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 month’s guest editorial is by Carmine Mowbray, a pilot and the RAF’s Publicity Liaison.
WORTH THE READ: CARMINE MOWBRAY GUEST EDITORIAL
When the owner of the local FBO ordered fancy printing from our little Montana print shop and couldn’t pay his bill, he agreed to teach my husband and me how to get an airplane in the sky and back on the ground safely. We decided to buy an airplane and the CFI located a 1957 150-hp TriPacer. I was so ignorant, I was expecting a tri-motor. When 6928-Delta puttered in off the runway, I fell in love with our simple fabric, tricycle gear four-seat single.
It was paper chart, watch, and E6B days. You planned cross-county flights by penciling in your waypoints. Being surrounded by mountains, our CFI was a stickler about slow flight and preached, “Every landing is a short-field landing!” Training I appreciate today.
Near Montana’s Continental Divide, winters are cold but pretty clear. We could fly nearly all year. Avgas was 57¢ a gallon, and our banker let us park in his old hangar for free. As some do, we coveted that ever-faster, sleeker aircraft, and eventually owned and flew retractables, then a 300-hp Turbo T-Tail Lance for 16 years. It was great for business and long cross-countries with the four kids. But I felt the best way to see the West was around a hundred knots, a few hundred feet over the high ground. Where you see spray off a waterfall; mountain goats trekking the ledges; a small herd of elk grazing, or the circular ripples surrounding a moose in a pond. My heart was always back at places like Meadow Creek beneath the massive limestone terraces, where we had spent a soggy three-day Memorial Day weekend in a pup tent waiting for the rain to stop. “If this is so miserable, why am I enjoying it so much?” I’d asked myself.
RAF co-founder Chuck Jarecki stopped often at my Polson home for coffee and to share flying stories. He flew me to a few Montana work parties where I joined upbeat volunteers. Whether it was chopping sagebrush, clearing encroaching trees, throwing rocks, digging postholes or privy holes, we had fun. We were making something better.
Chuck asked me to edit some early letters and informational materials even before the quaint RAF logo showed up. Way back when John McKenna had a mustache. I sent a few dollars in to HQ. An orange shirt arrived in my mailbox with a handwritten thank you. The custom of writing handwritten notes, by the way, has continued throughout the RAF’s 22 years. More work parties, an organizational workshop, a few lengthy public lands meetings, and passionate folks started showing up in their orange shirts, all giving their time to support the preservation of backcountry aviation, and I found inspiration.
Now with the ideal aircraft for my purposes, an old 182 with the Sportsman STOL, pursuing that inspiration is up to me, my skills, and sound PIC judgment. And thanks to the RAF and its partners, there are plenty of beautiful places to go. There are disappointments when the weather or summer wildfire smoke shuts out a destination, but a constant is always the fine folks who share the mission.
The RAF has added purpose to my flying. I’ve made lifetime friends, and seen places I’d have missed if not for the RAF and its successes. It feels good to leave a place better than you found it, and know that these special places will endure for others to enjoy.
Often folks refer to the RAF mission as a cross-country flight, a journey from Point A to B. But I see it more as an orbit, since it should have no end. I see a long and productive future for the RAF. The RAF is constantly in motion, but remains close enough to Earth to recognize its beauty and preserve our special way to access it.
Carmine married and moved to Montana at age 19. The couple built a high-speed printing plant and published award-winning community newspapers. They raised four kids who have settled from Wyoming to the West Coast. Carmine served a term as a state senator after retiring from the publishing business. Carmine has written two well-received works of historical fiction.
“Like flying, it’s important to stay current as a writer. So to retain my editorial proficiency, I love my role as Publicity Liaison for the RAF,” she says, adding, “The subject matter is awesome!”
Submitted September 16, 2024.
Posted in Guest Editorial, News
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Karsen Kramer has a passion for both aviation and backcountry exploration. Growing up in Colorado, he developed a love for the outdoors through hiking, camping, fishing, and off-roading. His interest in aviation began at a young age after flying with his grandfather in a Cessna 180. Karsen moved to Montana in 2022 to pursue aviation and earned his Associate’s Degree in Aviation in 2024. He is currently working toward a Bachelor’s degree in Business Marketing at Montana State University while also working as a flight instructor in Bozeman. Karsen holds his CFI, CFII, and MEI certifications and teaches an instrument ground course at Gallatin College. He has a great passion for teaching and highly values providing instruction to the next generation of pilots. Active in the aviation community, you can count on Karsen to attend EAA AirVenture in Oshkosh, Wisconsin each year. He is excited to volunteer with the RAF and help support its mission of preserving and promoting backcountry aviation, which he hopes to enjoy himself someday, in the same C180 that started it all.
Idaho Ambassador
RAF Oregon Ambassador Sarah Brown and RAF Oregon Liaison Richard Mayes have been awarded an RAF grant to rehabilitate the campground at Siletz Bay State Airport (S45), near the small community of Lincoln Beach on the Oregon coast. “Once an extremely popular place for pilot gatherings, this campground saw up to twenty-five airplanes at a time for weekend camping in its heyday,” Brown said. However, the campground has become overgrown and nearly forgotten over the years. Local RAF supporter Bruce Dunlop suggested the recreational potential to Brown. She and Oregon Ambassador Kevin Johnson explored the feasibility of reviving it; they envisioned the rehabilitation with the help of RAF funds and volunteers. Efforts include clearing brush and removing and chipping dead trees, removing rotten platforms, fire rings, and picnic tables. Volunteers will replace picnic tables and fire rings, lay gravel to help improve drainage, and build a firewood shed. The airport is owned and managed by the Oregon Department of Aviation (ODA). “Director Kenji Sugahara is an enthusiastic proponent of the RAF and its mission,” Brown said. RAF's Oregon team has successfully worked with ODA to improve safety and facilities at several other airports with recreational potential, particularly McKenzie Bridge (00S), Owyhee (28U), and Toketee (3S6). Other ongoing collaborations between RAF and ODA include discussions to improve the facilities at Nehalem Bay (3S7). Repaved in 2025, the Siletz Bay airport is a 15-minute walk from beautiful Gleneden Beach, what Brown says is “a great place to walk in the sand, look for agates, fly a kite, surf, or whale watch in the spring and summer.” A 40-minute walk north of the airport takes you to hiking trails at the Alder Island Nature Trailhead. Highway 101 parallels the runway and is known for its scenic cycling. Golfing is another recreational opportunity at the Salishan Coastal Lodge Resort, which is adjacent to the airport. Several nice restaurants are located within walking distance. See the Siletz Bay Airport listing in the Airfield Guide . Submitted March 12, 2025
Opportunity has three components: 1) The effort that goes into its creation; 2) Recognizing the opportunity; 3) Being ready and willing to act on the opportunity. Number one on the list is the sweat equity we have all put into the RAF – each one of you who has given of your time and talent. Campfire conversations that led to work parties that proved our conviction to the RAF mission. We learned what needed to be done, and we learned how to do it together. We were polite and persistent in our approach, which, in time, presented opportunities. Number two is recognizing that an opportunity is presenting itself, and knowing that it is one worth taking on. Over the years, we learned the RAF’s ability to prioritize, begin, and how to go about the best next steps. No backcountry guidebook was available, so we did a lot of “learning by doing.” The RAF has become a respected organization in our area of work. The opportunities that we are seeing on our plate today are not just luck. They were created. That is a tribute to you, the people of the RAF. Finally, when you add one and two, you come to being ready to act. We put much of the early effort into creating opportunities, then gained the experience to prioritize them, found wisdom and strength in allying with like-minded groups, and finally, we are doing our best to take action on the best of them. You are vitally important at this stage since we need you to continue to be a part of the action. The RAF will be asking you for support at many levels as we move forward, and we hope you will find the challenges as exciting as we do. When we call for your help, we only request that you look at the project and decide, is this my time to do what I can? We hope you will join us, and why not bring a new friend to help out? - John McKenna, RAF Chairman Submitted March 15, 2026
Ken is a third-generation general aviation pilot. His grandfather owned a Jenny, and his father a Cessna 195. Ken’s flying background includes gliders of all types, numerous tailwheel, and high-performance aircraft. He learned to fly in Glenwood Springs, Colorado, in the 1980s, then flew for commercial glider operations in Aspen and Boulder. He recently got back into flying and enjoys doing so with his wife/copilot, Deb, and dog Moki in their C185. They have a particular interest in mountain and backcountry flying and camping. “Our family enjoys the outdoors and any excuse to travel to off-the-beaten-path locations,” Ken says. They have recently been to all the Colorado airports (excluding Denver International) and most of the airports in Wyoming. “We had a great time participating in the 2025 EAA AirVenture Cup Race prior to Oshkosh, where we placed second in the Skywagon class,” Ken adds, noting that there were only two entries. They camped under the wing of their 185 parked with 100 other Skywagons at Oshkosh, “and met many others with the same aviation affliction.” Ken looks forward to fulfilling his role as a Colorado Liaison supporting the RAF mission. He plans to fly to as many RAF-supported sites as he can to meet and learn from others. He, Deb, and Moki live in Loveland, Colorado, and base their plane at KFNL. “If you plan to be in the area or are traveling through, please give me a shout as I’d enjoy meeting you,” Ken says. He and his family plan many more adventures, so you may come across them when you’re on your own adventure, and if so, please say “hello.” Contact Ken at klong@theraf.org Submitted March 12, 2026
