Tipton Airport

Tipton Airport officials are wooing business executives with a proposal to allow corporate jets to take off and land at the former military airfield just south of Fort Meade. Board members overseeing the Anne Arundel County-owned airport have held informal meetings with state and federal aviation officials this year, and conceptual drawings to expand the 3,000-foot runway to accommodate jets were received favorably, said Eric Flamino, chairman of the Tipton Airport Authority. While the project is years off, airport officials are seeking to capitalize on the boom at Fort Meade, which will add tens of thousands of jobs over the next seven years, as well as Central Maryland's commercial growth, particularly in the high-tech sector.

First, a rare plant got in Tipton Airport's way. Then, a floodplain blocked its plans. Now, the airport's engineers say they have found a way to build long-sought, garage-like hangars on the former Army airfield. The site should look familiar to pilots watching the T-hangar developments. It's the same field that airport board members first flagged as ideal for the hangars more than two years ago - the one they were ready to write off because of the endangered, spiky-thistled plant sprouting from a ditch in the middle of it. The new plan is to split the field, saving part as a sanctuary for the plant while building on the rest.

As the Gary administration pushes for legislation to allow establishment of an authority to operate Tipton Airport once it's reopened, some elected officials and community leaders want to make sure that nearby communities have a say in how it's run.At stake, they say, are decisions that could increase traffic at the former military airfield at Fort Meade, such as lengthening the runway or building a control tower.Looming in their minds is the specter of booming Baltimore-Washington International Airport in Linthicum, which began as the much more modest Friendship Airport.

With a few strokes of the pen and the roar of an airplane engine, it was "wheels up" and a long-awaited liftoff for Tipton Airport yesterday.After nearly a decade of delay from the cleanup of explosives and other hazardous materials, Anne Arundel County officially took control of Fort Meade's airport, which lies in the heart of the bustling Baltimore-Washington corridor.Amid the day's ceremonies, politicians and business leaders touted the 346-acre airport's potential to spark economic growth in the region, like the slightly larger Frederick Municipal Airport, which generates $60 million annually.

Tipton Airport to receive grants to finance repairs Tipton Airport will receive nearly $900,000 in grants from the Federal Aviation Administration to finance improvements at the Anne Arundel County airport, officials announced. Tipton will use the $889,000 to rehabilitate Building 90, a former Army helicopter hangar that has been vacant for 10 years. Tipton Airport Authority had applied for the funds, but did not know it received them until Maryland Sens. Paul S. Sarbanes and Barbara A. Mikulski and Rep. Benjamin L. Cardin made their announcement Friday.

Anne Arundel County officials agreed yesterday to include Howard County in legislation allowing the establishment of a quasi-governmental authority to manage Tipton Airport.The agreement came during a meeting of representatives from both counties to discuss the bill. The Tipton Airport Advisory Committee has been meeting regularly to discuss operation of the 310-acre parcel at Fort Meade as a general aviation airport once the Army transfers the site to civilian control as part of the federal Base Realignment and Closure Act of 1988.

Tipton Airport's first year under Anne Arundel County's control has been something of a whirlwind. Since the airport opened, the former Army airfield and one-time Superfund environmental cleanup site has increased its traffic, opportunities for revenue and visibility with area pilots. And, through no fault of its own, it became the launching pad for an investigation of a county councilman. "We have had some teething pains that you might expect with a start-up business," said David Almy, a private pilot who serves on the nine-member board of Tipton Airport Authority.

Annapolis man dies as his minivan hits Forest Drive house A 63-year-old Annapolis man was killed early yesterday when his minivan crashed into a house on Forest Drive, Annapolis police said. Accident investigators said it appeared that Clarence Vernon Burch III of the 200 block of Harbor Gates Drive died of a medical condition, possibly a heart attack. There was no evidence that Burch tried to use his brakes as his 2001 Dodge Caravan minivan swerved from the eastbound lanes of Forest Drive about 1:40 a.m. and into a house in the 2000 block of Forest Drive, said Officer Hal Dalton, a city police spokesman.

Howard County's on-again, off-again relationship with Tipton Airport is on again -- sort of.On Tuesday, County Executive Charles I. Ecker told Howard's Annapolis legislative delegation that he would support Howard's inclusion in Anne Arundel County legislation setting up an authority to manage the Fort Meade property as a civilian airfield -- if his concerns about liability are resolved.Howard's state lawmakers will draft an amendment to the Anne Arundel bill, giving the county the option to be included if the Howard County Council and county executive agree.