WORTH THE READ: JOE BROWN 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 Joe Brown, the Chairman of Hartzell Propeller.



An RAF Flatlander Reflects on Good Fortune:

Eight years ago I was standing in a stranger’s crowded living room in Bozeman, Montana.

Members of the General Aviation Manufacturers Association were gathered with a large group of RAF members who were hosting us for a weekend in the backcountry. About half the folks in the room were meeting for the first time.

One of the RAF members greeted us and said something I haven’t forgotten: “We are a campfire sort of group. At the end of our time together, we hope you will leave us with your friendship.”

He meant it. That gathering led to some of my closest friendships.

But that night, this was all new to me. I was charged with a nervous energy about what was ahead. I had spent my life in the very flat part of Ohio. I had recently finished a factory-assisted build of a Glasair Sportsman and was fresh into a tail dragger endorsement.

In other words, I was a menace.

Looking out to the Bridger Mountains that evening, I thought to myself “don’t let anyone think you know anything and listen to those that do.”

That’s how I came to know the RAF. I’ve been in that living room many times since and in lots of others too. At first I thought it was about grass strips and airplanes, but that’s just a point of entry. 

Generous friendship is the bond that makes the RAF work and is the source of its rewards. The only credential you need to be a good member is neighborliness. And you have to like orange.

Is there another organization that gathers in homes all across the country? I’ve been welcomed into a dozen RAF member homes in the North West, the Mid West and the North East in the span of a few years.

Is there another organization whose members welcome you as if you were the oldest of friends as they help push your airplane into their hangar or hand you the keys to their car?

Is there another organization that takes you to the people and places that come to fill your photo files and memories? 

It’s easy to be sentimental about the RAF community. I’m sitting at a desk in Piqua, Ohio but my walls are covered with photos from places farther away. I see people in jeans and orange that have told me about their families, their favorite camping site, and where to get the best burger in Manhattan. Kansas, that is. I’ve gotten hours of training and advice from those with more skill.

It was only later that I really got thinking about who these folks are outside of the RAF. They may have been camouflaged by RAF swag, but you probably passed the bread to an astronaut, or a mom who flies G650s, a combat pilot with a DFC, an airline CEO, a tech titan, a history teacher, a large-scale Pizza franchise operator and a guy that commanded the Thunderbirds. I’m sure you know what I mean about the talent in the RAF hiding its light under a bushel.

I suspect all of us have had a similar experience coming into this membership. We have plenty to celebrate in our members and the energy they have for life. One of our younger members has racked time in more airplane models than anyone I know and earned his ASEL, AMEL and ASES by a week or so into his 17th year. The chat room with updates and videos of his epic journey had about forty people cheering him on like he was our godchild.

As you get older, you tend to think about the people and activities that give meaning to your life. You think about the good fortune of family, friends and experiences with them. It’s humbling to be content.

Thank you, RAF friends, for your company and wisdom. Thank you for your helping hands in all that we do as an organization. May we always leave the backcountry and our friends glad for our visits.

Submitted on March 28, 2023.

Posted in Guest Editorial, News