Flying in and out of College Park, MD KCGS or Leesburg, KJYO
I'm wondering if anyone knows about basing or flying in and out of airports in the Washington DC area. I know there is the SFRA (take course) and the FRZ (finger prints, etc), but I'm wondering about the practicalities of basing at some airport there.
Hangars are hard to get. Tying down is easy to find, but that may be hard on the plane—worrying about water getting in, causing corrosion.
And while I'm sure I can handle the SFRA or FRZ, in a practical sense, it might become a nuisance after a while.
I'm interested in the thoughts of this great group.
Thank you.
Flying in and out of College Park, MD KCGS or Leesburg, KJYO
You are right about VKX. The guy that runs it has an interesting sense of humor he not shy about sharing. I kind of worry how long Potomac, Hyde, and Freeway will stick it out. CGS is managed by the city and have nice facilities except no hangers. I think they could make a bundle if they built some. They are close to DC and there is a train stop near by.
And, you are right about HEF. HEF is in the sfra.
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Flying in and out of College Park, MD KCGS or Leesburg, KJYO
Quote:
Originally Posted by
eaajen
Hi guys, and thanks. I'm learning.
From what you're sharing:
I notice no one mentioned Montgomery County airport, GAI, so that mitigates.
I've called CGS College Park and it's supposed to be quite nice in some ways, but no hangars and no maintenance. The guy there said I'd need to get to know some A&P or IA who was willing to come over if I ever needed on-site work, and I'd kinda like to be able to get into a hangar at some time. To me, the hangar is important as well as maintenance on the field.
I think I'll check out W29, HEF, CJR, JYO. Local pilots know the good airports. I talked with JYO who said there is a LONG wait list for hangars, but they had room in a community hanger right away, so that's nice. HEF sounded inviting on the phone. will check there again, too.
I'm glad I checked, and I'll also keep checking in as more info is shared.
Jen
I didn’t mention Gaithersburg because you didnt. It’s between JYO and CGS. I was there a few weeks ago. It’s got a classic feeling 60s FBO in my opinion. It’s really lively there. Lots of flights going in and out. There was a DPE that worked out of the FBO last time I was looking to get a new rating, which is a nice resource. They have a restaurant, and rental cars too. The ramp always seems to have some high end airplanes that are fun to see. They have rampies come out and park you and ask what you need., which made me feel like a big deal. They parked me between a tbm and a citation and behind a phenom. There is a parking fee for transients. So, its got a lot going for it, but my sense is its more about getting wealthy lobbyist and politicians into DC than grassroots. I don’t believe they have an eaa chapter.
There is a fair number of planes parked outside so my guess is that there is a wait list at Gaithersburg. But, I would encourage you to go get your name on the waitlists if you find an airport that fits you. The deposits are modest and the sooner you get on the list the sooner you will get a hanger.
Another thing that would help is some of these old airports were originally geared towards little airplanes, so even if they tell you there is a wait list, it might be worth telling them what you are looking to get a hanger for if it’s something small like a cub they might have a hanger all the other folks on the wait list can’t get into. That’s what happened to us at Hartford. They had a wait list but had three little hangers that they struggled to rent because they were built for little 1940s cubs and citabrias with a weird front wall. So you couldn’t put any low wing airplane in it and you couldn’t put in anything with a decent wingspan. So even though they had a wait list those three hangers came up quicker and everyone else passed.
Secondly, as Ron mentioned, it isn’t out of the ordinary for hangers to get rented around here by folks who are using it as cheap storage or a project airplane that the owner loses interest in. So, if you let them know you own a flying airplane that may help your chances in getting them to help you find a space if they know you plan to come in buy gas and employ their A&P, etc.
If you are considering GAI, Davis is just a little north. They are kind of dead too, but they seemed to have an old school A&P there. I thought I saw a few sheds but again most of the planes sit outside.
Another option is Frederick. A little bit of a drive north. It’s a Class D and again a going operation but you are out of the sfra, and you have probably the most active local eaa chapter there and it’s aopa’s headquarters so cool events pop up there periodically.
Lastly I would mention Lee here in Annapolis. They are still in the sfra but you are on the edge and can just bug out quickly. They don’t have many hangers but they do have open air carports. They are open to the weather and you can’t store much of anything there since they are open, but they keep the snow and rain off. So, that’s a little better. These tend to come up quickly and are relatively cheap by DC standards.
Hope that helps.
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