The Recreational Aviation Foundation has announced that Stef Goza has joined the Alaska Liaison Team. Goza started flying as a teenager in Iowa’s flatlands, where she was born and raised. She earned her pilot certificate in her 20s and flew for the next few years, but like a lot of us, flying was set on the back burner. “I returned to aviation with grit and determination to knock out old goals. I’m a strong advocate for rusty and lapsed pilots,” she says.
She earned high performance, complex, and tailwheel endorsements, and is instrument rated. She received her Single Engine Seaplane rating in a de Havilland DHC-2 Beaver. Her older brother, “who was a regular at Montana’s 8U2, Schafer Meadows,” interested her in backcountry flying years ago. Prior to moving to Alaska, Stef lived out West, where she spent time learning backcountry and mountain flying basics throughout Wyoming and Montana. A self-proclaimed mountain junkie, Stef enjoys backcountry camping, hiking, backpacking and cross-country skiing.
“The RAF mission allows me to combine my love of aviation with my passion for backcountry outdoor recreation,” she says. “I’m excited to help support the RAF mission and projects in Alaska with my fellow state liaisons, ambassadors, and volunteers.”
Stef and her husband own two experimental Cub-type airplanes and a Cessna Cardinal. They live on a runway near Palmer, Alaska. She is also the Chair of the Mat-Su Valley 99s Chapter. When she’s not doing something aviation-related, Stef manages a team of oncology nurses for a pharmaceutical company.
