Jim Richmond Backcountry Aviation Foundation Raffling Three Piper J-3 Cubs in 2026/2027 Fundraiser
Why It MattersRaffles of ready-to-fly aircraft show how backcountry advocacy groups turn the pull of simple, classic airplanes into funding for land and access, rather than relying on dues or grants alone.
What happened
The Jim Richmond Backcountry Aviation Foundation (JRBAF) is giving away three Piper J-3 Cub aircraft in its 2026/2027 fundraising raffle. Three winners will be selected.
The foundation said it chose the Piper J-3 because it is simple and iconic, describing the J-3 Cub as the classic grassroots airplane that helped America fall in love with backcountry aviation.
The foundation said its mission is carried out primarily by acquiring private property in remote areas, developing the aviation infrastructure needed to make those locations accessible, and opening them to the public for recreation. It also educates the public about the importance of backcountry aviation, teaches pilots the skills and best practices needed to operate safely in such environments, documents and preserves the history of the properties it acquires, and supports other backcountry organizations that use aviation in remote areas.
As has become its tradition, JRBAF pays the federal income taxes on the grand prize, which the foundation said removes what can be a significant financial hurdle for winners.
Industry impact & what to watch
Aircraft raffles are a familiar fundraising tool in general aviation, and this one fits that tradition. The prize is an airplane type with broad emotional recognition among pilots, which widens the pool of people willing to buy a ticket for a cause they might otherwise only follow from a distance.
For a foundation whose model rests on buying remote land and building the infrastructure to open it, recurring raffle income is a way to fund acquisitions without depending only on member dues or grants. Covering the winners' federal income taxes on the grand prize also changes what winning means in practice. A prize aircraft can carry a tax bill large enough to make a winner hesitate, and removing that bill makes the offer a clean one.
For the three winners, the practical questions will come after the draw: where the aircraft will be based, how they will be insured, and what experience the new owners have operating off-airport. The foundation's own emphasis on teaching safe backcountry operation points to the same gap between receiving an airplane and flying it well in remote terrain.
