Jim Richmond Backcountry Aviation Foundation
8 The Green, Suite 15081, Dover, DE 19901, United States (US)
Jim Richmond loved the wild places. Whether in Washington, Idaho, Alaska, Canada or elsewhere, going to remote areas away from the hustle & bustle of everyday urban life was precious to him. In addition to a deep appreciation for the beauty of non-urban landscapes, Jim also intuitively recognized the spiritual, mental & physical benefits all people gain by spending time in the outdoors.
Mission
To preserve, expand & protect public backcountry aviation access for current & future generations of aviators.
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Services
Our Mission & Purpose
Public Access
Jim Richmond loved the wild places. Whether in Washington, Idaho, Alaska, Canada or elsewhere, going to remote areas away from the hustle & bustle of everyday urban life was precious to him. In addition to a deep appreciation for the beauty of non-urban landscapes, Jim also intuitively recognized the spiritual, mental & physical benefits all people gain by spending time in the outdoors.
Experiencing the backcountry was always profound for Jim & ultimately, he dedicated his entire professional career to sharing his backcountry experience with others by designing & building specialty aircraft to allow others to access those wild places that he so cherished. After having spent many years building a successful company (CubCrafters) to manufacture best-of-class backcountry aircraft, Jim next intended to dedicate his personal time & resources to further improve public backcountry access by identifying key sites where aviation could uniquely provide public entry to remote areas & then opening or developing those sites for public use.
Jim passed away unexpectedly in 2021, but his vision for more & better public backcountry aviation access remains. The primary mission & intent of the Jim Richmond Backcountry Aviation Foundation is to acquire, develop & maintain a portfolio of aviation accessible backcountry properties for the public benefit in perpetuity.
Public Education
Jim Richmond had the heart of a teacher. He was never too busy to answer questions about flying in the backcountry, or even to share his own personal experiences (both good & bad) for others to learn from. He would always do this in a simple quiet way, never in a hurry, and not with ego. What often felt like it was just a casual conversation was an opportunity for him to teach.
Mountain & backcountry flying is different from other forms of aviation. With high density altitudes, complex terrain, limited information & unpredictable weather, it can be more challenging for pilots to learn than other forms of aviation. Pilots that are new to backcountry aviation also don’t always understand that when used improperly, aircraft can cause conflicts or problems in the backcountry with other users or for the environment.
Jim believed that the safety issues with backcountry aviation could be mitigated by educating pilots on the proper techniques for safely flying in remote areas. Teaching pilots about good backcountry flying etiquette could reduce impacts to non-aviation users & minimize negative environmental impacts.
Jim also believed it was important to educate the non-flying public on the importance of aviation for other backcountry purposes. Search & rescue, wildlife survey & management, wildland fire fighting & law enforcement in remote areas are all benefitted by the use of aviation in the backcountry.
Educating pilots on safely operating aircraft in remote areas, educating pilots about proper backcountry flying etiquette, and educating the general public on the benefits & importance of using aviation in the backcountry is the secondary mission of the Jim Richmond Backcountry Aviation Foundation.
Historic Preservation
Jim Richmond was a student of aviation history, especially in regard to flying in the backcountry. If you happened to meet Jim at some remote airstrip in the middle of the wilderness & the conversation turned to how that airstrip came to be, Jim would inevitably know the entire history of it. He could tell you if it was established by a mining company or a ranching family, who the early pioneers for that strip were & what kind of aircraft they flew. If Jim didn’t know, he would often go home & research until he did.
He understood & deeply appreciated the hard work that early pioneers of backcountry aviation did to open up remote areas for aviation access & always was supportive of understanding & preserving the infrastructure they originally built that the general public enjoys today.
The Jim Richmond Backcountry Aviation Foundation will continue this legacy by adopting the mission to understand & document the history of the aviation accessible properties it manages & where appropriate, preserve historic buildings, aviation infrastructure, or other unique historic features related to those properties to allow for the continued appreciation of the contributions & the hard work of the early pioneers in the backcountry, along with their connection to aviation.
Backcountry Stewardship
Jim Richmond believed in teamwork. He saw that hard work of preserving & protecting the wild places he so loved took an entire community of both public & private stakeholders with specialties in different disciplines. Recreational users from rafters to hikers to hunters, private interests in ranching or mining, government agencies at federal, state & local levels, non-profit groups engaged in wildlife conservation or habitat restoration & many more these. Jim understood that protecting the backcountry & sharing the benefits that it provides to both individuals & to society at large takes teamwork & these groups all have something to contribute.
In his honor, the Jim Richmond Backcountry Aviation Foundation intends to manage its portfolio of properties as part of a larger community of backcountry stakeholders, to allow those other groups to use aviation to accomplish their missions that preserve & protect the backcountry for the public overall.
For example, if a public agency or NGO needs a base of operations for remote wildlife surveys, the Foundation can provide that access. If a there is a threat from wildland fire & the teams fighting it can use the Foundation’s facilities to access the backcountry or as temporary base for aviation assets, the Foundation will provide that access. If there are other aviation compatible opportunities to provide backcountry recreational access to the public at large such as for hiking, rafting, or horseback access, the Foundation intends provide that access.
In this way, the Jim Richmond Backcountry Aviation Foundation can be a force multiplier for the overall public good. Through aviation & aviation access, the Foundation can increase the effectiveness of the entire backcountry community to work as a team to be good stewards of the wild places.
That was very important to Jim. He knew we all have a duty to be good stewards of the backcountry for both aviators & non-aviators alike. It’s a mission we can accomplish together in his name.
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