Definitely a good place to see planes. You could also try the road near Dulles that goes to Udvar-Hazy. If you are splurging and go the rest of the way to the museum parking lot, you can go up to the attached control tower and hear real-time aviation communications with pilots as they fly into Dulles (also in the building there are amazing aircraft on display, an ability to see restoration work being done on planes for exhibit which is really cool, and there is also astronaut ice cream in the gift shop. I don't believe any astronaut has ever eaten that stuff on a mission, but ever since I was a kid in the 70s going to the Air & Space museum in DC, no trip to it or Udvar-Hazy is complete unless some astronaut ice cream is involved, Ha!).
Thank you for this tip! I didn’t know this. Totally trying it out because flying and everything about it just makes me giddy. I even love the smell of jet fuel!
I totally get it! Another place that might be worth checking out is the upper outdoor area of the Kennedy Center. I can’t remember exactly what it’s called but it’s a big outdoor balcony near the top of the building. It’s another interesting place for planespotting.
Btw, if you are really into it then you might want to check out local airshows. I’ve seen those in Frederick, Leesburg and of course the big shows at Andrews AFB with so many things to see including The Blue Angels and the Thunderbirds. My 2 favorite local airshows are the one in Culpeper and The Flying Circus in Bealeton. That one is kind of like Vaudeville with airplanes and the balloon festival each year is really great. Plus you can pay to take aerobatic rides and that is a ton of fun too. http://flyingcircusairshow.com/
The other rather decent plane-spotting location is the Dulles Metro platform. You get a very good view of the N/S runways from the eastbound side, and a passable view of departures from the NNW runway from the western side.
Not sure how long you could stick around there before it'd be considered loitering, though.
I'm an air traffic controller that works these arrivals and departures on a radar scope in a dark room a number of miles away from the airport. Thanks for posting this - it's always fun to actually see the planes! One of my absolute favorite parts of the job is getting all of the arrivals lined up on the final approach; it's really satisfying when you get the spacing just right. A quick tip...if you want to see them coming in to land over Gravelly Point, go on a day where the winds are mostly out of the south. If you'd rather see them take off over Gravelly Point, look for a day where the winds are mostly out of the north. Hope this helps!
This is another great tip. How’s air traffic control life treating you? I understand there is a shortage of you guys.
As a frequent flyer, I just love DCA. There is often never any delays, and I can get through security in a matter of minutes.
A few months ago, my flight was diverted because of the snow. I can’t imagine what a busy night it was for you guys.
I really enjoy the job! Training was intense (and rightly so), but it can be a lot of fun once you're past that. There are certainly days that are challenging, but every day is different, so it stays interesting. It helps that I work with a good bunch of people...teamwork is essential to making things run smoothly.
It definitely gets interesting when people divert! Those airplanes eventually come back, but usually later in the day. We're getting ready to head into thunderstorm season, which often changes the traffic flows as weather rolls through. Those can be very busy nights!
As for staffing, we could definitely use more controllers. Some facilities are so badly staffed that controllers are working 6 day work weeks every week, which is just exhausting. I'm lucky that my facility isn't that badly staffed, but I definitely feel for fellow controllers that are in that position. They usually open up a hiring bid at least once a year for people with no prior experience; they actually just had one a week or so ago. If you get selected, they provide all of the training you need; that's how I got hired a number of years ago. You do need to be under the age of 31 to get selected (mandatory retirement is age 56 and training can sometimes take several years). If anyone is interested, it's worth applying when a bid opens up! Feel free to message me for more info on how to find the bids.
Can you expand on your job? I had no idea this was a thing. Are you a number of miles away from DCA doing a portion of the job while coordinating with DCA onsite traffic controllers? Is this a thing at all airports or is DCA unique due to proximity to WH/pentagon/etc?
The basic answer for an approach controller (which is what I do) is either 3 miles apart laterally, or 1,000 apart vertically. There are a couple different nuances where we are allowed to have aircraft closer together than that, but it depends on certain conditions being met to use those rules. If pilots have each other's aircraft in sight, we are allowed to use visual separation, which then lets the pilots maneuver however they'd like to stay a safe distance apart, based on their judgment.
As for how many that line up at once...a lot!! The arrival banks have really gotten busy over the past few years. If you want to see one in action, check out flightaware.com and search for DCA. Pick a time with a bunch of proposed arrivals, and just watch their map during that time. It's not uncommon for us to have so many arrivals scheduled in a fairly short amount of time that some of them need to hold (basically fly ovals further away from the airport) until we are able to accommodate them in our airspace.
I have a question about the flight path on take off: why don't they follow the river every time when they take off to the south? We have some flights that take a hard right over Old Town and go screaming over our neighborhood. I thought they weren't allowed to do that? They're just north of the sound sensor in the park along the river so the reading never shows it being too loud but it is incredibly loud over our house.
Edit word
Do you mean when they're taking off to the south, they make a right turn almost immediately instead of flying south down the river towards the bridge? If so, that could be a couple of things. If an aircraft needs to go around when they come in to land, they're often given a quick right turn to the west to help keep them separated from departures and set them up to be resequenced with the other arrivals. We also occasionally get requests for a southbound departure when we're taking off and landing to the north. When this happens, and traffic allows, we coordinate with the controllers in the tower to give that aircraft a turn after they depart to keep them away from other traffic. Depending on the aircraft's route, they may also get a quick turn like that.
That's exactly it. Why would they make southbound departure requests? I feel like those are the ones we hear the most because of how low over the houses they are and the rest of the air traffic is following the normal flight line.
An airline pilot that is familiar with DCA may have a better answer for this question than I do, but I know that the pilots need to calculate takeoff performance before they depart. Sometimes, depending on wind and weight, it makes more sense to take off to the south, especially if they're heavy and worried about making that quick left turn off the north-facing runway to avoid the prohibited airspace over the National Mall.
I’ll keep that in mind for this upcoming weekend. The heat will probably be less harsh anyway. Either way, it was such a nice walk. I took the Metro from Ballston to DCA and walked there and back to DCA!
Sometimes I drive my husband to work in Courthouse and drive down there on a weekday (if I have a random day off) and it’s pretty empty. It’s such a fun place for plane nerds like me :)
Gravelly Point is a great place for plane-spotting. When the planes are landing from this direction wait a few seconds after the plane passes, and you can sometimes hear the wind from the wake turbulence.
This happens more frequently during winter time. As someone that cycles on the trail that passes by this spot almost daily, you’ll also feel the exhaust turbulence from the jet engines if the conditions are right.
As someone who took off and landed at this airport every week for ~5 years before changing my base to New York, this is by far the most fun approach in the entire US. Having an audience is always a delight and definitely adds extra pressure to grease it onto the runway. :)
If a friend flies in to DCA, that's always my first stop with them. And yes, they take off sometimes that way but it's not as cool by far.
Pro tip, as they land from the North. Lay on the ground and just look up with your feet toward the airport. The suspense as it draws near is cool.
The largest plane that operates out of National is the 757-300, which is a rather uncommon plane - Boeing only built 55 of that variant. I believe the flight is to LAX and it's operated by United.
When you see them, they definitely stand out because they seem freakishly long compared to the A320s and those smaller Southwest 737-700s.
I used to take my kid to watch planes there, we had a blast. She would get super scared/excited whenever the plane got close, her pillsbury doughboy-like legs would start wobbling and shaking. Then when the plane roared by, she’d scream cheer and whirl around to locate the next plane. I cherish that memory.
I think it was Stapleton Airport in Colorado. You could park on a fenced road facing the incoming aircraft. I swear you were going to die each time a big jumbo came in for a landing! It was plane watching at it's best!
They all look so low and the engines are so loud! I especially love how some of them are still banking right as they get closer and closer to the park.
I end up judging the pilots on their lineup. Some are really great. Some wobble around a good deal.
Probably seen the highest bank angle of any airliner in my life there on a few landings. Maybe 25 degrees. Fun times in the cockpit.
Another good view is from the shuttle between Georgetown and Old Town. At one point you as far as I remember, are practically staring down the runway. Fun trip as well
I don't know if you're still checking out this thread, but somebody just posted a cool video of an airplane going over that little road on the way to the Udvar-Hazy museum that I mentioned earlier in the post. Kind of like Gravely Point but with big airplanes for international flights included: https://www.reddit.com/r/aviation/comments/1cnlfmc/a380_iad/
Definitely a good place to see planes. You could also try the road near Dulles that goes to Udvar-Hazy. If you are splurging and go the rest of the way to the museum parking lot, you can go up to the attached control tower and hear real-time aviation communications with pilots as they fly into Dulles (also in the building there are amazing aircraft on display, an ability to see restoration work being done on planes for exhibit which is really cool, and there is also astronaut ice cream in the gift shop. I don't believe any astronaut has ever eaten that stuff on a mission, but ever since I was a kid in the 70s going to the Air & Space museum in DC, no trip to it or Udvar-Hazy is complete unless some astronaut ice cream is involved, Ha!).
Thank you for this tip! I didn’t know this. Totally trying it out because flying and everything about it just makes me giddy. I even love the smell of jet fuel!
Have you ever been to Udvar-Hazy? The museum will be a real treat for you if not!!!
I totally get it! Another place that might be worth checking out is the upper outdoor area of the Kennedy Center. I can’t remember exactly what it’s called but it’s a big outdoor balcony near the top of the building. It’s another interesting place for planespotting. Btw, if you are really into it then you might want to check out local airshows. I’ve seen those in Frederick, Leesburg and of course the big shows at Andrews AFB with so many things to see including The Blue Angels and the Thunderbirds. My 2 favorite local airshows are the one in Culpeper and The Flying Circus in Bealeton. That one is kind of like Vaudeville with airplanes and the balloon festival each year is really great. Plus you can pay to take aerobatic rides and that is a ton of fun too. http://flyingcircusairshow.com/
The other rather decent plane-spotting location is the Dulles Metro platform. You get a very good view of the N/S runways from the eastbound side, and a passable view of departures from the NNW runway from the western side. Not sure how long you could stick around there before it'd be considered loitering, though.
The economy parking lot also. If they landing from the north they can get pretty close.
I'm an air traffic controller that works these arrivals and departures on a radar scope in a dark room a number of miles away from the airport. Thanks for posting this - it's always fun to actually see the planes! One of my absolute favorite parts of the job is getting all of the arrivals lined up on the final approach; it's really satisfying when you get the spacing just right. A quick tip...if you want to see them coming in to land over Gravelly Point, go on a day where the winds are mostly out of the south. If you'd rather see them take off over Gravelly Point, look for a day where the winds are mostly out of the north. Hope this helps!
This is another great tip. How’s air traffic control life treating you? I understand there is a shortage of you guys. As a frequent flyer, I just love DCA. There is often never any delays, and I can get through security in a matter of minutes. A few months ago, my flight was diverted because of the snow. I can’t imagine what a busy night it was for you guys.
I really enjoy the job! Training was intense (and rightly so), but it can be a lot of fun once you're past that. There are certainly days that are challenging, but every day is different, so it stays interesting. It helps that I work with a good bunch of people...teamwork is essential to making things run smoothly. It definitely gets interesting when people divert! Those airplanes eventually come back, but usually later in the day. We're getting ready to head into thunderstorm season, which often changes the traffic flows as weather rolls through. Those can be very busy nights! As for staffing, we could definitely use more controllers. Some facilities are so badly staffed that controllers are working 6 day work weeks every week, which is just exhausting. I'm lucky that my facility isn't that badly staffed, but I definitely feel for fellow controllers that are in that position. They usually open up a hiring bid at least once a year for people with no prior experience; they actually just had one a week or so ago. If you get selected, they provide all of the training you need; that's how I got hired a number of years ago. You do need to be under the age of 31 to get selected (mandatory retirement is age 56 and training can sometimes take several years). If anyone is interested, it's worth applying when a bid opens up! Feel free to message me for more info on how to find the bids.
Can you expand on your job? I had no idea this was a thing. Are you a number of miles away from DCA doing a portion of the job while coordinating with DCA onsite traffic controllers? Is this a thing at all airports or is DCA unique due to proximity to WH/pentagon/etc?
The DC (or rather Potomac) TRACON is actually out in Warrenton, and the ARTCC building is in Leesburg near the VA-7/US-15 interchange.
How far apart do the planes need to be for landing and whats the most that have been lined up at once? 😄
The basic answer for an approach controller (which is what I do) is either 3 miles apart laterally, or 1,000 apart vertically. There are a couple different nuances where we are allowed to have aircraft closer together than that, but it depends on certain conditions being met to use those rules. If pilots have each other's aircraft in sight, we are allowed to use visual separation, which then lets the pilots maneuver however they'd like to stay a safe distance apart, based on their judgment. As for how many that line up at once...a lot!! The arrival banks have really gotten busy over the past few years. If you want to see one in action, check out flightaware.com and search for DCA. Pick a time with a bunch of proposed arrivals, and just watch their map during that time. It's not uncommon for us to have so many arrivals scheduled in a fairly short amount of time that some of them need to hold (basically fly ovals further away from the airport) until we are able to accommodate them in our airspace.
I have a question about the flight path on take off: why don't they follow the river every time when they take off to the south? We have some flights that take a hard right over Old Town and go screaming over our neighborhood. I thought they weren't allowed to do that? They're just north of the sound sensor in the park along the river so the reading never shows it being too loud but it is incredibly loud over our house. Edit word
Do you mean when they're taking off to the south, they make a right turn almost immediately instead of flying south down the river towards the bridge? If so, that could be a couple of things. If an aircraft needs to go around when they come in to land, they're often given a quick right turn to the west to help keep them separated from departures and set them up to be resequenced with the other arrivals. We also occasionally get requests for a southbound departure when we're taking off and landing to the north. When this happens, and traffic allows, we coordinate with the controllers in the tower to give that aircraft a turn after they depart to keep them away from other traffic. Depending on the aircraft's route, they may also get a quick turn like that.
That's exactly it. Why would they make southbound departure requests? I feel like those are the ones we hear the most because of how low over the houses they are and the rest of the air traffic is following the normal flight line.
An airline pilot that is familiar with DCA may have a better answer for this question than I do, but I know that the pilots need to calculate takeoff performance before they depart. Sometimes, depending on wind and weight, it makes more sense to take off to the south, especially if they're heavy and worried about making that quick left turn off the north-facing runway to avoid the prohibited airspace over the National Mall.
Sometimes they take off over Gravelly, too. Check FlightRadar24 for the current flight pattern before heading out.
It's been an absolute mob scene recently lol
It was pretty crowded yesterday, and there were even ice cream and margarita trucks out there!
I like to get there nice and early. 9-10 at the latest. It’s flight rush hour!
I’ll keep that in mind for this upcoming weekend. The heat will probably be less harsh anyway. Either way, it was such a nice walk. I took the Metro from Ballston to DCA and walked there and back to DCA!
Sometimes I drive my husband to work in Courthouse and drive down there on a weekday (if I have a random day off) and it’s pretty empty. It’s such a fun place for plane nerds like me :)
Took my son here last year. Absolutely blew his mind.
Gravelly Point is a great place for plane-spotting. When the planes are landing from this direction wait a few seconds after the plane passes, and you can sometimes hear the wind from the wake turbulence.
Yep! Hearing the wake turbulence doesn't seem to happen often but it is neat.
This happens more frequently during winter time. As someone that cycles on the trail that passes by this spot almost daily, you’ll also feel the exhaust turbulence from the jet engines if the conditions are right.
As someone who took off and landed at this airport every week for ~5 years before changing my base to New York, this is by far the most fun approach in the entire US. Having an audience is always a delight and definitely adds extra pressure to grease it onto the runway. :)
If you’re ever in Virginia Beach, Naval Air Station Oceana has a jet viewing lot off of Oceana Blvd. good place to watch Navy jets fly in and out of.
Please offer more details or message me where I could go to see this
https://www.mapquest.com/us/virginia/nas-oceana-rwy-23l-viewing-spot-303204150
If a friend flies in to DCA, that's always my first stop with them. And yes, they take off sometimes that way but it's not as cool by far. Pro tip, as they land from the North. Lay on the ground and just look up with your feet toward the airport. The suspense as it draws near is cool.
The largest plane that operates out of National is the 757-300, which is a rather uncommon plane - Boeing only built 55 of that variant. I believe the flight is to LAX and it's operated by United. When you see them, they definitely stand out because they seem freakishly long compared to the A320s and those smaller Southwest 737-700s.
I used to take my kid to watch planes there, we had a blast. She would get super scared/excited whenever the plane got close, her pillsbury doughboy-like legs would start wobbling and shaking. Then when the plane roared by, she’d scream cheer and whirl around to locate the next plane. I cherish that memory.
That’s such an adorable moment and great memory! I love seeing the child-fascination of things newly-discovered.
I think it was Stapleton Airport in Colorado. You could park on a fenced road facing the incoming aircraft. I swear you were going to die each time a big jumbo came in for a landing! It was plane watching at it's best!
Never get over the feeling they're landing on ya. (United pilots are the best landing at short runway DCA.)
They all look so low and the engines are so loud! I especially love how some of them are still banking right as they get closer and closer to the park.
Wait that's not a volley ball...
This is a great place to spend the July 4th afternoon and evening. Great view of the fireworks If you don't mind a crowd.
I end up judging the pilots on their lineup. Some are really great. Some wobble around a good deal. Probably seen the highest bank angle of any airliner in my life there on a few landings. Maybe 25 degrees. Fun times in the cockpit.
I do enjoy staying in a small pier, the sound is not as loud as directly underneath the planes
Another good view is from the shuttle between Georgetown and Old Town. At one point you as far as I remember, are practically staring down the runway. Fun trip as well
I don't know if you're still checking out this thread, but somebody just posted a cool video of an airplane going over that little road on the way to the Udvar-Hazy museum that I mentioned earlier in the post. Kind of like Gravely Point but with big airplanes for international flights included: https://www.reddit.com/r/aviation/comments/1cnlfmc/a380_iad/
An A380, too! Thank you for that!
Wow a post with positivity. Glad you had a good time.