Joe is Chairman of Hartzell Propeller and involved in the General Aviation Manufacturers Association. He is a member of EAA, RAF, and the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association.
WORTH THE READ: JOE BROWN GUEST EDITORIAL
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 from Joe Brown, the Chairman of Hartzell Propeller.
An RAF Flatlander Reflects on Good Fortune:
Eight years ago I was standing in a stranger’s crowded living room in Bozeman, Montana.
Members of the General Aviation Manufacturers Association were gathered with a large group of RAF members who were hosting us for a weekend in the backcountry. About half the folks in the room were meeting for the first time.
One of the RAF members greeted us and said something I haven’t forgotten: “We are a campfire sort of group. At the end of our time together, we hope you will leave us with your friendship.”
He meant it. That gathering led to some of my closest friendships.
But that night, this was all new to me. I was charged with a nervous energy about what was ahead. I had spent my life in the very flat part of Ohio. I had recently finished a factory-assisted build of a Glasair Sportsman and was fresh into a tail dragger endorsement.
In other words, I was a menace.
Looking out to the Bridger Mountains that evening, I thought to myself “don’t let anyone think you know anything and listen to those that do.”
That’s how I came to know the RAF. I’ve been in that living room many times since and in lots of others too. At first I thought it was about grass strips and airplanes, but that’s just a point of entry.
Generous friendship is the bond that makes the RAF work and is the source of its rewards. The only credential you need to be a good member is neighborliness. And you have to like orange.
Is there another organization that gathers in homes all across the country? I’ve been welcomed into a dozen RAF member homes in the North West, the Mid West and the North East in the span of a few years.
Is there another organization whose members welcome you as if you were the oldest of friends as they help push your airplane into their hangar or hand you the keys to their car?
Is there another organization that takes you to the people and places that come to fill your photo files and memories?
It’s easy to be sentimental about the RAF community. I’m sitting at a desk in Piqua, Ohio but my walls are covered with photos from places farther away. I see people in jeans and orange that have told me about their families, their favorite camping site, and where to get the best burger in Manhattan. Kansas, that is. I’ve gotten hours of training and advice from those with more skill.
It was only later that I really got thinking about who these folks are outside of the RAF. They may have been camouflaged by RAF swag, but you probably passed the bread to an astronaut, or a mom who flies G650s, a combat pilot with a DFC, an airline CEO, a tech titan, a history teacher, a large-scale Pizza franchise operator and a guy that commanded the Thunderbirds. I’m sure you know what I mean about the talent in the RAF hiding its light under a bushel.
I suspect all of us have had a similar experience coming into this membership. We have plenty to celebrate in our members and the energy they have for life. One of our younger members has racked time in more airplane models than anyone I know and earned his ASEL, AMEL and ASES by a week or so into his 17th year. The chat room with updates and videos of his epic journey had about forty people cheering him on like he was our godchild.
As you get older, you tend to think about the people and activities that give meaning to your life. You think about the good fortune of family, friends and experiences with them. It’s humbling to be content.
Thank you, RAF friends, for your company and wisdom. Thank you for your helping hands in all that we do as an organization. May we always leave the backcountry and our friends glad for our visits.
Submitted on March 28, 2023.
Posted in Guest Editorial, News
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Pamela Cox is a designer. Professionally, she practiced architecture for a boutique firm in Dallas that was known for its roster of award-winning projects like libraries, the Dallas Zoo Veterinary Hospital, the Visitors Center at the Dallas Arboretum, and an array of beautiful private residences. She retired from that architectural firm and continued designing upscale Texas ranch homes. Now Pamela and her husband John live on, and manage the ranch that John’s great aunt and uncle homesteaded in west Texas in 1907. When the current generation expressed no interest in the ranch, John and Pamela bought them out. They run cattle, “and lots of wildlife. John has tamed anything with a heart,” she says. Pamela was raised in Indiana, where farm animals need little space to graze the abundant forage. But on their Texas spread, their nearest neighbor is five miles away. John flies their Cessna 185 off their grass strip, and as is not uncommon in Texas, uses it to keep an aerial eye on fences, water sources, and their widely dispersed herd. Like the Old West, cowboys come in to help John round up, brand, and work the cattle seasonally. John has always loved flying in the mountains. The wedding gift he gave Pamela was a custom fly rod and one week of fly fishing instruction in Livingston, Montana; then a week of plying her new skills in Idaho’s Frank Church River of No Return Wilderness. “That’s where we spent our honeymoon,” Pamela says. They’ve enjoyed fishing as far away as Argentina, and many flying adventures throughout the US for the last 33 years, adding campouts in Idaho’s Wilderness airstrips, Montana, and Alaska. Developing DawgMuffs “I never even knew I loved dogs until John and I got our our first one thirty-three years ago, and twelve more have followed,” Pamela explains. They were heartbroken to learn that their beloved dogs had become deaf from flying with them. “We used ear protection on them, but did not realize our dogs were going deaf until it was too late,” she says. John encouraged her to put her creativity toward a better solution. “I’m a designer at heart,” Pamela says, “If I’m not designing houses, I’m designing these,” she adds. She began researching the physiology of canine hearing and built her own digital sound chamber. She experimented with different materials, each with unique sound-suppressing characteristics. She then reached out to the Veterinary College at Purdue University to help obtain empirical data. The results were earth-shattering, as her prototype demonstrated a solid 70db reduction in noise. During testing, a behavioral veterinary doctor commented on the additional benefit that the cap acts like a therapeutic weighted blanket, and can ease a pet’s anxiety while cutting the noise. Test results were received by an appreciative audience at the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine Forum in June of 2025. “Then I worked on designs that would fit and stay on the dog,” she said, leading to a study of the varied shapes of dogs’ heads and ears, so unlike a human head. “My aim was that the cap was comfortable enough for the dog to sleep while wearing it.” The result is her patented two-strap design that prevents slipping or removal. After the laborious patent process, Pamela needed to find the right domestic manufacturer. She was delighted to find an innovative “mom and pop” sewing shop in Wichita Falls, Texas, that was willing to gear up for production. DawgMuffs have now come to market – with a growing number of satisfied customers – and the RAF Outfitter is proud to offer them. The DawgMuff website really sums up Pamela’s goal: “Elevating pet comfort through thoughtfully crafted hearing protection that fosters serenity and joy for dogs.” See the RAF Outfitter to order yours! Submitted March 24, 2026 By Carmine Mowbray
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
