Please see the "Vetting Procedures" page for an announcement if you are not already vetted for the DC-3.
College Park Airport was established in 1909 after Wilbur Wright came to the field to train two military officers to fly in the government's first aeroplane. The facility is now the world's oldest continually operated airport, and is the site of many significant aviation firsts. College Park Airport, known as the "Cradle of Aviation," remains an active airport serving the needs of aircraft pilots, and is also a site for history buffs and aviation enthusiasts.
Among the many "firsts" at College Park were the first military mile-high flight by a powered aircraft, and the origination of the first all "blind" (what we now know as IFR) cross-country flight. Later, College Park became known as the home of the Ercoupe, as all of the Ercoupes ever manufactured were built in nearby Riverdale. The Berliner family also demonstrated the first controlled helicopter flight here at the field in 1924.
For more about the history of the airport, see the link to the College Park Aviation Museum, below.
In 1977 the airport was added to the National Register of Historic Places. The College Park Aviation Museum, a state-of-the-art facility with exciting aviation memorabilia, opened in 1998, and is located on the grounds of the airport.
In the dark days after September 11, 2001, the airport remained open, but only to government aircraft, for six months. It then reopened to based aircraft, and in 2003, to all transient pilots, once they clear a one-time background check. The airport management is attempting to work with the Department of Defense to mitigate the more onerous of the rules, but the background check requirement will remain. For information on these procedures, see the "VETTING PROCEDURES" link, at left. Vetting procedures updated on 10/08/2012
College Park participates in the Explore Maryland By Air program. Ask any staff member for details!
CGS is convenient to:
