Rough and Deteriorating Runway May Be Hampering Annual Fly-In Attendance

The Popular Rotorcraft Association is reaching out to rotor flyers, as well as interested parts of the sport aviation community, for help in rebuilding their private runway in Mentone, IN -- the home of the PRA, itself.

"We are reaching out to you today on behalf of the Popular Rotorcraft Association because we need your help. We are dangerously close to losing a critical resource that if lost, will have a negative and lasting effect on the gyro community. Those of you who have attended any of the PRA conventions in the last few years are well aware of the current state of the runway, and the toll the elements have taken on it over the years."

PRA believes that, 'Many pilots have chosen not to attend the past few conventions, because of the rough runway conditions. And, with the reduced revenue from lower attendance, the funding to repair the runway is not available.'

So... PRA is engaging in a fund-raising campaign to get the runway fixed... which is NOT a minor undertaking. Their research indicates that, to replace the entire 2500’ x 40’ surface, would cost about $350,000... and while that seems out of reach, to start, they have plans to get at least 600 feet of the runway redone... which will meet the needs of the majority of rotornauts for PRA24, though they hope to eventually get the whole surface completed at some point in the future.

To replace the first 600’ of the runway, starting from the taxiway on the south end and proceeding north, is expected to devour about $125K... and if the funds are raised in time, the chosen contractor believes that they can be done in time to host this year's PRA Convention, scheduled for July 31st to August 3rd.

At the present time, they are over $25K in total funding... and since the PRA is a non-profit 501C-3 organization, donations are tax deductible. Links to the fund-raising campaign are included below...

FMI: https://pra.org/, www.every.org/popular-rotorcraft-association-inc/f/mentone-runway-repair, https://youtu.be/RP2Hri37n9c?si=nsX85oUBs6gXpPeo