New from the Recreational Aviation Foundation is the Airfield Guide.
The guide was put together in response to repeated requests from pilots for a comprehensive list of recreational places to fly, according to RAF officials.
Created in cooperation between the RAF and Tailwind Aviation Foundation, all of the work is provided by volunteers.
The Airfield.Guide home page states, “New places. New adventures,” and as of late February 2020, the site lists 231 airports, with 56 in Arkansas; 18 in Missouri; 17 in Montana; 15 in Oregon; followed by 14 in Oklahoma. More recreational airstrips are added all the time and 49 of the 50 states are now represented in the guide.
Why so many in Arkansas? That’s because that’s where the guide started. RAF member and supporter Chip Gibbons began writing code and with the help of RAF Arkansas Liaison Dave Powell and others, began adding airfields and beta testing the program. They created a comprehensive survey form and RAF state liaisons were tasked with sending in appropriate airfields for consideration. Once the information is verified the location is added.
“This is an important focus for us in 2020,” RAF President Bill McGlynn said. “We would like to double the number of airfields in the Airfield.Guide.”
Airstrips are defined as two types: Permissive (green), where users don’t need to ask for permission; and Conditional (yellow), where a condition needs to be met before use, such as a required Safety Briefing or prior contact with owner. These are clearly defined in the Airfield.Guide, RAF officials said.
“You’ll find the many features of the Airfield.Guide very helpful in planning your flight,” officials continued. “You can sort by recreational amenities (camping, restrooms, fishing, cell service, etc), runway length, region, state or Relative Hazard Index (RHI), where full airstrip surveys have been completed. (RHI is based on Galen Hanselman’s rating system). Many airstrips include photos, and even videos of approaches and landings.”
Additionally, you’ll find the basics, lat/long, elevation, ownership, pattern direction and CTAF. The Airfield.Guide is also where you’ll find important Safety Briefings developed for specific airstrips, some of which are required to be reviewed prior to landing and details to gain knowledge to help you make appropriate decisions before you fly there, RAF officials said.
The guide is free to use, and once you’ve created a user registration, you receive updates of the new fields as they are added. Go to Airfield.Guide to register.