WORK COMPLETED AT SPOTTED BEAR IN THE FLATHEAD NF

Irene was born and raised in Los Angeles but eventually found her way to Michigan's Upper Peninsula, where she quickly fell in love with the slower pace of life, the endless outdoor adventures, and the welcoming community. After spending a few years between Mississippi and Los Angeles, she knew Marquette was where she wanted to be and returned to make it home. Travel has always been one of Irene's greatest passions. Her mother once joked that she needed to find a career that could support her expensive travel habit—and she did. As a full-time flight attendant, Irene has had the opportunity to experience incredible places and cultures around the world. About five years into her airline career, a pilot casually suggested, "You should be a pilot!" Just one week later, Irene took her first flight lesson and discovered a passion for flying she never knew she had, and hasn’t looked back since. In addition to working as a full-time flight attendant, Irene is a Certified Flight Instructor (CFII/MEI) who is passionate about helping aspiring pilots achieve their aviation goals while developing the skills and confidence to become safe aviators. She is also preparing to begin her second year as a part-time high school Career and Technical Education (CTE) aviation teacher, where she enjoys introducing students to the various opportunities aviation has to offer. When she is not in the air, Irene enjoys spending time with family and friends, cheering on motocross/supercross races, and now volunteering with the RAF. Irene looks forward to contributing to the mission of supporting recreational aviation for future generations and cannot wait to meet the members, volunteers, and aviation enthusiasts who make this community so special. Submitted on August 11, 2026

Any of you ever tried to deal with an issue where all you wanted was to simply talk to a real person for help? Sure you have, and each of us likely has our own methods to break through the automation to a real person. To quickly bypass customer service robots, I try trigger words like "Agent" or "Supervisor" and keep my answers short. Don’t over-explain your issue. If the bot persists, you can use “nuclear" phrases like "Cancel my service,” or just repeat gibberish until the system hopefully defaults to a human. But you won’t need these tricks if you reach out to the RAF. When the RAF looks over our nearly 25-year shoulder, what we see is direct involvement by an army of people. It is people who show up at public hearings, people who have dug the holes for pilot shelter foundations, fence posts, and yes, outhouses. It is people who show up at Oshkosh to share our message and celebrate all that we have accomplished, and it is people who make you feel like you have made the right call to be an RAF volunteer or supporter. It’s not to say that automation and AI are tools to be discarded, but they are not tools that the RAF has found effective for doing the people-facing work that we do. Work that is opening a bunch of new places to go, taking care of the ones that exist, and working on issues that we see that could affect our backcountry community. In a funny little way, the more the world automates, the better the playing field is for the RAF, because we are pretty good at the human connection part. That feeling when one human being really hears what the other is saying. Thank you for helping us be a trusted member of this community. Not easy to do, but we mean it when we say, “We care.” - John McKenna, RAF Chairman Submitted August 10, 2026 

FEATURING: TOOL ROLLS Whether you’re heading to the hangar, the backcountry, or your next work party, staying organized matters. The RAF Tool Roll keeps your essential tools secure, accessible, and ready when you need them most. Designed to fit conveniently in your airplane or vehicle, it features multiple zippered pouches, labeled compartments, and a durable roll-up design with built-in handles for easy transport. No more digging through a loose toolbox or searching for that one tool you need. Keep your gear organized to spend less time looking and more time flying!

Landing and camping at Taylor Flat airstrip puts your tent only a stone’s throw from the wild and scenic Green River, as it carves through spectacular Utah canyons. You can tie down and camp under your wing along the north side of the airstrip, or walk to the river and camp. Just 34 nm northeast of Vernal, you can now land at this high, remote BLM airstrip and enjoy its world-class fly fishing, but be sure to get your license before you arrive. If you packed your kayak or inflatable, there’s a boat ramp just west of the public campground. An easy 1.8-mile walk from the airstrip takes you to the historic 1880 John Jarvie Ranch, an open-air museum with hands-on exhibits showing pioneer ranch life in this remote northeast corner of Utah. This airstrip had lain dormant for thirty years, and is now open for public non-commercial use, thanks to pilots who recognized its special recreational value. The RAF worked through the steps to see that the BLM reopened it. One restoration work weekend brought twenty-five volunteers from both Utah Back Country Pilots (UBCP) and the RAF who hand-picked rocks from the airstrip, painted them, and used them to mark the runway corners and thresholds. UBCP provided a new windsock pole for the new RAF windsock. RAF Utah Liaison Wendy Lessig said, “It was another demonstration of working together toward the same goal.” There are no other amenities, so be prepared with what you need, and as always, please pack everything out. Those using the airstrip are asked to be mindful of the sensitive environmental area, marked with 16-ft X’s, creating a displaced threshold on the east end of the dirt runway. The useable runway length is 2,500 feet, and the field elevation is 5,630. The area east of the runway is hazardous to aircraft operations. In addition to being a sensitive environmental area, it. is cross-crossed with ditches, and is not safe for aircraft use. Taylor Flat is another special recreational destination for pilots to visit as RAF works across the country on Expanding The Map! Find more on Taylor Flat in the Airfield Guide . You may also find user reports here on the UBCP website . Submitted July 31, 2026 By Carmine Mowbray