AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2014 - 62

PILOT BRIEFING

SAN MARCOS

INDIANAPOLIS

PLYMOUTH

SPOKANE

CHINO

Feels like home
BY SARAH DEENER

home to The Star-Spangled
Banner lyricist and a symbol
of Union resolve during the
Civil War. It's also home to the
world's largest general aviation
association, which is inviting pilots to the AOPA
Homecoming Fly-In October 4.
Perhaps Frederick's most famous resident,
Francis Scott Key, made history in 1814 when
the attorney penned a poem that would later
become the national anthem. A bronze statue
of Key stands in memorial at the city's Mount
Olivet Cemetery, which planned a two-day event
for September on the 200th anniversary of the
Battle of Fort McHenry and the writing of The
Star-Spangled Banner.
The cemetery also houses the gravesite of
Barbara Fritchie, the heroine of a John Greenleaf
Whittier poem crediting her with flying the
Union flag in defiance of Confederate troops who
marched through town on the National Road.
Frederick's location in a border state and
along the National Road and railroad put it at the
heart of the Civil War, and now it draws visitors
for its rich history and proximity to major battlefields at Antietam and Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.
Frederick Municipal Airport (FDK) is located
just miles from a vibrant downtown.Aviation at
Frederick began in 1911 when Lt. H.H. Arnold-
who would later become commanding general of
62 | AOPA PILOT October 2014

ST. SIMONS ISLAND

2014 AOPA FLY-INS

Fly-in returns to Frederick for AOPA's seventy-fifth year
FREDERICK, MARYLAND, has been

FREDERICK

the Army Air Forces during
World War II-and co-pilot
Capt. Charles Chandler
flew here from College Park,
Maryland. Construction on the airport
began in 1946, and it was dedicated in 1949.
Pilot Dean Stickell recalls riding his bicycle out to
the airport as a child in the summer of 1954 when
facilities on the field included one small building,
a small ramp, and one or two hangars. Now the
airport is towered and accommodates everything
from gyrocopter operations to business aviation and houses helicopter and fixed-wing flight
schools, an FBO, a state police aviation unit, and
a restaurant.
AOPA hosted its first fly-in and open house in
1991, with about 125 aircraft. By the tenth annual
event, an estimated 6,500 people turned out and
760 aircraft flew in After a five-year hiatus, the
Homecoming Fly-In renews an AOPA tradition
of opening the association's doors to members.
After months of meeting members where they fly,
AOPA is inviting members to come home.

SAN MARCOS
MUNICIPAL AIRPORT
(HYI)-APRIL 26, 2014
INDIANAPOLIS REGIONAL
AIRPORT
(MQJ)-MAY 31, 2014
PLYMOUTH
MUNICIPAL AIRPORT
(PYM)-JULY 12, 2014
FELTS FIELD,
SPOKANE
(SFF)-AUGUST 16, 2014
CHINO AIRPORT
(CNO)-SEPTEMBER 20, 2014
FREDERICK MUNICIPAL AIRPORT
(FDK)-OCTOBER 4, 2014
MALCOLM MCKINNON AIRPORT,
ST. SIMONS ISLAND
(SSI)-NOVEMBER 8, 2014

AT MONOCACY National Battle-

WWW.AOPA.ORG/FLY-INS

AOPA Fly-In takes place
October 4 at Frederick
Municipal Airport (FDK).

field in Frederick, a visitor
center, self-guided auto tour,
and walking trails interpret
the July 9, 1864, battle that
saved Washington, D.C., from
Jubal Early's advancing
Confederate troops.

http://WWW.AOPA.ORG/FLY-INS http://WWW.AOPA.ORG/FLY-INS

AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2014

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of AOPA Pilot Magazine - October 2014