WORTH THE READ: JOHN NADEAU 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 by John Nadeau, one of the RAF’s RUS Liaisons.

When Opportunity Knocks, Open the Door – Better Yet, Knock First – Opportunity May Be Lurking

The first grass runway I landed on was the one I owned. I had an opportunity to purchase an airfield before buying an airplane. The runway had been neglected for over a decade. As a physical therapist, I felt a need to “rehabilitate” it. For ten years, I’d rented Cessna 150s, flying pavement to pavement from a very busy, towered airport just west of Boston, Mass. Suddenly I owned a grass airfield in Maine. This sort of opportunity just doesn’t come up very often. 

That first summer was spent plucking young birch trees, filling holes and mowing ten-year long grass and weeds. I literally worked a good riding lawn mower to a nasty demise. I allowed other pilots to access the airfield, but liability was always a major concern. 

Circa 2007, a blurb appeared in AOPA Pilot that caught my eye. A group based in Montana calling itself the Recreational Aviation Foundation had just gotten the State of Montana to add “aviation” to its Recreational Use Statute (RUS).

I called the phone number. On the other end John McKenna explained the RAF, and that an RUS limits the liability of airfield owners. I had saved an abandoned airfield and wanted that liability protection – another opportunity.

Recreational Use Statutes basically state that if a landowner keeps land open to the public for recreational purposes, and does not charge a fee, and there is no malicious intent to injure others, then the owner is not responsible if someone using the land is injured. Some states list recreational purposes, preceded with the phrase, “…including but not limited to…” Aviation for recreational purposes may be implied, but airfield owners tend to want to see it in black and white in the RUS.

We wanted to add “aviation” to Maine’s RUS. It took two years to get through the legislative process. Maine pilots and other airfield owners, as well as the RAF helped. Once “aviation” was added to Maine’s RUS, use of my airfield became “free” for all.  

John called me with the opportunity to participate in an RAF Strategic Planning Conference in Driggs, Idaho, adding, “Come out a couple of days early and we will fly you around a bit.” Enter Tim Clifford, and RAF co-founders Chuck Jarecki, Jerry Cain, and Dan Prill. What a fun opportunity! I met some wonderful and interesting people, as you can imagine.

During the conference, John offered me the opportunity to lead the RAF’s national effort to include aviation in each state’s RUS. At the time, there were only five states. He had just arranged to have me flown all over creation in the Rocky Mountains. He had me hooked, netted, and landed.

I acquired the help of Bob Kay and Dave Myrick. We started a campaign to get this done. The opportunity for additional aviation destinations was unimaginable… if only RUS liability protection could be assured in the minds of the private-use airfield owners. 

I knew nothing about owning an airfield, nor the process of getting a bill through state government. Same for Bob Kay (Boeing test pilot) and Dave Myrick (artisan glass blower). But as people volunteered to lead their own state’s effort, we grabbed these opportunities and got ‘er done. We learned more as we went along from state to state, advising RAF volunteers and airfield owners about the legislative process. We simply used the experiences we had gained, team effort, persistence, pleasantness, generosity and patience. Today there are 28 states that include aviation in their definition of recreation. Four states have no list but merely state generically, “recreation,” so we assume aviation is implied.

Recently RAF Supporter Rick McCraw of Vermont has stepped up, and he and I are available to answer RUS questions. Eighteen states still don’t specify “aviation” in their RUS, and airfield owners in these states need aviation language to be included.

So, I encourage you to open the door when opportunities knock, even if it’s all new to you. And don’t just wait for that knock. Rap on some doors yourself. Speak to airfield owners about RUS protections and airfield maintenance needs. An opportunity may be waiting within each conversation. Your knock may even be answered by someone who’ll lead the charge to add aviation language into one of those remaining 18 states’ Recreational Use Statutes.  

It sure has been a fun and satisfying ride for me.

Flying his Cessna Skyhawk provided 35 years of stress relief and sanity from fighting medical insurance companies on behalf of young terminally ill patients.

Photo: John with Eli, John’s grandson and future pilot extraordinaire

Submitted January 17, 2025