This May, Anson County Airport will mark 77 years in operation, making it one of the best-established aviation facilities in the state. Still, it’s a safe bet that the majority of county residents have never taken a flight from there, and many have never even visited the facility. Anson County Airport, or AFP as it is called by the Federal Aviation Administration, does not offer scheduled service from commercial carriers like Delta or American, so the traveling public tends to know more about Piedmont Triad or Charlotte Douglas than they do the airport in their own back yard. This lack of understanding about what Anson County Airport is and how it contributes to the local economy sometimes leads observers to question the investments the county makes in maintaining and upgrading the facility, such as the runway light replacement project last year or the runway expansion and terminal upgrade in 2006. Air traffic is growing in large metropolitan areas and spilling over into the top-ti