"James Cummiskey" wrote in message
news:wc2jb.26342$Rd4.2116@fed1read07
Hi all. I'm going to be on business travel in the Washington D.C.
area for a week or so towards the end of October. Can someone
recommend a good Flight School in the Maryland or Virginia area where
I can get an area checkout along with the ability to rent a plane for
a weekend? Thanks!

Where will you be staying? That will have a bearing on what we recommend...


In Virginia, there are two nearby airports - Leesburg (JYO) and Manassas
(HEF). Both are relatively easy to get to from major roads, but there are
no mass transit options to either one (at least none I know of).

I fly out of Leesburg and can vouch for Av-Ed (www.av-ed.com). They have a
large fleet (some 20-odd planes) ranging from older 172's and Warriors to
Skylanes, Seminoles and Diamond Stars. Aviation Adventures, nominally based
at HEF, has started a small operation at JYO, but they only have a couple of
planes there now, I think.

Manassas is a towered field and rates as the busiest GA airport in Virginia
(JYO comes in second). The advantage of JYO is the on-field Flight Service
Station - real handy when filing your ADIZ flight plan.

Somebody else will have to fill you in on the options at Gaithersburg (GAI),
Frederick (FDK) or Freeway (W00) (all in Maryland). If you're going to be
south of town, Fredericksburg, VA (EZF) may be convenient, too.

There are other airports around (FME, CGS, W32, VKX), but they're fairly
restrictive. FME is on Ft. Meade while the others are inside the FRZ
(Flight Restricted Zone).

Also, it would probably help to read up on the local ADIZ procedures
(basically "squawk & talk", but you *really* need to be familiar with the
procedures).

--
John T
http://tknowlogy.com/tknoFlyer
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