10300 Glen Way * Ft Washington * MD * 20744 * (301) 248 - 5720 * fax (301) 248-3997

As well as an owner of the airport, I’m also a Cessna Skymaster owner and a gadget freak. Thus, I’m sure you will be pleasantly surprised by the many unique gadgets, gewgaws, programs and services that we have developed and offer at Potomac. And now for a little propaganda:

WE’RE JUST A FEW MINUTES AWAY! As the enclosed map shows, we have a great location. You can drive from the Capitol Building in downtown DC to Potomac in under 20 minutes, from Arlington in about 15 minutes, and from the heart of Old Town Alexandria in about 10 minutes. We’re also just 3 minutes off the beltway (even at legal speeds).

CLEAR OF CLASS B, BUT WITH ALL THE GOODIES - We’ve got easy GPS & VOR/DME IFR approaches. If you so desire you can fly in under 1,400 MSL from the South and stay entirely within our own private little notch in the TCA (Oops, Class B Airspace); just like any regular, uncontrolled airfield, just monitor the friendly chatter on Unicom. Alternatively, if you are inbound IFR you can fly Potomac’s 10-mile straight-in GPS or VOR/DME approaches. For door-to-door service Andrews or National can offer flight following and vectors to the airfield. During the worst schmoo, when the weather is really, really low, and only an ILS will do, you can even list DCA as your alternate, just 10 minutes away by car.

OUR OWN ON-FIELD NDB AT 241 kHz - Potomac’s own on-field NDB ("VKX") makes finding the field a no-brainer. In addition to providing a pointer directly to the field, the NDB also transmits continuous airport conditions 24 hours a day.

FULL AIRPORT ADVISORIES & RADIO-CHECK SERVICES - 24 HOURS A DAY - Another gadget which we developed right at Potomac, the SUPERUNICOM_® provides 24-hour airport advisories and radio-checks. No matter what time of day or night, when you’re inbound to Potomac you can always get the current wind, temperature, dewpoint, altimeter, and density altitude: 3 clicks on Unicom gives you an Advisory and 4 clicks gives you a Radio-Check. When appropriate the system even says "Good Morning!"

UNICOM SERVICE 24 HOURS A DAY

WE ARE LIGHTED LIKE A CHRISTMAS TREE, SUNSET TO SUNRISE - A sensor brings on our runway, taxiway and VASI lighting systems whenever it gets dark. No clicks, no folderol, just eyeball and land. We coordinated with the FAA to have a trillion candlepower rotating beacon located atop DCA’s Nexrad radar dome, conveniently located inside our traffic pattern. At night, 3 clicks on unicom brings up synchronized REIL strobes at both ends of the runway to make the field even easier to find.

WE HAVE EASY RUNWAY APPROACHES - Potomac’s runways are easier and clearer than ever before. There’s lots of room and our lighted VASI’s make it even easier. Pilots have actually complained that operating out of Potomac isn’t the challenge it used to be.

OUR 2,665 RUNWAY IS AS SMOOTH AS A BABY’S BOTTOM - Although I would advise against it, when there’s no traffic at Potomac you could play billiards on the runway.

YOU CAN ALWAYS GET A RADIO CHECK - 24 HOURS A DAY - With 4 clicks on Unicom, our SUPERUNICOM_® will tell you to transmit a Radio-Check. You make a brief transmission which it then echoes back to you; you actually hear how your transmissions sound to others, before you launch, and at any hour.

USE POTOMAC’S OWN VOR QUICK-CHECK, JUST TO BE SURE - Near our fuel island, we offer a low-power, calibrated VOR test signal. It works just like, but isn’t quite technically, an official published VOT; this test signal allows you to confirm your VOR’s against each other as a VOR cross-check. It also provides one more way to confirm that your VOR(s) are in good shape before you take off. (Pretty neat, eh?).

IFR DEPARTURES FROM POTOMAC GET EASY, RAPID HANDLING - Because we are so close to Washington DCA’s Departure Control, if you are over 4 feet tall and are wearing a hat they probably already have you on radar. But, since we are also clear of their airspace they can launch you quite easily. It’s a simple, routine and painless service that’s always available when you need to takeoff into the schmoo.

Our local secret is that Andrews Radar owns the airspace to the East below 2,500 MSL. Even when the controllers at National are up to their eyeballs in traffic and confusion, Andrews Radar can pick you up and get you on your way easily. How many airports do you know with redundant 24 hour radar services always available?

So Where’s the catch? The Fuel Club membership is $18 a month; which we bill to your credit card account, just like we do all of the tie-down and hangar rents. It must be a pretty good deal since we’ve signed up over 800 fuel club members and had over 50,000 fuelings since we started the program. Once you’ve been refueling with our system you’ll find that the convenience comes first, and the price comes second. (At 44 GPH takeoff power in my turbo-Skythrasher the cheap fuel price doesn’t hurt too much either!) To keep things as convenient for our pilots as possible we even have FOUR fueling dispensers.

AIRCRAFT BASED ELSEWHERE ARE WELCOME TO JOIN - As well as the zillions of aircraft (well, okay I exaggerated a bit, millions) that refuel and base at Potomac, our pumps are also open for those poor souls who are forced to base their aircraft elsewhere but who still want to fly in for the convenience and savings of our Fuel Club. We have members from as far North as Vermont and as far South as Florida; no kidding. Lots of pilots simply pass through the DC area now and again and like to take advantage of our services. (We also don’t bother charging anything for overnight tie-downs).

HOW TO JOIN - Just fill out the enclosed form and I’ll send you your fuel card in the mail, or I can have it waiting for you at Potomac. Also feel free to call me at (202) 575-5700 and I’ll set you up over the phone; it’s that easy.

YOU WON’T BE EMBARRASSED TO BRING YOUR FRIENDS AND LOVERS TO THE AIRPORT - In the strong belief that our pilots should be comfortable (dare I say proud?) to bring their flying and non-flying friends alike down to the airport; we have refurbished and continue to maintain our facilities so that they are always clean, modern, civilized and well kept. I even interviewed my wife as to what goes on in a women’s bathroom before we redid it. We only lack the myriad of small bottles containing expensive fluids with French and Italian names.

24 HOUR ACCESS TO ALL FACILITIES – Let’s face it, if you return after-hours, or early in the morning, with your wife or a friend, sending them to the bushes to attend to nature’s call definitely reduces the dramatic flair of an otherwise pleasant flight. For you and your passengers’ convenience, Pilots can use their Potomac fuel card to access all of the airfield’s facilities 24 hours a day.

LIVE RADAR, SURFACE OBSERVATIONS, TERMINAL FORECASTS, ETC – We provide for our pilots a satellite down-link with a continuous feed of all the weather related information you could possibly need. There are no surprises when you depart from Potomac. The building has more antennas than a Russian fishing boat!

THE AREA’S MOST COMPLETE PILOT SHOP - ATC’s Flight Training Center at Potomac can provide you with every conceivable flying item that you might need. In fact, after you’ve come in to browse you’ll probably come out with lots of things you don’t really need at all. The pilot shop always stocks Sectionals, WAC charts, NOAA and DOD approach plates, headsets, books, and whatever else you can think of. Drop by for a look around, you won’t be disappointed.

WELL GROOMED, WELL-MANICURED GRASS & PAVED TIE-DOWNS AND T-HANGARS We believe that a well groomed airport reflects an organized mind. In other words, we are compensating for our own confusion. The result for you is a real neat place where you can get in and out of tie-downs easily (45 ft spacing on tie-downs with wide taxiway areas). We also keep a well-maintained lawn mower available at any time, should our crews not be able to mow your tie-down while you’re gone for a day. The standard we strive for is "Civilized."

COMPETING MAINTENANCE SERVICES KEEP YOU FLYING, WEEKDAYS AND WEEKENDS - Potomac offers competing aircraft maintenance services to provide our pilots a competitive choice of quality services at a good value for your maintenance dollar. Both THE PLANE DOCTOR and ATC’s AIRCARE ONE are staffed by truly decent people (although a bit odd) who enjoy what they are doing and who are nice to talk to, as well as do good work. THE PLANE DOCTOR is located in the main hangar across the runway at (301) 248-7930, and ATC’s AIRCARE ONE is adjacent to the pilot shop at (301) 248-1480. I encourage you to say hello, ask them a few questions, and see if you like their answers.

FRIENDLY AIRCRAFT MAINTENANCE AT POTOMAC

THE INFAMOUS POTOMAC NEWSLETTER - For your late night reading and for a chuckle you will get my newsletter. It is a product of caffeine, sugar, and fast fingers on my word processor. These appear with regular irregularity whenever I feel that there are critical facts or misleading information that my own whim commands be told. It’s also just an amusing way of keeping in touch with all of our pilots and friends.

A FUN AIRPORT AND A GOOD BUNCH OF INTERESTING FRIENDS - We look forward to your taking a moment to come down and take a look around, getting to meet some of our comrades-at- wings, and to taking the opportunity to form your own impressions. Whether you can base at Potomac, or must base elsewhere, you are always welcome to come in and take advantage of our services, our facilities, and most importantly to just hang out with our many friends and pilots on the field.

Again, Welcome to Potomac and I look forward to meeting you at the airfield,

David Wartofsky - Big Cheese

Potomac Airfield