Business View Magazine | March 2020

189 BUSINESS VIEW MAGAZINE MARCH 2020 June 19, 1938. Commercial air transport began to ramp up after the second world war, and over the ensuing decades, several different commercial carriers flew in and out of Hagerstown, including subsidiaries of US Airways Express, Air Midwest, Cape Air, Sun Air International, and Direct Air. The Airport was named the Washington County Regional Airport in 1981, when ownership was transferred from the City of Hagerstown to Washington County. In 1998, the county renamed it Hagerstown Regional Airport - Richard A. Henson Field. Henson was a test pilot for Fairchild Aircraft Corporation, as well as a flight school operator, and founder of the Hagerstown Commuter airline, a low-cost, rapid turnaround airline servicing Washington D.C. and Hagerstown, which he started in 1962. Henson, who died in 2002, remained an active pilot until the age of 90. Today, Hagerstown Regional sits on 693 acres. It has two asphalt runways: runway 9/27 is 7,000 by 150 feet with a precision approach capability, and runway 2/20 is 3,165 by 100 feet. Both runways have a full, parallel taxiway. Up until October 2019, Southern Airways Express provided service to Baltimore/ Washington International Airport, and Pittsburgh International Airport. Now, the Airport’s sole commercial carrier is Allegiant Air, which offers year-round service to Orlando/Sanford International Airport, and seasonal flights to St. Petersburg/Clearwater and Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. In addition, some 162 general aviation aircraft are home-based at Hagerstown, including single- and multi-engine aircraft, jets, helicopters, and a few ultralights. More than 20 aviation-related businesses support the needs of Hagerstown’s flying community. Rider Jet Center, the FBO, with over 40,000 square feet of heated hangar space and 10,000 square feet of office space, provides numerous services including aircraft rental, maintenance, repair and inspections, as well as aviation fuel, computerized weather information, HAGERSTOWN REGIONAL A I RPORT