Flying into College Park Airport, Nov '06

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College Park Airport is the oldest continuously operated airport in the world, founded in 1909 for the Wright Brother's instruction of the first military aviators.

Since the flight restrictions that followed in the wake of 9/11, traffic at the airport has dropped off precipitously. The procedures for getting in and out are a bit complicated, and only pilots who have passed a "vetting" process are allowed in. This process involves finger-printing and a background check, but it mostly involves a bunch of paper-work and running around, so most sensible pilots don't bother.

Having gone through the trouble of sitting on the Group W bench, and finally being assigned an FRZ PIN, we flew into College Park to see if I could do it without being shot down, to get a scenic view of my old school, U of MD College Park, and to get some lunch at the restaurant on the field, a 94th Aerosquadron.

Our flight from Gaithersburg was short, probably about 10 minutes. We actually had to drive right past College Park to get to the airport in Gaithersburg, in order to fly to College Park.