RAF Bags Another Airstrip

Monache Meadows (L80) is back on the map. Literally.

The Southern California airstrip, south of Mt. Whitney at 7,864-foot elevation, is once again open.

L80 was unofficially closed in the 1970s citing the Wilderness Act.

In 2011, a small army of dedicated Recreational Aviation Foundation members started working on re-opening Monache Meadows.

Conversation by conversation, email by email, phone call by phone, progress was made.

And today, 15 years later the RAF can claim another re-opened airstrip in its Expanding the Map initiative.

Back in the 1990s and 2000s I recall hearing “on average, we lose one airport every week.” I have no idea who coined that quote or if it was even accurate.

Regardless, it is nice to see the RAF doing something about airstrips.

Pay attention to this space. The steady drumbeat of the RAF’s Expanding the Map initiative will continue through 2026.