Ron Normandeau

It’s hard to believe that Ron Normandeau’s aircraft started out as a box of airplane parts. Ron, of Polson, Montana built a beautiful 1947 Aeronca Chief and now enjoys flying his own plane. He began flying in 1962 between junior and senior high school years, and earned his license. Ron’s wife Kathi earned her private license shortly after high school, as well, learning from her father who was an instructor. They made an interesting couple, flying together in their early years together.



Their son Brett joined the Marine Corps on graduation from high school and was an airframe mechanic on the Harrier jump jet for his five-year tour. During college, Brett joined the Montana Army Air Guard. He earned his ATP and flew for Envoy Air (American Airlines’ largest regional) for a few years before flying Blackhawks full-time for the Guard. “I always supported Brett’s desire to participate in aviation,” Ron says. “Last summer he got his tailwheel endorsement in my Aeronca.”


Ron’s 32-year military career includes a year-and-a-half as combat engineer, Special Forces. He was assigned to the National Guard as an active duty advisor to Company C 19th Special Forces, reenlisted, and attended State OCS and was an A-team commander for two years. In the Reserves he spent 16 years evaluating guard and reserve units for readiness; and nine years as executive officer and commander of an Engineer Battalion.

A cup of coffee at Polson Airport led to Ron’s involvement in the RAF in 2004. He met RAF co-founder Chuck Jarecki, who took him along to RAF organizational meetings, work parties, and meetings with public agencies. In 2005 the RAF recruited Ron for its Montana State Liaison, one of the earliest to wear the signature orange shirt. 


Ron brings vast skills to the RAF, having majored in Forest Engineering, specializing in Photogrammetry/Cartography. While in college he was a smokejumper, Forest Service Indian liaison officer and forestry technician. On graduation, he joined the US Geological Survey, doing field surveys. He spent two years in Washington, DC in top secret work; then transferred to Denver’s Cartography division where he participated in the transition from manual to digital mapping. He wrapped up his lengthy career with the US Forest Service as Cartography/Photogrammetry supervisor.


“Eventually, I found myself doing more consulting with other RAF Liaisons on public agency matters. I discussed this with RAF President Bill McGlynn and he suggested I become the RAF Public Agency Consultant. I handle calls for guidance almost every week,” Ron says. And other RAF Liaisons are grateful for his experience and help.

“I hope to participate in a new program the Forest Service has initiated called ‘Re-imagine Recreation.’ The object is to create a plan for recreation, addressing the great numbers of visitors to the National Forests, and the change in recreational emphasis,” he says. His pursuit of the RAF mission will be part of Ron’s approach.

Ron has another passion. Golf – but with a cartographer’s passion. “My one other consuming interest is golf course measurement,” Ron says, explaining his intent. “Establishing a difficulty rating for the golf course. In conjunction with an individual’s handicap, it would allow fair competition between players of different skill levels.”


Submitted on May 12, 2023.

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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.