Recreational Aviation Foundation Releases Airstrip Owner’s Guide

Booklet answers questions for owners considering allowing others to use their private airfield.

The Recreational Aviation Foundation has published a booklet called Guide for the Private Airfield Owner. The guide was developed to provide information for private airstrip owners who are considering allowing others to use their airfield.

The publication encourages owners to include their airstrips on Sectional charts and covers legal, liability, safety and legacy concerns that owners should be aware of.

The guide also explains some of the benefits of having an airstrip listed with the FAA, such as the legal protection from drone operations and the erection of cell towers near the airfield.

Guide for the Private Airfield Owner is the third publication the RAF has developed to clarify the concerns of landowners in allowing public use aviation on their properties. Previous guides include Land Manager’s Guide and Advocate’s Guide.

“We expect that we may now be seen as the ‘go-to’ organization regarding private airfield support with this new guide,” said John Nadeau, former RAF Massachusetts Liaison and owner of Old Acton Airfield (02ME) in Maine. “It will be RAF folks who show up at an airfield with rakes, shovels and pulaskis when word goes out that an airfield owner needs physical help.”