Frisco Mountain Retreat & Aviation Club KFMR

Frisco was a longtime pilot who fell in love with the de Havilland Twin Otter early in his flying career. To him, it was basically the perfect airplane. Tough, simple, capable of getting into places most aircraft had no business going, and just as happy on wheels as it was on floats. After years of flying around the Pacific Northwest, he found a remote piece of land in northeast Oregon surrounded by mountains, forests, and a long cold lake. Most people saw isolation. Frisco saw an airport. He bought the property and started building what was essentially his dream aviation retreat. Not a commercial airport. Not a resort full of tourists. Just a beautiful place where pilots could disappear for a few days. The first runway was rough and short, deliberately designed around bush aircraft. Then came a dock on the lake so float-equipped aircraft could get in. Frisco eventually built a lodge, a few cabins, maintenance space, and a hangar large enough for the airplane he loved more than anything else. A Twin Otter. His own Twin Otter became the unofficial mascot of the retreat. It hauled lumber during construction, brought in supplies during winter, picked up stranded hikers, carried guests, and occasionally disappeared into the mountains for days at a time with Frisco at the controls. The airport slowly earned a reputation among backcountry pilots. Not because it was easy to reach. Because it wasn’t. The mountain approaches required respect, and the lake landing was even trickier. Winds came rolling off the ridges, the water could turn glassy with almost no warning, and the terrain left little room for sloppy flying. Frisco loved it that way. He never wanted the airport to become polished enough that arriving there stopped feeling like an accomplishment. Eventually people started calling the property simply: Frisco Mountain Retreat Later, as more pilots began visiting, it officially became the: Frisco Mountain Retreat & Aviation Club