• Runway
22 traffic pattern will be right hand turns• Be alert of traffic and transmit intentions on 122.95
• Noise abatement procedures remain in effect
For more information contact the Airport at: (410) 770-8055
Freeway Airport: County Planning Board Hearing on
Rouse Phase II
news from AOPA ASN volunteer
Martha Ainsworth
Date: Wed, 3 Jul 2002 11:15:32 -0400
1. The County Clerk's office says that the hearing is set for 10 am on TUESDAY, JULY 23RD. I'VE BEEN ASSURED THAT THE HEARING WILL LIKELY BE OVER BY LUNCHTIME.
2. There was a story in today's Prince George's Journal about yesterday's COW meeting (in archive - query on airport 07.03.2002)
3. Attached is an electronic copy of the final bill, CB-51-2002
Synopsis of last meeting and
bill by Martha
Washington Post article on College Park Airport - Jan. 4 2002
Washington Post article on Prince Georges County airport closings - Jan. 2 2002
Freeway Airport: County Planning Board Hearing on
Rouse Phase II, Jan. 17th -
news from AOPA ASN volunteer
Martha Ainsworth
The County Planning Board will be voting on the Rouse-Fairwood Phase II
Comprehensive Sketch Plan on Thursday, January 17th. This is the same
Sketch Plan discussed by the Bowie City Council at the end of last year and
it amounts to the broad allocation of the southern half of the Rouse turf
farm development to different uses. Included in that broad allocation is
'low-density housing' of one lot per half acre right off the end of runway
36, beginning 1200 feet from the end of the runway. This is approximately
at the treeline on the top of the hill on the north side of Route 50. The
Rouse Phase II Comprehensive Sketch Plan does NOT conform to the
recommendations of the Proposed Manual of Regulations for Land Use Around
General Aviation Airports in Prince George's County, which the County
Council has yet to discuss and approve. The Manual recommends no homes in
APAs 1 or 2, and 5-acre lots in APAs 3 and 4.
Our bottom line: The Rouse Plan should conform to the recommendations of
the Manual -- irrespective of whether yet enacted by the County Council --
in the interests of public safety. We recommend withholding approval until
Rouse agrees to to this. We also don't want any reforestation in APA1, on
the north side of route 50 adjacent to the highway, as it constitutes
additional hazards to aircraft and their occupants.
The meeting will start at 9 am, at the County Administrative Building in
Upper Marlboro (14741 Governor Oden Bowie Drive), although it likely will
not be the first thing on the agenda. Interested parties can sign up to
speak at the meeting. You can also write to Elizabeth M. Hewlett, Chairman,
Prince George's County Planning Board, 14741 Governor Oden Bowie Drive,
Upper Marlboro, MD 20772, with your views.
If you can't make the meeting, it would be helpful if you could write to Ms.
Hewlett expressing your views and copied to Audrey Scott and Ronald Russell,
on the County Council. Freeway Airport was closed for 3 months and it's
important that the County people understand that the airport is back in
business and axious to get the Manual back on the agenda.
No news on College Park, Potomac, or Hyde yet, but you can monitor progress
on the Potomac Airfield website --- www.potomac-airfield.com.
See you in the skies!
Martha
October 11 - Latest news on Freeway airport & vicinity land use plus other MD aviation news from AOPA ASN volunteer Martha Ainsworth - see articles down the page for background
(from AOPA online news week of June 15 - anyone following the Freeway aiport/land use hearings knows Martha has done a great job on this and certainly deserves the recognition)
ASN volunteer Martha Ainsworth has been keeping AOPA apprised about a large development corporation's plans to build homes off the north end of the runway at Freeway Airport (W00) in Mitchellville, Maryland. She has worked to educate the county planning staff on the needs of general aviation airports. In addition, Ainsworth has done an outstanding job at rallying users to support a countywide plan to zone the land around the county's four airports for compatible land uses.
To learn more about the Airport Support Network, visit AOPA Online
Bob Clark's "Looking Back" hour on Atlanta's PBS station WABE 90.1 FM at 6 p.m. Sunday, May 27 will feature the music of World War II, including songs by Carolyn Hannan, a favorite entertainer at the Mid Atlantic Air Museum's World War II Weekend Airshow, coming up June 8-10. Interviews with veterans will highlight the meaning of the music and bring back the memories of the turbulant years which defined the world we live in today.
You are invited to write supporting the Draft Regulations for Land Use Around GA Airports and attend the Planning Board Meeting on Thursday, May 24th, and speak if you can. The address for Hon. Elizabeth Hewlett, Chairman of the Prince George's County Planning Board is: County Administration Building, 14741 Gov. Oden Bowie Drive, Upper Marlboro, MD 20772. Details History: See previous announcements on this page.
from the Office of Regional Aviation Assistance (410) 859-7064 - see also MDGA Airport News
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New AWOS frequency/phone...
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| Bay Bridge | W29 | 120.575 | (410) 643-8795 |
| Cambridge | CGE | 120.675 | (410) 228-7559 |
| St. Mary's | 2W6 | 119.575 | (301) 373-6514 |
| College Park | CGS | 120.675 | (301) 864-5497 |
| Garrett County | 2G4 | 120.125 | (301) 746-8443 |
| Ridgely | 1N0 | 120.225 | (410) 634-1072 |
| Tipton | FME | 123.925 | TBA |
1. Meeting this Thursday, April 5 of the Advisory Committee, MNCPPC
The Planning Commission staff will be meeting with the Advisory Committee to
review their final proposal for zoning around GA airports this Thursday, April
5th, 5:30 onward, on the 4th floor of the County Administration Building, 14741
Gov. Oden Bowie Drive. The specific agenda has not been made available as of
today, nor is the proposal likely to be available in advance of the meeting.
Like the meeting of March 7, we can attend as observers. At the last meeting
some of the observers were asked direct questions, but this is unlikely to be
the case on Thursday. Apparently the press has been advised of the meeting and
is likely to show up. Anyone who wants to come should; there is no pressure
to keep this meeting small, and it might be advantageous if the press shows
up to have some reasonable representation of pilots.
We don't yet know what the Planning Commission will propose, but based on discussions
with Craig Rovelstad and Wendy Irminger, I suspect that APZ2 (which begins at
1200 feet beyond the end of the runway) will be kept structure-free and that
the real debate surrounds what density of housing or other
activity to allow in APZs 3 and 4. I found out that the existing Rouse plans
call for 'low density' in APZ2 (which is 1/2 acre lots) and 'medium density'
in zones 3 & 4 (1/4 acre lots). Not much space between homes! The homes
on Featherstone Drive are half-acre lots. I'm hoping for 5 acre or 10 acre lots
in APZ3. Haven't got a clue about APZ4. We'll report back after the meeting
for those who can't attend.
2. Discussions with reps from the Rouse Corporation
A few weeks ago, Stanley Rodenhauser met with representatives of Rouse in Columbia,
MD (their headquarters), at their invitation. Last Friday I met with Ed Gibbs,
the attorney for Rouse, based in New Carrollton, who wanted to discuss the pilot
recommendations on the APZs & the map showing six accidents
since 1965 in APZs 2, 3, and 6 on the turf farm.
The proposal on the table from the Planning Commission is to allow Rouse to
swap densities within the development to reduce the density off the end of the
runway. Rouse says that there are two options: build more homes on the western
edge of the development (this is in an environmentally sensitive area next
to a beautiful creek, which Rouse doesn't want to disturb) or a 50-acre piece
of land adjacent to route 50 on the east, reserved for a future interchange
of the inter-county connector. There are no homes in the plan yet for the latter
area and the County (not the Planning Commission) would have to decide whether
to free it up. That would have to be linked to a bigger decision in the region
to drop the intercounty connector.
It's pretty clear that Rouse will ask the county for compensation if they cannot
build the number of homes that were planned. Gibbs said that when the county
understands how much they'll have to compensate Rouse, they'll compare it to
the cost of purchasing the airport and opt for the latter. My sense is that
back when Rouse was planning the development, they viewed Freeway as a low-key
mom and pop operation that would be easy to buy up. However, I explained to
him that it's a booming business, that the economy has improved and demand for
pilots is up while at the same time pilots from the baby-boom and Vietnam eras
are nearing retirement. Freeway has had an explosion in demand for training,
and with the development the demand will be even greater. The hourly price of
instruction has doubled since my training 10 years ago. It's a major training
center for the Washington area, not just Prince George's County, and it's not
going to go away. In fact, I said that the airport should be considered a selling
point by Rouse, not a liability. Bowie is the fourth largest city in
Maryland, and the other three all have airports. (The only thing wrong with
Columbia, after all, is that it doesn't have an airport!) It can draw people
to settle here if we do this right. I've asked AOPA's airport support network
if it wouldn't be possible to advertise the homes nearest the airport for purchase
by pilots, and I mentioned to Gibbs that conceivably the airport could offer
inducements to pilots who buy the homes close in (like offering free tiedowns
for a year, etc.)
I also conveyed to him that the pilots are not trying to stop all development,
which is inevitable, but simply trying to ensure safety and compatibility.
Gibbs' main question on the APZs was whether the pilots really believed that
APZ 4 should be free of homes. He thought that planes veered right more quickly
than what is shown on the plan after takeoff from runway 36. I explained to
him that the perspective from the Church Road bridge (his vantage point) is
not very good for judging where planes turn. We parallel the power lines until
500' AGL, which is closer or farther away from route 50, depending on the wind,
temperature and aircraft weight. But the fact is, an airplane can't turn around
from 500'AGL and get back to the airport, so a plane in trouble will continue
out parallel to the power lines and likely hit obstructions if there isn't a
clearway. I pointed out that since areas away from the powerlines will be even
more densely populated, the best strategy (even if homes are allowed in APZ4)
is to ensure that there's a swath parallel to the power lines that's free of
obstructions (including fences). I told him that to
understand this, it's better to see it from the air. So Gibbs agreed to go up
with me this Friday to see for himself the departure path. I hope that the wind
will be favoring 36!
There is one piece of good news. Gibbs says that sound barriers on the Turf
Farm property next to route 50 won't be an issue. The noise level has to be
at least 65 decibels, and the homes are set back far enough from the highway
that sound barriers can't be justified. I guess that that's true now, but I
do worry that in 10 years it could be noisier. So I'd prefer to see something
in writing.
That's all for now. Hope to see some of you at the meeting this Thursday, if
you can make it.
Martha Ainsworth - AOPA
$10.00 ante per aircraft, pilot and observer required, no rain date, airport
management makes go/no-go call at briefing time, free museum admission for participants
during that day, discount tickets for 94th Aero
Squadron, and more!
Call 301-864-5844 (7am-9pm) or fax 301-277-9269 to register. V/MC accepted.
Let's put the FUN back into FLYING!............
Tuesday, February 20, 2001, 5:30 - 9:00 PM at Harmony Hall Regional Center, 10701 Livingston Road, Fort Washington, where the two southern airports, Potomac and Hyde will be examined.
Wednesday, February 21, 2001 5:30-9:00 PM at the Newton White Mansion, 2708 Enterprise Road, Mitchellville, where the two northern airports, Freeway and College Park will be examined.
The complete study is online at http://www.mncppc.org/cpd/AirportStudy.html
Agenda:
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Interactive Exhibits, Video Discussion:
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5:30 - 7:00 |
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Orientation by Planning Staff:
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7:00 - 7:10 |
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Presentation by Aviation Consultant:
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7:10 - 7:30 |
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Public Comments/ Questions:
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7:30 - 9:00 |
An Airport Land Use Compatibility and Air Safety Study for the M-NCPPC was published dated November 10, 2000. Among the recomendations are closing of Potomac and Freeway airports. The study's major recomendation regarding CGS is to keep the University from building incompatible buildings in the area north and west of the runway, put up a deer fence and keep the trees cut.
This is a very critical development for aviation in Maryland, but typical of
the plight of airports throughout the United States. A good showing at these
hearings by the aviation community is essential. Please pass this information
along to all those interested in aviation.
The inauguration of President-elect Bush Saturday, January 20, will create a few complications for pilots in the Washington, D.C. area. See AOPA Online top news stories for details.
from the Office of Regional Aviation Assistance (410) 859-7064 - see also MDGA Airport News
Effective July 5, 2000 use 122.725
The FAA has started a program to determine root causes of runway incursions. RIIEP calls for voluntary participation, and is administered by the local FSDO.
Sharing of valuable safety information may help lead to effective corrective actions. It is up to you, the user of the system to help improve it.
Contact @ FAA HQ: Mr. Ross Cusimano, 202 267-8166.
Suburban and Tipton both hagve changed to 123.05, but you knew that - right?
Keep the frequencies clear of unnecessary chatter... and LISTEN UP.
There will be a few more frequency changes in the coming months, so check those NOTAMS and fly safe!
• Runway
22 traffic pattern will be right hand turns
• Be alert of traffic and transmit intentions on 122.95
• Noise abatement procedures remain in effect
For more information contact the Airport at: (410) 770-8055
Starting January 1, 2000, the new airport name will be CECIL COUNTY AIRPORT
Extensive runway, taxiway, apron work has been accomplished at the airport.
Runway 13/31 is asphalt surface and 3000' long and 60' wide. Runway is restricted
to daylight operations only. Runway 31 is displaced 600' and Runway 13 is displaced
300'. Use caution operating on the airfield as many construction vehicles are
operating regularly.
The crumbling, rut-filled, loose-gravel pavement has been repaired and resurfaced. The new runway is now 2005' long and 26' wide. The runway is restricted to daylight-use only. The runway markings will be painted in Spring during warm temperature.
Runway 36 has been displaced 235' and marked accordingly. Additionally, the runway lighting has been upgraded; it is now medium intensity and under pilot control.
Yes, Tipton is open, per Mike Wassel, the new airport manager. You may land there but don't expect much.... There are no lights, no fuel, no maintenance, but a lot of ramp space. It is a daytime/VFR field only, and it would be wise to check the NOTAMS before you land there. (Hopefully there is more information at the FSS specialist fingertips about Tipton than there was on Monday) The reported UNICOM frequency for the field is123.0. The runways are 10/28.
Formal opening and other improvements coming soon.
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