You can't go home again

When one talks about College Park Airport, it depends on the Era. Pioneer, Airmail, barnstormer, WWII, post war, ERCO, Brinkerhoff the Elder, quiet years, Brinkerhoff the younger, Park and Planning take-over, Save the Airport, Rebuild the Airport, Restaurant modern stable, 9-11, post 9-11. I experienced a bit of the quiet years. A bit of "Marlin Helicopters". My family would stop on the way home from church. We would just look at a few parked planes. Sometimes we'd stop in Riverdale, not far away, near the ERCO factory, at a place called Dumm's Corner. There was a great old bookstore and sometimes we'd get a soda or ice cream at the Market. Dumm's is still there. The other Era I experienced was obviously the Young Brinkerhoff years. The other Eras I've just heard about or read about. I don't know much about the airport today. Recently I've become interested anew. Since I bought the Ercoupe derivative a year ago, I now feel even more a part of the College Park - Riverdale aviation history. This last winter I visited the parking lot at the old ERCO building. I had photo copies of the building from WWII era. The surroundings were all built up and very different, but the main building is still there. The same day I went to the CP Museum and bought a poster-print of the Ercoupe factory and had it autographed by Betsy Weick, the 80 yr. old daughter of the famous designer/engineer of ERCO and Piper. It hangs in my hangar. Thanks Betsy. Now just a couple of days ago I found myself walking around College Park Airport shown around a bit by my friend Mimo. To fly in you need a special clearance and you have to be "vetted". "Vetted" seems to be a new buzz word in DC. When the Candidates in the Primary were having their backrounds checked and the mud was slinging, they had to be "Vetted". I had never heard of "Vetted". I just sold my beautiful 1986 C-4 Corvette. I am no longer "Vetted". We have horses and dogs and when they get sick I get a bill. Boy, do I get "Vetted"! All the airplanes at College Park have a cable lock around the prop. This is because an airplane thief wouldn't seek out a remote airport with lots of nice twins and late model singles and no watchmen. He would head right for College Park where there aren't many valuable airplanes, there is a huge well maintained fence around the entire perimeter, and it is owned by the government, and it is guarded by the Park Police, and almost any activity is noticed. You gotta lock your plane. College Park is so inviting to a thief. You're a sitting duck. And that cable lock, well it will stop any thief in their tracks. They see that, they just run away and turn themselves in to National Capital Park and Planning. No thief has ever heard of a bolt cutter. It could take as long as 20 seconds to get rid of that cable lock. They might be a terrorist who has decided to bring in a dufflebag full of Dynamite to attack the Capital. He could have a plan, be part of a terrorist cell, sneak into the airport, know how to break into a plane and start the plane and fly the plane, but ain't no way he's gonna get past that cable lock. The airport sat in a swamp really, in the former years. Now millions have been spent and it really is unbelievably nice. All drained. Beautiful turf. Incredible asphalt surfacing everywhere. A paved full length parallel taxiway. The runway actually re-oriented to take advantage of the available acreage and of course lengthened. Regulation lighting. The up- scale restaurant with it's airplane theme. Where one can eat one's steak in air conditioned comfort and hear WWI music and look out the tinted pane glass, and see far and safely away and not smell the one or two actual operations per day. A beautiful museum celebrating the rich heritage. With plans for the museum to be 4 times bigger. It's all fantastic and I'm glad our tax money went to it. In my mind, couldn't be better spent. After all it's the Wright Brothers! Can't you just feel me getting ready to say BUT? There are no kids sitting on the fence with their model plane wishing to go up. There's no hangar full of know-it-alls criticizing everybody's technique. Nobody working on a plane, nobody flying a plane. Nobody allowed to fly a plane. College Park now belongs to the tax payers. Thats you and me. I'm glad it survived and it's heritage is forever known. It's Holy Ground to me, and I'm an owner as a citizen. It's a great park and great memories. Just please, please don't say anybody saved the airport. The "airport" died in the seventies. It died because: The neighbors wanted it shut down because of their valuable real estate. General Aviation itself had mostly died and that's a long story for another Blog. Park and Planning took over. They meant well, but they ran the airport like a zoo or one of their monuments. Another good Blog story there. The airport died in the seventies. It was buried Sept. 11, 2001. G.A.I.