, funding and cooperative maintenance has been approved, and is outlined in a Challenge Cost Share Agreement signed in 2022 by McGlynn on behalf of the RAF, in conjunction with the USFS. Work began with an engineering assessment of the seven airstrips, starting with Moose Creek and Shearer. “Lucky for us, Steve Harris, a certified airport planner and civil engineer from Oklahoma, agreed to do the assessments for the RAF on a pro-bono basis,” McGlynn said, adding, “This was wholeheartedly welcomed by the Forest Service because they don’t have engineers trained on airport standards.”
The Forest Service approved the Moose Creek and Shearer plans, and work began in 2023 that will span several years.
This past September, Steve Harris returned with fellow engineer Joe Sober, also from Oklahoma, and completed assessments on Fish Lake, Cayuse Creek, Orogrande, Dixie, and Wilson Bar. Their work was significantly aided by the Kodiak 100 provided by Daher-Kodiak, which quickly and easily carried the engineers and gear to each airstrip. The engineers are now developing plans for Forest Service approval, and work can begin in 2026.
“The overall goal is to make these airstrips safer and restore their condition as much as practical over the five-year term of the Agreement. This includes surface restoration, tree and brush removal, grass seeding, and drainage improvements,” McGlynn said
Submitted November 1, 2025
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As you're planning your 2026 flying adventures, remember to review safety briefings for the airstrips you plan to visit. The RAF strongly recommends you review safety briefings and print a copy to have in your airplane - it's even required to fly into some airfields, like Ryan Field (2MT1). For those airfields, pilots flying in are required to review the briefing on an annual basis, and now is the perfect time to catch up on any changes to the runway/area that happened throughout the winter. You can find safety briefings on the RAF Airfield Guide . If an airfield in the Airfield Guide has a required briefing, the airfield listing will clearly indicate it and have a tab to view the briefing. Submitted March 30, 2026 Photo By Jim Stevenson: Ryan Field, MT (2MT1)
RAF Texas volunteers and Ranger Airfield Foundation volunteers helped begin restoration of the historic 1928 Ranger Airfield hangar on March 28. “A Wright biplane landed here at the field in 1911, and people have been using it ever since,” Ranger Airfield Foundation Founder Jared Calvert said. He noted that Amelia Earhart landed there in a Pitcairn Auto Gyro. Richard Bach, Pancho Barnes, and General Patton also landed at the field. It’s the oldest continuously used turf field in Texas.
For adventurers seeking access to the Gila Wilderness, we suggest landing at Sacaton Airstrip, NM16, near Buckhorn, New Mexico. The runway lies on a “finger mesa,” and the Rain Creek trailhead lies just northeast of the field. Thanks to RAF New Mexico Liaison Ron Keller's coordination with the USFS using a Cost Share Agreement, Keller was able to organize RAF and New Mexico Pilot Association (NMPA) volunteers to rehabilitate and reopen the long-abandoned airstrip in 2022. Beyond reopening the airstrip, Keller added camping amenities, including picnic tables and a new vault toilet. Most recently, Keller oversaw the installation of new shade structures, most welcoming to campers and hikers. RAF and NMPA volunteers complete ongoing maintenance at Sacaton and other airfields in the Gila National Forest. You’ll see white-painted rocks along Sacaton’s 3,989-ft dirt runway, and surrounding the segmented circle near the RAF windsock. The airstrip lies at 6,200-ft elevation, so pilots should be mindful of density altitude while flying over high terrain in the vicinity, even in winter temperatures. “Anglers will enjoy plying streams for the rare native copper-colored Gila trout, once a threatened species,” Keller reports. The mile-and-a-half trail to the crossing at Rain Creek is narrow and challenging and traverses a variety of terrain, but the serious hiker will be rewarded trekking through steep canyon walls lined with green alder, willow, and boxelder, hoodoos, and eagle aeries above. There are rumors of a double waterfall some distance on the west fork of Rain Creek trail. See the Sacaton page in the Airfield Guide for more details. Note that the airstrip may be unusable due to snow or after heavy rains. This runway should be considered one-way in/one-way out to avoid overflying the Wilderness boundary. There is a 4.6% upslope to the East, favoring landing Runway 08 with right traffic, remaining clear of the Wilderness east and north of the airfield. Please consider others seeking a Wilderness experience. Prior to landing at Sacaton, permission is required by calling the USFS Gila Dispatch center at 800-538-1644. Please familiarize yourself with Sacaton in the Airfield Guide and the New Mexico Pilots Association Safety Briefing . Submitted March 30, 2025 By Carmine Mowbray
