Whitelaw and his brother John sacrificed flying in to haul all the cooking equipment and supplies in a pickup. They provided a ‘Milk Can Cooker’ dinner, consisting of a variety of grilled sausages and boiled vegetables Saturday night. Guests brought salads and desserts and no one went away hungry. Wolf stayed for the meal and campfire and answered questions about other state recreational airports, and complimented the RAF and the local chapter of Washington Pilots Association for successful cooperation with WSDOT.
SULLIVAN LAKE ANNUAL CLEANUP AND POTLUCK
“Enough work has been completed in past years that this year was pretty light,” RAF Washington State Liaison Dave Whitelaw said of the tasks scheduled at Sullivan Lake state airport, 09S. A group of about a dozen volunteers arrived early on the July 15-17 weekend and joined Washington State DOT Airport Manager Paul Wolf on the work. They removed small trees in the approach end of Runway 16, replaced damaged reflectors and did general clean up. Wolf planned to close the runway following the weekend for a few hours to mitigate ground squirrel evidence and weeds.
Sullivan Lake is near Metaline Falls, in the northeast corner of Washington State in the Colville National Forest, and the shoreline of the 1,290-acre lake has no structures other than East and West Sullivan Lake Campgrounds – adjacent to the airport – and Noisy Creek Campground at the far (south) end of the lake.
The warm weather made the 312-ft deep pristine lake very appealing, and folks cooled off in the chilly water while some stayed dry paddleboarding.
See the Airfield Guide for more information.
Submitted on July 29, 2022.
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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.
Our many RAF supporters have such vast and varied experience, and we’re capturing some of their words of wisdom to share with you. This guest editorial is by Stef Goza, a pilot and an RAF Alaska liaison.
Bill credits aviation for much of his success in business and the ability to serve his companies and family. What began in a Champ, and a Tri-Pacer owned by five people, turned into what Bill calls, “a key business tool” in which he accumulated 9,000 hours – in a Cheyenne, a Pilatus, and a TBM, where ninety-five percent of his flying was for business. “My retirement enabled me to recall ‘Why I Learned to Fly’, a slogan from an old RAF video.” Bill’s son, Patrick, purchased the C185 they now share. “While attending a business function, some associates arrived in corporate jets. As they joined up on the tarmac, the jet pilots gathered around Patrick’s 185, and one of the passengers asked, ‘What’s special about this?’ No explanation needed for this RAF audience,” Bill says. “My involvement in the RAF is, in a partial way, repaying the rewards aviation has endowed me with. Having been involved in many worthwhile nonprofits, this is one where financial support is only part of the picture. Physically participating in great projects that have a lasting effect, with good people, returns a great personal benefit,” he says. “My only regret is that I wasn’t there at the start.” Bill and his wife Jane are privileged to be able to split time between their long-time home in eastern Nebraska and Scottsdale, Arizona. While still serving on several boards, he enjoys golf “about every third shot,” biking, cars, and reading, but always looks forward to the time he can be involved in the RAF. “It’s flying with a purpose,” he adds. Bill can be reached at bdugan@theraf.org
AR Ambassador
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.
