Planning a trip to D.C.

[tyrefoote]

Anyone familiar with a G.A. friendly airport in the D.C. area.  I am plannig a trip and need suggestions on a safe place to tie down for a few days.  Preferably one within an hours drive of the Smithsonian Air and Space Musieum and one that I is afordable.  Thanks for the help    Ty. 

[Bob]

I few into Manassas VA last year for about a week.  It is a well equipt Delta airport.  If I remember, Oxygen was high, fuel average, car rental on sight high, but tie-down was fair.  When I go back, I will return to ManassasJust a reminder, That whole area is a special flight rules area (SFRA).

You must take an online course and print your passing report card after you pass the test.  It takes about 1.5-2 hrs to do.  You then must keep the card in your log book.  Basically if you are IFR, it is simple.  If VFR, you must file a DC SFRA VFR flight plan.  It is basically an IFR flight plan with a note that it is actually VFR.  The flight plan does not include your entire flight, just from the "gate" into the area to you destination airport.  For Manassas it is basically a ten minute flight plan.  When I went in, I left a delta space VFR and told them I had a DC SFRA flight plan on file, asked for flight following.  They then do the departure and destination input in their system and take your 10 minute flight plan and modify it to you departure area. 

When you leave the DC area, ground control gives you a transponder code while on the ground.  If you leave and are not on radar, you are instructed to turn right, enter downwind and land.  

Beside the extra work, it is pretty simple.  Just not easy to get up in the air for a short 30 minute sight seeing flight while you are there.  The online course gives more detail:   http://www.aopa.org/adiz/adiz.html

[Cruiser]

I flew into Fort Meade, Md - FME. It is to the northeast and a little closer to DC than Manassas. Since I was going to College Park first it worked better for me.

You might want to check out Freeway W00 in MITCHELLVILLE, Md it is even closer to DC but still on northeast side. If you coming from the south I don't know where they will send you getting there.

 

 

[Dwight]

I'm based at KGAI - Gaithersburg, MD.  They (airport people) - I believe - can arrange for a car rental (Enterprise?). Also, KGAI is 3-4 miles from the DC Metro (subway) - Red Line / Shady Grove stop, and a taxi can be called to go from / to airport.  Use the 'metro' to get into DC, etc. There are stops at most 'touristy places'. Check out Washington, DC metro on the internet for stops, etc.  Some people chose to stay in "the 'burbs' " and use metro for $$$ reasons. Several 'chain hotels' along Shady Grove Rd. in Rockville, MD (mile or so from metro).

The GAI airport is 'under new management', and fuel is from a truck that will come to your plane.  Apt. # 301.977.5200 - ask them about the above.  Their tie down fee used to be $10 per night.

About Freeway - W00 - they are a Mooney Service Center.  I have no idea about ground transportation from there into DC.  Great place if you have 'an issue' with your plane while in this area.  301.262.6544 is their shop number.

If coming VFR, note the prior comments about the 'SFRA' airspace.  The military folks can get rather testy - and the occupants make the local TV news - when a GA plane wanders into the SFRA without permission.  This is for IN AND OUT.

 

Dwight '82J

 

 

[Wistarmo]

Manassas, Virginia, as mentioned above, is easily accessible.  There is a Virginia Railways Express train station adjacent to the field, and this will get you into the city inexpensively.  The FBO's will take take you to the station.  The train schedule can be found at www.VRE.org.

The Special Flight Rules Area rules and its required course applies to VFR flight.  The course can be taken at www.FAASafety.gov.  Flying in on an IFR flight plan is like any other IFR flight.  Where pilots have gotten into trouble is cancelling IFR as they approach the field.  An example of a problem caused by this is that you do not squawk 1200 in the SFRA.  The way to avoid this type of problem is to simply continue IFR until landing.

If you are going to go to all the effort to go up to Washington to see the National Air and Space Museum, make plans to also go to the Udvar-Hazy facility located at Dulles Airport.  There are buses that depart from near the NASM that can take you there.  They have nearly 300 planes of interest there, such as the Winnie Mae, etc.

[N6784N]

Im based at fort meade (fme) its a good airport with vor and gps approach but its a couple of miles from town so unless they will deliver a rental car to you at the airport it wont be easy. if you do want to fly into fme you can call me and i can take you to get a rental car if its on the weekend. its not close to the metro either so plan on car rental if going. freeway airport is a msc but its kinda rough taxiing you will have to park your own airplane which is going to be in the grass probably but i wouldnt reccomend flying in there at night due to power lines close to the runway and very hard to see unless your used to that airport. its also right on the line of the frz so make sure to keep the airport to your west side. i would probably fly into gai if i was visiting. they have a resteraunt on field longer runway seems to be a better airport all around.

[John Pleisse]

I have been hangared GAI, (Gaithersburg, MD ...5 yrs) and now FDK (Frederick, MD 7 yrs). Frederick is 37 minutes drive to the DC line and equidistant to Baltimore. It is well served by Landmark FBO, you can tour AOPA (on site), great rental car service if reserved, 4 runways, 6 approaches, no Washington DC SFR/ADIZ, no Class B. You should review SFR for DC and you should be acutely aware of  P-40. It's a closet community of DC, without the DC hassles. If you want to spend time at the Udvar-Hazy complex, Manasas is closer, but busier and with SFR-Class B headaches.

Freeway is a very poor facility in a tough spot geographically. Best of luck.

[GeorgePerry]

http://www.airnav.com/airport/W00/FREEWAY_AV#c

You can't beat freeway's location, but everything else kinda stinks...

[Amelia]

If convenience to downtown DC is a priority, if this is a trip you'll make again sometime, and if you can spare a good half-day to do the security run-around (details at aopa), it's just hard to beat historic College Park, MD. It's one of the Maryland-3 airports that's inside the FRZ, but once you get your secret decoder ring, the hospitality, the very reasonable fuel price, even the $10 tie-down per night is hard to beat. They provide a (free-and required) prop-lock for transients, which bears a striking resemblance to the cheapest bicycle lock you can find. It's about 3 blocks easy ten-minute stroll to the Green Line Metro which goes right into the city-- faster and far less stressful-- than driving, looking for parking, and worrying about one-way streets.  The runway is short- about 2600, but nothing a Mooney with the right approach speed can't handle with ease. I feel sorry for these nice people who were so ill-served by our national security theater-of-the-absurd, so I encourage pilots to jump through the idiotic TSA hoops just to support them, if for no other reason.

Getting there is entirely seamless if you file IFR. They hold your hand the whole way. Otherwise you're expected to be conversant with 'gates' and other arcane procedures. In any case, you'll be required to take the on-line course on negotiating the DC airspace for any flight within 50 miles (?) of the special airspace. Not a big deal.

Not sure what the $$$ situation at Dulles is like for GA, but it's right there by the Udvar-Hazy annex to the NASM. which has an excellent collection and display, well worth seeing. Last time I was at the NASM on the mall, it was beginning to look a little shop-worn- several exhibits closed for renovation- and still closed for renovation 6 months later.