Lincoln Airport Foundation gets off the ground to support facility's future

With the activity at the Lincoln Airport this year, including construction of a new taxiway that will provide space for several more hangars, Lincoln Airport "guru" Jerry Cain felt the time was right to create a formal organization to assist the Montana Aeronautics Division with the upkeep of the facility.

For several years, Cain has been coordinating events and maintenance at the airport and he said circumstances came together this spring, including the arrival of snow removal equipment from the state, that prompted him to create the Lincoln Airport Foundation.

The non-profit organization, a 501c3, is organized under the principal of easing the burden of government and is dedicated to coordinating with the Montana Aeronautics Division on the upkeep and development of the airport.

"We do make recommendations to Montana Aeronautics and work with them and offer to help wherever we can," Cain said. The creation of the Lincoln Airport Foundation formalizes what Cain and other hangar owners had already been doing. "All of us do something. We mow grass and repair lights and fix things that need fixing. We do a lot of stuff just as volunteer for Aeronautics."

Cain said hangar owners are by default board members of the LAF, although it has no other designated membership. Cain is currently the president of the foundation, with Terry Spath serving as Vice president, Bob Frank-Plumlee as secretary and Doug Vulcan as treasurer.

Their monthly meetings, currently being held at Bushwackers at 9 a.m. on the third Friday of each month, are open to the public, and are used primarily to discuss the airport activities and events, and what they would like to see happen with the facility.

"We let Aeronautics know what we think needs to be done, or should be done. If they agree with it, it will go on, if they don't agree, it won't," he said.

A main goal Cain and the LAF have for the airport is the installation of an instrument approach procedure, which would allow airplanes to land in bad weather.

"One of the primary reasons for that is if you have to medically evacuate somebody (in inclement weather), helicopters can't come in, but fixed wing can," Cain said.

The creation of the LAF may also help the airport secure a courtesy car for the airport, something that Cain has worked toward for some time 'so pilots have transportation instead of just bicycles.''

"The state of Montana will give us the car, but because it's a state airport, they will not retain title and they will not insure it," he said. Cain said any organization or even an individual could potentially take title to the car and provide it as a courtesy car for the airport, but the main sticking point with organization like the Chamber of Commerce has always been the issue of insurance.

"It's all doable. It's just getting the car, somebody taking the title and figuring out what the best insurance deal is. it's not an urgent thing, but it something we've been working toward," he said.

Looking ahead, Cain said he and other local hangar owners have been talking to pilots from Seeley Lake and around the area about forming a local chapter – called a hangar - of the Montana Pilots Association in Lincoln. He and Spath have already approached Montana Pilots Association about creating a chapter, which are primarily social organizations for pilots.

Cain said the LAF as an organization will likely take over the annual Open House and barbecue, which he has hosted for the past several years. If they do create a Lincoln-Seeley Lake Pilots Association, it will probably take the lead as a social organization.

Cain said the current construction at the airport is progressing well, but he's still not expecting it to be completed until next year.

"As the weather comes in they may have to put off the pavement until next year. We always expected it would be a two-year project," he said.

He believes the project will provide a benefit to both the Lincoln Airport and to the economy of Lincoln.

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