The Recreational Aviation Foundation (RAF) recently announced its search for an executive director.
“This is our next logical step,” RAF President John McKenna said in a news release. “The organization is growing rapidly and needs a dedicated individual who can respond to and manage the various opportunities that are coming our way.”
The RAF focuses on “preserving, maintaining, and creating public-use recreational and backcountry strips nationwide.” The organization supported a resolution in Congress that recognized recreational aviation and backcountry airstrips for serving a vital role for emergency flight operations, fire fighting, wildlife management, and tourism.
AOPA has worked with the RAF on various projects. In 2009, the RAF hosted AOPA President Craig Fuller at a new airstrip, Russian Flat, for which it provided a grant for volunteers of the Montana Pilots Association to help prepare the ground for a landing strip. The backcountry airport opened to the public in September this year.
This summer, AOPA Northwest Regional Representative Mike Ferguson joined members of the Montana Pilots Association, Helena Hangar of the MPA, the Montana Aeronautics Division, and the RAF in Great Falls, Mont., to fix up Benchmark Airport, which serves as a trailhead to the Bob Marshall Wilderness.
The RAF’s Tim Clifford joined Fuller on AOPA Live during Sun ‘n Fun in April to discuss the mission and initiatives the nonprofit organization is tackling.
In addition to opening, upgrading, and maintaining backcountry strips, the RAF highlights the spirit of recreational flying. The organization produced a video featuring AOPA Pilot Senior Editor Dave Hirschman flying a Waco over remote backcountry areas while ferrying the aircraft from Maryland to California for AOPA Aviation Summit and A Night for Flight auction.
