Lee Airport

From Annapolis Past Port

Lee Airport is one of the 35 surviving community airports in Maryland [1].

The entrance to Lee Airport in July 2022.
The entrance to Lee Airport in July 2022.

History

Lee Airport was built on 79 acres of an unprofitable tobacco field in 1939 [1]. The Parlett family leased the airport from 1956 to 2000 [1].

Florence Parlett was a major force behind the development of Lee Airport. She served as the manager of Lee Airport for 40 years, from 1957 until her death in 1997 [2]. Lee Airport was a small grass strip when she became the manager, and during her tenure, she expanded it into a small general aviation airport [2]. She began the Annapolis Flying Service in 1957 [2]. She also helped found the Civil Air Patrol squadron based at Lee Airport [2]. She earned her pilot’s license at age 42 [2]. Among her honors were: The Civil Air Patrol Award, the FAA Aviation Pioneer Certificate, the county police award, the Maryland Aviation Administration Citation, and the Maryland Aviation Pioneer Award [2]. She was included in the Smithsonian Institution book and traveling exhibit “Women in Flight” [2]. She died on March 8, 1997, at the age of 91 [2].

Today, it is managed by Van Lee, of the Lee family [1].

Location

Lee Airport is located 5 miles south of Annapolis, on Beards Creek in Edgewater, MD [3]. It has one 2,505 foot-long runway [3]. It is an uncontrolled airport without a tower. Its Airport Identifier is ANP [3]. Coordinates of the area are 38°56′34″N 076°34′06″W [3].

Activities

Lee Airport's office in July 2022.
Lee Airport's office in July 2022.
The Civil Air Patrol Annapolis Squadron building at Lee Airport in July 2022.
The Civil Air Patrol Annapolis Squadron building at Lee Airport in July 2022.
The Navy Annapolis Flight Center at Lee Airport.
The Navy Annapolis Flight Center at Lee Airport.
Dan Dixon, a flight instructor at Lee Airport and former Top Gun instructor, discusses his flying history in the Navy and what is special about Lee Airport and the NAFC.
John Sullivan, a flight instructor at the Navy Annapolis Flight Center, discusses his experiences at Lee Airport and his membership of the Civil Air Patrol squadron there.

Lee Airport is home to the Navy Annapolis Flight Center [4], the Colonel Mary S. Feik Composite Squadron of the Civil Air Patrol. [5], and civil aviation [1].

Citations

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Dress, Brad. “Lee Airport Flies On.” Bay Weekly, https://bayweekly.com/lee-airport-flies-on/. Accessed 12 July 2022.
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 Felter, Mary P. " Florence Parlett, Pioneer in Aviation, dies at age 91." The Capital [Annapolis, Maryland], 10 Mar 1997.
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Maryland Aviation Administration. “Maryland Airport Directory 2021-2022.” Maryland Aviation Administration, https://marylandregionalaviation.aero/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Airport%20Directory%202020-21.pdf. January 2019.
  4. Navy Annapolis Flight Center. “Welcome.” NAFC Online, http://nafcflying.org. Accessed 12 July 2022.
  5. “Colonel Mary S. Feik Composite Squadron, Civil Air Patrol.” Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/feiksquadron/about/?ref=page_internal. Accessed 12 July 2022.