WORTH THE READ: MIKE TODD 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 Mike Todd, a career pilot and longtime RAF Supporter.

You might think that it would get old and stale, this flying thing. Modern avionics make navigation accurate and easy, and we have equipment that monitors every parameter of the engine that keeps us safely in the air, warning us if something is amiss. We have auto flight systems available for our light airplanes, even old ones like my 1956 Cessna 180, that rival those that have taken us around the world in jets. We take pride in answering the challenge of keeping skills current and working with others in the air traffic system to operate safely in busy airspace. But even with all the help from modern devices and equipment, there is still romance in flight. There is still a special feel with that “almost perfect” touchdown on a grass runway, and the sound of the cylinders cooling when there is no other sound than those of nature. It’s been that way for fifty six years and well over thirty thousand hours for me, and you would think I’d get over it. 

But there is something special about flying in general, and flying in the United States of America in particular. While light airplane aviation is alive all around the world, it’s different here. We enjoy freedom of flight that is unique to only a few places in the world. Non flyers are sometimes surprised to find that I live next to a runway where I can fly whenever and pretty much wherever I choose, and back when I earned my living flying big airplanes, some of my compatriots looked at my pictures and listened to my stories of flying the backcountry with a curious look in their eye. Nowadays, I sometimes meet up with some of those airline friends in the back country. I’d like to think I had something to do with that. 

On a nice August morning last Summer, I loaded a few tools into our 180 and pushed it out of its hangar into pre-dawn light. Some of the neighbors heard the engine start up, and more of them heard us leave. The 180 isn’t quiet at takeoff power, but we wound the prop back a bit, and as it is in the backcountry, that sound has a nice decrescendo, fading to quiet in just a moment or two, so the sleepy-heads went back to dreams, or thoughts of driving to work. 

We climbed out over the Washington Cascades and put the autopilot to work, munching on a breakfast muffin as we watched the Big Bend country of the Columbia river transition to the western Rocky Mountains and river drainages of the Pend Oreille, Clark Fork, and Flathead. My good old friend, the 180 was a magic carpet, and the scenery below was a demonstration of all those things the Geology Professor told us about way back when we were young and in a hurry. 

The mission that morning was to join friends from the Recreational Aviation Foundation at a cabin raising party at Ryan Field, the place Ben and Butchie Ryan carved out of the rocks and trees on the west slope of the Flathead Range, just outside the entrance to Glacier National Park. The Ryan story is symbolic of the mission of the RAF. It’s a story of a loving couple who created a dream they wanted to keep alive, and an organization of people dedicated to making sure that happened. The Ryans are gone now, and the future of Ryan Field is protected under the stewardship of the RAF. The airstrip is still special and requires some backcountry skill and care, but that is part of the character of the place. And thanks to the hard work, imagination, and financial backing of volunteers and supporters a big timber frame barn, as well as a pilot shelter, and those rustic cabins make Ryan Field a truly unique experience. 

For many of us in the West, Ryan Field is the poster child for the mission of the RAF, but it’s just a bookend to what is happening with the organization, and thanks to the efforts of aviators and supporters across the land, great things are happening in the name of Recreational Aviation from Alaska to Florida and California to Maine. Congratulations to the RAF on the first twenty years. Keep up the good work, I’ll look forward to seeing you “Out there”.  

Growing up in the Pacific Northwest, the Backcountry and airplanes have been in Mike’s blood from his earliest days. He started flying in 1967, and his first plane, a somewhat neglected 1946 Aeronca Champ came out of the airport weeds and into his life when he was a junior in High School. College in the Midwest brought a degree in Aviation as well as his first flying job, and from there he was fortunate to make a living flying around the world, working up the ladder from Twin Otters in Alaska to 747’s at United. The old Champ introduced him to grass runways and backcountry places around the country, and seven years into retirement, those places, as well as the Super Cub and Cessna 180 that share his hangar with the old Champ continue to be his passions.

Submitted on May 23, 2023.

Posted in Guest Editorial, News

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AUTOMATION DOESN'T DO THE WORK OF THE RAF

By John McKenna • August 10, 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 

RAF OUTFITTER AUGUST FEATURED COLLECTION

August 5, 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!

FEATURED AIRSTRIP: TAYLOR FLAT, UT

By Carmine Mowbray • July 31, 2026
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

RAF GRANT ADDS CAMPGROUND AMENITIES AT ESTCOURT STATION

July 30, 2026
RAF Maine Liaison Andy Rowe and former Maine Liaison/now Ambassador Steve Mason have long been advocating for and organizing improvements at several airfields in North Maine, in cooperation with North Maine Woods (NMW). Rowe was awarded an RAF grant for materials to add a shelter, picnic table, and outhouse at Estcourt Airfield (19ME) and organized RAF and NMW volunteers to provide labor.

RAF EXPANDS THE MAP WITH "FLY ROCKY TOP" AIRSTRIP NETWORK

July 29, 2026
The new Fly Rocky Top airstrip network, developed by the Recreational Aviation Foundation (RAF), is now open to backcountry aviation enthusiasts. Located in East Tennessee, Fly Rocky Top is a "basecamp and outpost" concept for regional aviation exploration, adding the Southeast to a growing collection of well-recognized recreational airstrip networks across the country, including Fly Oz in Arkansas and others in the West and Southwest. Fly Rocky Top is the most significant achievement to date of the RAF's Expanding the Map initiative, a nationwide effort focused on opening, improving, and restoring access to airstrips, helping connect aviators to more of the places they love to explore. Named and inspired by local culture, each Fly Rocky Top airstrip has unique features, amenities, and recreational options that embody the mission and spirit of the RAF. The new network is in the heart of a region nationally recognized for its unique topography that includes the Obed Wild and Scenic River, Big South Fork National Recreation Area, Cumberland Plateau, and Great Smoky Mountains… altogether a landscape uniquely suited to backcountry aviation. Rockwood Municipal Airport, RKW, anchors the network with its 2,400-ft manicured turf landing area and is designed with backcountry flyers in mind. Rockwood Aviation, which operates RKW, offers products and services for pilots to engage in tailwheel, backcountry, and recreational flying, including training, service, and support. City of Rockwood Mayor Jason Jolly highlighted the significance of Rockwood Airport to the community and East Tennessee. Mayor Jolly said, "We are a national recreation destination and the progress at Rockwood Airport and the surrounding network of airstrips is just the latest step in our region's growth and development for adventurers and enthusiasts." The Fly Rocky Top network is unique in that the initial collection of airstrips – with more planned – are a combination of both public lands and privately owned property with the common desire to welcome the flying public. Specific new airstrips in the Fly Rocky Top network include Smuggler's Landing, a grass landing area at RKW (with tent camping and a welcoming pavilion planned), McGraw's Backyard (5TN4), Robbin's Farm, and Tellico Plains (85TN). An additional outpost, Sawbriar, will be ready in August 2026. More airstrips are in the process of being added and will appear on the Fly Rocky Top webpage . Plans continue to add amenities to each RAF Fly Rocky Top airstrip, including accessible flush toilets and timber-framed shelters where camping is available. Other attractions include access to world-class upland bird hunting, hiking, some of the nation’s best trout fishing, kayaking/canoeing on the Clinch and Tennessee Rivers, and a 44-mile Water Trail on Beaver Creek. Select airstrips have access to meals and accommodations. RAF Co-founder and Chairman John McKenna highlighted what makes this opening so important. “Fly Rocky Top is not just a new airstrip network; it’s also a group of pilots who are passionate about aviation, stewardship, and the great outdoors,” he said. “Fly Rocky Top will connect Southeast pilots, landowners, and outdoor enthusiasts alike with the shared mission to preserve access to the region's wild beauty and outdoor recreational opportunities.”