Hangar

The Carroll County Planning and Zoning Commission approved a major expansion of the county's regional airport yesterday, allowing a California company to build seven hangars for corporate jets.The decision means that Argubright Construction of Northridge, Calif., can begin work next week on the foundation of a 70,000-square-foot hangar and 9,900-square-foot office at the airport, off Route 97 north of Westminster.The $3.3 million project is being developed by Hangar Corp. of America, a Pennsylvania company.

The County Commissioners approved a major expansion of Carroll's regional airport yesterday, allowing a Pennsylvania company to build seven hangars for corporate jets.Hangar Corp. of America plans to build 70,000 square feet of hangar space and 10,500 square feet of office space at the airport off Route 97 north of Westminster. The $3.3 million project will provide space to house 12 to 25 aircraft.Construction will begin in July and the hangars should be completed by the end of the year, said Dan Haug, owner of the company in Springhouse, Pa.The project is the latest in a series of improvements that county officials hope will attract business and establish the airport as a primary stop for pilots flying along the Atlantic coast.

WASHINGTON -- Declaring that "the old rules have changed," President Clinton wielded yesterday the line-item veto to strike down 38 military projects that would have cost $287 million but were deemed unnecessary by the White House and the Pentagon."

HAGERSTOWN -- California Microwave Inc., looking to expand its aviation electronics operations in Maryland, is eyeing space at the former Fairchild Aircraft Corp. hangar in Washington County and adding 10 to 15 highly skilled jobs over the next two years.Shel McWilliams, vice president of operations for the company's Airborne Systems Integration Division, stressed yesterday that the expansion -- and the hiring of "a minimal number" of workers -- is "still in the infancy stages."Mr. McWilliams said the company has been talking with the owners of the 1 million-square-foot hangar about leasing 87,500 square feet for the design and installation of electronics equipment on military airplanes.

Anne Arundel and Howard counties will become owners of a 20-acre parcel of Tipton Army Airfield at Fort Meade on Oct. 1 -- about two years ahead of schedule.Yesterday, officials from Fort Meade, the Army Environmental Center and the federal Environmental Protection Agency met to hammer out details of the early transfer and cleanup of pollutants and unexploded shells on the site.A 41,860-square-foot aircraft hangar, helicopter pad and parking lot are on the site.The hangar was built in 1974 and used to store solvent and lubricants.

75 Years Ago* A number of colored women of Anne Arundel County have organized a permanent organization entitled the "Harding-Coolidge, Weller and Mudd League" to register colored women for the coming presidential election. -- The Sun, Sept. 18, 1920.* Carl Dornbush, age 4, was killed by an exploding shell and three others injured during a sham battle at Camp Meade during a re-enactment of the World War I capture of Montfaucon by men of the 313th Infantry. Some 15,000 spectators were present.

People wonder why I'm such a nervous flier, but you would be, too, if you went through what I went through.This is a true story: Back in the early '80s, when I was a young and extremely bad sportswriter, I was about to fly from Miami to Baltimore on the Colts' charter.The Dolphins had just crushed the Colts 75-0, or something like that. So they weren't exactly passing out champagne and party hats on the plane.Anyway, we were hurtling down the runway in preparation for takeoff when suddenly the brakes screeched and we skidded off onto a patch of grass.

POLICE* Harper's Choice: Trotting Ridge Way and Slalom Lane: Someone stole a $20 sweat shirt, $40 worth of cassettes and a pair of $45 crystal earrings from a 1984 Honda Civic DX on Monday.10900 block of Little Patuxent Parkway: Someone entered a locked 1986 Honda Prelude Monday, possibly by using a coat hangar, and stole a $33 pair of woman's jeans, a $20 woman's cotton shirt, a $25 woman's Oxford flannel shirt and three pairs of socks valued at $10.

Wouldn't you think a banquet chairman would be satisfied with a sellout crowd of 2,500 every year and a head table featuring the biggest names in baseball?That's what Frank Sliwka has been getting each January at the Tops in Sports banquet, and what he had once again at the 39th annual affair at the Towson Center over the weekend.What a dais! Fielder, Feller, Palmer, McNally, Cuellar, Dobson, Ripken, Colavito -- and more.That's not enough for Sliwka."I'm going to get a hangar," the chairman was mumbling.

For the second time in less than two years, fire has burned down a hangar and destroyed seven privately owned airplanes at the Essex Skypark. The fire yesterday caused hundreds of thousands of dollars in damage and placed the airport's future in jeopardy.The official cause of the fire remains unknown, but sources said it may have been due to an electrical malfunction. Aviation fuel, oil and grease fed the flames. Arson investigators were to return to the scene today in an effort to pinpoint the cause.