The Airport

• General Aviation contributes more than $150 billion to the United States economy annually and employs more than 1.2 million people.
  
  
• The airport will design and implement the construction of a safe state of the art airport on the site of the former Columbia Air Center.
  
  
• The airport will not have multiple grass runways as it previously had when operating as the Columbia Air Center because grass runways today are not safe, useful or practical for general aviation purposes.
  
  

• The dimensions of the runway will be 7,000 feet by 150 feet for optimum efficiency and safety.
  
  

• The runway’s length will accommodate rescue efforts by the civil air patrol and Maryland State Police if necessary.
  
  

• The airport could function as a relief staging area before, during or after a disaster or emergency situation.
  
  
• The airport will enhance and simplify accessibility to the Tanger facility, the National Harbor, The Equestrian Center, FedEx Stadium, and the many other tourist attractions in Prince George’s County and the Washington DC Metropolitan area.
  
  
• The airport will generate sufficient revenue from aviation-related educational services such as; hanger operations, light cargo operations, flight instruction, aircraft repair/maintenance, inspections operations, corporate traffic operations, charter traffic operations, refueling operations, and ancillary service operations to be self-sustaining.  Students will experience via observation and internships how science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) skills are applied by the aviation daily workforce; Just as future doctors learn by observing doctors performing their duties the future workforce of Prince George’s County will learn by observing general aviation employees in a general aviation airport environment.
  
  
• The airport offers an alternative to the crowded, security-restricted airspace at National Airport and the considerable distance from BWI or Dulles to the Metropolitan area.
  
  
• The airport will provide opportunities for all people regardless of sex, race, creed or color to have a chance to participate in aviation and career skill enhancement.
  
  
• The airport will subsidize off-site the classroom (theory) segment of aviation training.
  
  
• The airport will subsidize ground school and flying lessons.
  
  
• The aviation activities are ideal to expose Prince George’s County students, “At-Risk Youth,” exchange students, veterans, and out of state students to viable aviation trades and professions.
  
  
• The airport programs and activities may significantly reduce juvenile delinquency.
  
  
• The airport intends to contribute, as funds become available, to 501(c)(3) organizations providing academic scholarships.
  
  
• The airport intends to support other 501(c)(3) organizations as the funds become available.
  
  
• The site is ideal for a museum to collect and preserve aviation artifacts.
  
  
• The museum will add to the viability of the airport as a focal point for fly-ins, tourists, and dissemination of information regarding African-American contributions to aviation.
  
  
• The airport location is ideal for tourists, professional and collegiate sports fans, and general aviation activities.
  
  

• The site is ideal to serve as an emergency evacuation point during a disaster.
  
  

• The site is ideal to serve as a staging area for relief efforts after a disaster.
  
  

• The site is ideal to serve as an in-place shelter during a disaster.
  
  

• The site location is ideal to assist general aviation travelers (corporate, recreational, national, and global) to use the National Harbor facilities, the Tanger Outlets, the MGM Casino facilities and other places of interest located in Prince George’s County, Virginia, and/or in Washington, D.C.
  
  

• The site will provide needed hanger space for general aviation aircraft.
  
  

• The site will provide superior repair services for general aviation aircraft.
  
  

• The airport is located outside the restricted airspace surrounding Washington D.C. making it extremely desirable for general aviation purposes. The proposed 7,000-foot runway is a superb safety feature and potentially provides virtually unlimited economic benefit to Prince George’s County and general aviation.
  
  

• The airport has light cargo potential (UPS, US Mail, Amazon, etc.)
  
  

• The airport will pay for any infrastructure enhancements if any are required.
  
  

• The airport has the potential to provide middle-class income-producing skills and jobs to the unemployed (veterans, the underemployed, young people without viable job skills).  Read More