Tipton Airport | |||||||||||
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| Summary | |||||||||||
| Airport type | Public | ||||||||||
| Owner | Tipton Airport Authority | ||||||||||
| Location | Fort Meade /Odenton, Maryland | ||||||||||
| Elevation AMSL | 150 ft / 46 m | ||||||||||
| Coordinates | 39°05′07″N076°45′34″W / 39.08528°N 76.75944°W /39.08528; -76.75944 | ||||||||||
| Website | TiptonAirport.org | ||||||||||
| Map | |||||||||||
  FME Location of airport in Maryland / United States Show map of Maryland FME FME (the United States) Show map of the United States | |||||||||||
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| Statistics (2023) | |||||||||||
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Tipton Airport (IATA:FME,ICAO:KFME,FAALID:FME) is a publicairport just south ofFort George G. Meade inOdenton,Anne Arundel County,Maryland. The facility is bordered by Fort Meade, theNational Security Agency, and thePatuxent Wildlife Research Center. The airport opened in 1999 on the site of a formerUnited States Army Airfield that was closed in 1995. It is operated by the Tipton Airport Authority.[2]
Tipton Airport covers an area of 366acres (148 ha) and contains one pavedrunway (10/28) measuring 3,000 ft × 75 ft (914 m × 23 m).[1]
For The 12-month period ending March 24, 2023, the airport had 38,124 aircraft operations, an average of 104 per day: 100%general aviation, <1%air taxi, and <1% military. There are 97 aircraft/rotorcraft based at the airport: 76 single-engine, 7 multi-engine and 14helicopters.[1]
Tipton Airport was originally a military airfield. It was constructed in 1960 over a landfill on the outskirts of Fort Meade and was named Fort George G. Meade Army Airfield. The new airfield replaced a smaller airstrip that had been operating since at least 1935 at a site approximately two miles northeast of Tipton's location (what is now the Fort Meade post exchange and commissary complex).[3] In April 1962, the field was renamed Tipton Army Airfield in honor of ColonelWilliam Tipton, aMaryland National Guard officer and decorated veteran of both world wars. Tipton was killed in an aircraft crash in Ohio at the end ofWorld War II.[4]
At 2 A.M. on February 17, 1974, Robert K. Prestonstole a Huey helicopter from Tipton Field, flew it toWashington, D.C., and hovered for six minutes over theWhite House before descending on the South Lawn, about 100 yards (91 m) from theWest Wing.[5]
Public Law 100–526, the Base Alignment and Closure (BRAC) Act of 1988,[6] designated Tipton Army Airfield for closure, and as a result the land on which Tipton is located was transferred to civilian control in 1995. Following a lengthyenvironmental remediation, which included the removal of unexploded ordnance and hazardous waste,[7] it was opened to civilian traffic. A formal dedication of Tipton Airport was held on October 27, 1999, and on November 1, 1999, the airport held a grand opening.
