FBOs in the DC area (an Oxymoron?)

C150J

C150J

Well-Known Member
Hi all!

Are there any FBOs/Flight Schools relatively close to DC? I'm be working out of DC the entire summer and would love to maitain proficiency (instrument especially).

Thanks!
J.
 
Where are you going to be living? The closest airports to DC itself are Potomac (VKX), Hyde (W32), and College Park (CGS). If you want to fly out of there, though, you will need to get cleared by pretty much the full alphabet soup of agencies. You'll have to get printed at DCA, and the FBI/TSA will do a criminal background check. Then you'll have to go the FSDO for an interview. And then after that, they will clear you to fly.

I've flown out of both VKX and W32. I'm not sure if anything is happening at W32 anymore. The FBO there is called Beacon Flying Service. At VKX, they'll try to get you into their flight club, where you pay $350 a month for "unlimited" flight time, however, you're capped at 50 hours per six months. And then you have to pay for gas.

You could also check out Manassas (HEF) or Montgomery County (GAI). I fly out of GAI now, and it's a nice place. It's an easy to get to airport, and you don't have to deal with all the FRZ clearance BS.
 
Oh, yeah. The FBO at Montgomery County is called Montgomery Aviation. They're a pretty good bunch of guys. They are not cheap, though.
 
DrBenny on this forum flies out of BWI; there is a flight school there. I believe there's a school at Leesburg (JYO) and one at Frederick (FDK) if you'll be more on the Dulles side of town.

My *guess* would be that it'd be a waste of time to try to get clearance to use one of the "DC3" ... by the time you got the alphabets to clear you, your summer would be over!
 
Thanks FL270 -- I'll be working for the DOT's Inspector General (the guys who bust the FAA), so that PROBABLY won't be a problem.

J.
 
Eh...I doubt status as a DOT intern will get you very far in that regard. (And such an assumption is a bad idea anyway.) Leesburg (JYO) is probably your best bet otherwise, depending upon where you end up staying (do you have a place lined up yet? Plenty of ACA crashpads around Dulles that might be amenable to a short-term Summer arrangement, that's what I did
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). I *think* one of my crashpad-mates is still instructing there at JYO, I'm sure he can answer any questions you might have, such as checkout info, ADIZ ops, etc.

I spent 3 months on a contract assignment at AOL there in Reston last Spring and loved it--it's a beautiful area, and PLENTY to do.

Also, if you're that keen on federal law enforcement, I have another buddy who's an air marshal supervisory type who lives there in Herndon and could give you the inside scoop on that. He owns a Super Cub, too...you could hit him up for a ride.
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Cool! I wouldn't have normally assumed that, but I mentioned it to an agent in passing and he said it shouldn't be a problem, as I'll have a clearance from work and they're in and out of the FSDO on a weekly basis. Believe me, I hate people in LE (especially wannabes) that think they have "all-access."


I'd love to talk to both of your friends - thanks a lot for reaching out with that!

J.
 
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thanks a lot for reaching out with that!

[/ QUOTE ]

It's all part of the JC family love, brotha!
 
My wife and I are probably going to be moving to Alexandria this summer and will be there for 3 years while she's in school, so this question has been on my mind as well.

Getting to the point... Anyone know anything about Aviation Adventures at Manassas? I've only poked around a little bit, but this seems like the best place I've found on the web so far.

Thoughts????
 
I fly out of Hef and use aviation adventures...i have done all my training there, and find them to be great. the aircraft are all well maintained, and most of(not all) them have soem form of gps. 2 172s have garmins 430s. there is an arrow and a cardinal, as well as a twin comanche. Scheduling is a piece of cake, and there almost always something availbel if you wanted to fly. Manassas is a fun airport, good tower controllers, but dealing with the adiz is a pain. Just takes some getting used to. Drop me a pm when you are going to be here and ill meet you and show you around.
 
well, pm me and let me know. ill stil be flying then..hopefully cfi-ing by then. what ratings do you have?
 
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