best way into D.C. ?

[Guy Elden Jr.]

Hi all...

I'm planning on flying down to D.C. from northern NJ in a couple of weeks,
and was wondering which airport down there is the best these days? I know
College Park is the most ideal, but unfortunately it's still not accessible
by transient aircraft. Basically, I need the closest airport that has either
a cab or access to public transportation to get into central D.C. I've flown
into Dulles once before, and don't plan on repeating that harrowing
adventure again (the controller that day was just not on his game at all).

Any advice much appreciated! Thanks!

--
Guy Elden Jr.

[AIRRAP]

Dulles is surprisingly GA friendly.

[Teacherjh]

DC is a pain in the tuckus. Been there, done that, will be doing it again.

Dulles (IAD) is actually easy to get into and if you plan your landing right
you can shorten the taxi quite a bit. Take out the airport diagram and find
the GA parking area. Then land (very) long if necessary and you'll be right
there. Not much in the way of public transport, but taxis are available.
Leaving Dulless is another story. You're already at GA parking and will need
to taxi for miles to whatever runway they are using. I taxied an hour once
because they were changing runways. If you have trouble (it looked like I was
going to need an APU) they may not be able to accomodate you. Signature's APUs
were all for jets. Turned out I was able to get it started an hour later.
Leaving IFR they will give you a routing that takes you off the charts, so have
the adjacent IFR charts in the cockpit. Most expensive for gas and tiedown.

Mongommery (GAI) is a nice airport, though I got a lot of water in my fuel
once. I told them about it, and on the return trip the fuel was water-free.
You can walk about a mile to the bus (http://www.rideonbus.com) that will take
you to the Metro. You might even be able to get a ride out; coming back you
can take a taxi from the Metro, or the bus and then walk a mile. It's
uncontrolled, and getting out is no problem (don't forget to squawk and talk
before even thinking about taking off!) There's an RCO for communications.
Inexpensive gas and tiedown.

Coming from the South Manassas Regional/Davis (HEF) is nice. There is a
commuter train (http://www.vre.org) that will take you from the airport right
to Union Station in the middle of town (and a few other places on the way).
There are several trains in in the morning, and two in the afternoon. It takes
an hour and something. If you miss the train (last one is at 5:10p), you're
stuck. Coming back, there are a few in the morning, and several in the
evening. Last train out of Union Station is 6:50p. The train has some sort of
"guaranteed ride" thing which I didn't investigate - it's more for daily
commuters, but anybody can use it once. Or so they say. Something like that.
Moderately priced (for the area) gas and tiedown.

Freeway (W00) is a nice little airport, but I don't know about public
transport, since I was picked up by a friend. I don't think they have any.
But get on airnav.com and call the FBO and ask.

I have not tried Leesburg Executive.

National is also a good choice, and you get a jet fighter as an escort, which
is pretty cool. Parking is extremely expensive, and you may have trouble
getting the plane back. In fact, you may have trouble getting back to the
plane. You get free accomodations, but they are none too ritzy. Use this one
for when the trip is one-way. :)

Jose



--
(for Email, make the obvious changes in my address)

[Richard Kaplan]

"Teacherjh" > wrote in message
...

> the GA parking area. Then land (very) long if necessary and you'll be
right
> there. Not much in the way of public transport, but taxis are available.

Good advice... I flew from Pittsburgh to Dulles once and (no joke) I counted
more frequency/sector changes while taxiing than during my flight.

--------------------
Richard Kaplan, CFII

www.flyimc.com

[Scott Lowrey]

Teacherjh wrote:
>
>
> Mongommery (GAI) is a nice airport,

Note that GAI is inside the ADIZ. Not a huge deal but you *must* get a
transponder code prior to entering and squawk it until you park. I
believe FSS will give you the code when you file.

Having said that, GAI is pretty close to the Metro's red line and a
short ride into DC.

-Scott

[Teacherjh]

>> Note that GAI is inside the ADIZ.

They are all inside the ADIZ. Land outside of it and y ou might as well take
the bus to DC. :)

Jose


--
(for Email, make the obvious changes in my address)

[Guy Elden Jr.]

Thanks for the replies so far... they've been very helpful!

I've actually been to Dulles before, but this time it's a bit far from where
we need to be. Been to Leesburg as well, in August 2003. They (Piedmont I
believe) were just about to move to their new location on the field, but
seemed very friendly and helpful, getting us fueled up while we went out
with some local friends to a restuarant for a couple hours.

I looked on an old sectional, and it seems that Freeway is the closest
available airport to where we need to be (going to a wedding at the
University Club, 16th st & K st). I wonder if it would be easy enough to
find for an out-of-towner... some friends of ours are driving up for the
wedding as well, and they might be able to give us a lift from the airport
if we coordinate in advance. I'll try calling the FBO tomorrow to see what
they think.

Thanks again for the help!

--
Guy Elden Jr.

[SkyRacerD14001]

Flying is definitely better than driving to DC.

[Cub Driver]

>Dulles is surprisingly GA friendly.

Don't forget to schedule a day for Udvar-Hazy museum. Grab a cab at
the airport. www.warbirdforum.com/udvarhaz.htm


all the best -- Dan Ford
email: (put Cubdriver in subject line)

The Warbird's Forum www.warbirdforum.com
The Piper Cub Forum www.pipercubforum.com
Viva Bush! blog www.vivabush.org

[Cub Driver]

>> there. Not much in the way of public transport, but taxis are available.

Two viable routes, though admittedly it's easier going from DC to
Dulles than the other way around.

The Washington Flyer is an express bus that will leave you at various
major hotels.

You can take a shuttle bus to the nearest Metro stop, thence by Metro
to anywhere in the city. This is the way I usually go.

Just ask at the airport before exiting. (Once outdoors, you're
doomed!)

(You could also take a cab to Udvar-Hazy as posted earlier, then from
UH take the shuttle bus to NASM on the Mall. Likely you'd have to pay
$14 round trip. Tix at the Imax counter. The museum itself is free.)


all the best -- Dan Ford
email: (put Cubdriver in subject line)

The Warbird's Forum www.warbirdforum.com
The Piper Cub Forum www.pipercubforum.com
Viva Bush! blog www.vivabush.org

[Michael Houghton]

Howdy!

In article >,
Teacherjh > wrote:
[snip]

>Freeway (W00) is a nice little airport, but I don't know about public
>transport, since I was picked up by a friend. I don't think they have any.
>But get on airnav.com and call the FBO and ask.

It's several miles to the nearest bus stop in any direction.

yours,
Michael


--
Michael and MJ Houghton | Herveus d'Ormonde and Megan O'Donnelly
| White Wolf and the Phoenix
Bowie, MD, USA | Tablet and Inkle bands, and other stuff
| http://www.radix.net/~herveus/

[Toks Desalu]

> Flying is definitely better than driving to DC.


You betcha!!!!!

[Jay Somerset]

One thing you didn't mention is that an ADIZ flight plan, filed by telephone
at least one hour in advance, is needed to enter or exit from any of the DC
area airports. An IFR plan doubles as an ADIZ plan, but a standard VFR
flight plan does not.

We wouldn't want to hear about anyone being "escorted" by the Feds.


On 03 May 2004 01:07:02 GMT, (Teacherjh) wrote:

> DC is a pain in the tuckus. Been there, done that, will be doing it again.
>
> Dulles (IAD) is actually easy to get into and if you plan your landing right
> you can shorten the taxi quite a bit. Take out the airport diagram and find
> the GA parking area. Then land (very) long if necessary and you'll be right
> there. Not much in the way of public transport, but taxis are available.
> Leaving Dulless is another story. You're already at GA parking and will need
> to taxi for miles to whatever runway they are using. I taxied an hour once
> because they were changing runways. If you have trouble (it looked like I was
> going to need an APU) they may not be able to accomodate you. Signature's APUs
> were all for jets. Turned out I was able to get it started an hour later.
> Leaving IFR they will give you a routing that takes you off the charts, so have
> the adjacent IFR charts in the cockpit. Most expensive for gas and tiedown.
>
> Mongommery (GAI) is a nice airport, though I got a lot of water in my fuel
> once. I told them about it, and on the return trip the fuel was water-free.
> You can walk about a mile to the bus (http://www.rideonbus.com) that will take
> you to the Metro. You might even be able to get a ride out; coming back you
> can take a taxi from the Metro, or the bus and then walk a mile. It's
> uncontrolled, and getting out is no problem (don't forget to squawk and talk
> before even thinking about taking off!) There's an RCO for communications.
> Inexpensive gas and tiedown.
>
> Coming from the South Manassas Regional/Davis (HEF) is nice. There is a
> commuter train (http://www.vre.org) that will take you from the airport right
> to Union Station in the middle of town (and a few other places on the way).
> There are several trains in in the morning, and two in the afternoon. It takes
> an hour and something. If you miss the train (last one is at 5:10p), you're
> stuck. Coming back, there are a few in the morning, and several in the
> evening. Last train out of Union Station is 6:50p. The train has some sort of
> "guaranteed ride" thing which I didn't investigate - it's more for daily
> commuters, but anybody can use it once. Or so they say. Something like that.
> Moderately priced (for the area) gas and tiedown.
>
> Freeway (W00) is a nice little airport, but I don't know about public
> transport, since I was picked up by a friend. I don't think they have any.
> But get on airnav.com and call the FBO and ask.
>
> I have not tried Leesburg Executive.
>
> National is also a good choice, and you get a jet fighter as an escort, which
> is pretty cool. Parking is extremely expensive, and you may have trouble
> getting the plane back. In fact, you may have trouble getting back to the
> plane. You get free accomodations, but they are none too ritzy. Use this one
> for when the trip is one-way. :)
>
> Jose

[aaronw]

On Mon, 03 May 2004 18:07:23 -0400, Jay Somerset >
wrote:

>One thing you didn't mention is that an ADIZ flight plan, filed by telephone
>at least one hour in advance, is needed to enter or exit from any of the DC
>area airports. An IFR plan doubles as an ADIZ plan, but a standard VFR
>flight plan does not.

You do not need to file an hour in advance.

I have called in a plan at 9:15 with an ETD of 9:30 and actually taken
off at 9:40 (from inside the ADIZ)

Allegedly, you can file an ADIZ flight plan with FSS from the air, but
I personally have notorious bad luck with Leesburg Radio.

I ran into one of them at the AOPA open house and said 'You guys never
talk to me in the air!' and then one of them turned around and said
'Hey, I know your voice, you always talk too fast!'

So, YMMV, I suppose.

The magic words are 'DC ADIZ' to use with FSS. Leesburg knows what it
is, Altoona is pretty good, and so is Milville.

aw

[aaronw]

On Sun, 2 May 2004 23:32:28 -0400, "Guy Elden Jr."
> wrote:
>I looked on an old sectional, and it seems that Freeway is the closest
>available airport to where we need to be (going to a wedding at the
>University Club, 16th st & K st). I wonder if it would be easy enough to
>find for an out-of-towner... some friends of ours are driving up for the
>wedding as well, and they might be able to give us a lift from the airport
>if we coordinate in advance. I'll try calling the FBO tomorrow to see what
>they think.

If you're going downtown downtown, almost all the airports are equally
useless (except for the VA ones, they are probably more useless, and
College Park, which is on the metro).

I drive by 16th & K every day to go to work...

Your post says 'in a couple of weeks', so I'll let you know that the
FME runway is going to be closed for resurfacing from approximately
5/10 to 5/22 or thereabouts.

If you're into making multiple public transit jumps, you could try
Suburban (W18) and taxi to MARC Laurel to Union Station and then metro
to... Farragut North maybe? I dunno, still a lot of hopping I guess.
Also, the MARC doesn't run on weekends or in the middle of the day or
any other convienent time. Probably faster to taxi from W18 to
Greenbelt Metro, I suppose.

So your question probably becomes, which is the easiest airport -
Metro transfer?

GAI - Shady Grove
W00 - New Carrolton
W18/FME (they're practically nextdoor) - Greenbelt

IAD - Vienna

On the other point, it looks like the Washington Flyer doesn't
actually go downtown - www.washfly.com.

aw

[Viperdoc]

I need to go to northern Maryland (actually Andrews AFB) next month and am
also looking for airports close by. I need at least 3500 feet of runway for
the Baron, and would like hangar space as well.

I was thinking of Manassas- how does this compare to Dulles?

Are there any airports in northern MD that also might fit the bill?

Thanks.

[Teacherjh]

>> I was thinking of Manassas- how does this compare to Dulles?

Manassas: Large. Moderately expensive. Commuter train available into DC
(limited hours, www.vre.org), connects with the Metro. No other public
transport. Taxis can be gotten, but Manassas is in the middle of nowhere.

Dulles: Huge. You can taxi for an hour to get to the runway. Very Expensive.
Vienna is the nearest Metro station. I hear there's a shuttle to the Metro,
never used it.

I don't know about hangars at either place, as I just use tiedowns. Check
airnav.com.

Jose



--
(for Email, make the obvious changes in my address)

[Walt Fee]

Your runway eliminates any of the suburban fields south of BWI.

Maybe Easton (KESN)? - Eastern shore and drive over the Bay Bridge,
through Annapolis to Andrews. Friendly types over there and you could
avoid driving the Beltway. It's just outside the ADIZ.

Further out: Cambridge (south of ESN), KMTN (east of Baltimore)

Best of luck.
Walt


Viperdoc wrote:
> I need to go to northern Maryland (actually Andrews AFB) next month and am
> also looking for airports close by. I need at least 3500 feet of runway for
> the Baron, and would like hangar space as well.
>
> I was thinking of Manassas- how does this compare to Dulles?
>
> Are there any airports in northern MD that also might fit the bill?
>
> Thanks.
>
>
>

[Paul Sengupta]

"Cub Driver" > wrote in message
...
> The Washington Flyer is an express bus that will leave you at various
> major hotels.

Also to the metro...$8 one way. Then inexpensive metro ticket.

> You can take a shuttle bus to the nearest Metro stop, thence by Metro
> to anywhere in the city. This is the way I usually go.

> (You could also take a cab to Udvar-Hazy as posted earlier, then from
> UH take the shuttle bus to NASM on the Mall. Likely you'd have to pay
> $14 round trip. Tix at the Imax counter. The museum itself is free.)

The shuttle is $7 return. I have to pass on the taxi price...no idea.

Paul (Just been there. Wonderful museum. Hi Margy!)

[John T]

"Teacherjh" > wrote in message

>
> ...but Manassas is in the middle of nowhere.

Uh, not exactly. :)

--
John T
http://tknowlogy.com/TknoFlyer
http://www.pocketgear.com/products_search.asp?developerid=4415
____________________

[John T]

"Jeffrey Voight" > wrote in message

>
> Don't forget ADIZ requirements. You need a special ADIZ flight plan
> in addition to any IFR or VFR plan you might have. ADIZ flight
> clearance lasts for two hours (from what I've been told by the
> WX-BRIEF folk).

Minor point: IFR plans do not require a separate ADIZ flight plan. Also,
there's no such thing as a DC ADIZ clearance. :) ADIZ flight plans may
"live" for up to two hours prior to activation (not clearance), but try to
anticipate your time of arrival accurately.

--
John T
http://tknowlogy.com/TknoFlyer
http://www.pocketgear.com/products_search.asp?developerid=4415
____________________

[Cub Driver]

On Tue, 4 May 2004 19:51:31 +0100, "Paul Sengupta"
> wrote:

>> (You could also take a cab to Udvar-Hazy as posted earlier, then from
>> UH take the shuttle bus to NASM on the Mall. Likely you'd have to pay
>> $14 round trip. Tix at the Imax counter. The museum itself is free.)
>
>The shuttle is $7 return. I have to pass on the taxi price...no idea.

Right, sorry. I went out on the early bus, before tickets were being
sold. I went to the Imax counter to buy a return, and of course I was
paying for both ways. It is indeed $7, which makes it a fantastic
bargain, even for a one-way trip.

I suppose it would be difficult or nigh impossible to get a return
ticket on the say 5 p.m. bus to the city.

all the best -- Dan Ford
email: (put Cubdriver in subject line)

The Warbird's Forum www.warbirdforum.com
The Piper Cub Forum www.pipercubforum.com
Viva Bush! blog www.vivabush.org

[Cub Driver]

>By the way, DC metro trains are not
>as common as NYC trains. Don't expect them to take you to any corner of
>town.

Before the Metro opened, I booked hotels according to the bus system,
which like most bus systems is very hard to understand for an
outsider. (Century City was a good choice; the bus dropped me at the
sculpture garden :) Post-Metro, I booked hotels according to Metro
stops. It's a wonderful system--clean, safe, economical--and goes out
to DCA, though not to IAD.

From IAD, I take the shuttle bus to East Falls Church. Same from
BWI--there's a bus every hour to the final Metro station to the north.
It does take an hour or two, but it's cheap and easy and runs on
weekends, unlike the Light Rail train.


all the best -- Dan Ford
email: (put Cubdriver in subject line)

The Warbird's Forum www.warbirdforum.com
The Piper Cub Forum www.pipercubforum.com
Viva Bush! blog www.vivabush.org

[Paul Sengupta]

"Cub Driver" > wrote in message
...
> I suppose it would be difficult or nigh impossible to get a return
> ticket on the say 5 p.m. bus to the city.

I got a ticket for the 5pm to the city because you had to book a
return and that was available...tickets purchased at about 10.15am
for the 10.30am out to the museum. I only really wanted one way
as I was meeting Margy at the museum and we were going to meet
Ron and go out for dinner after...so I didn't use my return. They
wouldn't sell me a single ticket or a "not specified" return...!

Paul

[Paul Sengupta]

"Cub Driver" > wrote in message
...
>
> >By the way, DC metro trains are not
> >as common as NYC trains. Don't expect them to take you to any corner of
> >town.
>
> Before the Metro opened, I booked hotels according to the bus system,
> which like most bus systems is very hard to understand for an
> outsider. (Century City was a good choice; the bus dropped me at the
> sculpture garden :) Post-Metro, I booked hotels according to Metro
> stops. It's a wonderful system--clean, safe, economical--and goes out
> to DCA, though not to IAD.

The metro in D.C. was great. Sometimes left you standing for a
good while though...could do with more seats! :-) Much easier to
find the right platform than NYC. First trip on the NYC Metro, this
"uptown"/"downtown" thing confused me until I looked at the end
stations on a map...why can't they have northbound/southbound
like the rest of the world? They have eastbound/westbound.

> From IAD, I take the shuttle bus to East Falls Church. Same from
> BWI--there's a bus every hour to the final Metro station to the north.
> It does take an hour or two, but it's cheap and easy and runs on
> weekends, unlike the Light Rail train.

The Amtrak metroliner I took from D.C. to New York on Saturday
stopped at BWI.

Paul (now back in the UK)

[G.R. Patterson III]

Paul Sengupta wrote:
>
> First trip on the NYC Metro, this
> "uptown"/"downtown" thing confused me until I looked at the end
> stations on a map...why can't they have northbound/southbound
> like the rest of the world?

Well, it's simpler for them. The numbers of the streets get higher going north, so,
if you're at 34th Street and want to get to 55th Street, you go uptown.

George Patterson
If you don't tell lies, you never have to remember what you said.

[Ron Natalie]

"aaronw" > wrote in message ...

> If you're going downtown downtown, almost all the airports are equally
> useless (except for the VA ones, they are probably more useless, and
> College Park, which is on the metro).

You can't go into College Park unless you're got the special DC3 authorization.
> So your question probably becomes, which is the easiest airport -
> Metro transfer?
>
> GAI - Shady Grove
> W00 - New Carrolton
> W18/FME (they're practically nextdoor) - Greenbelt
>
> IAD - Vienna

Actually, for IAD, the best shot is West Falls Church. There's a motor coach that takes
you directly there.

[aaronw]

On Wed, 05 May 2004 05:45:08 -0400, Cub Driver
> wrote:

>From IAD, I take the shuttle bus to East Falls Church. Same from
>BWI--there's a bus every hour to the final Metro station to the north.
>It does take an hour or two, but it's cheap and easy and runs on
>weekends, unlike the Light Rail train.

Getting into some pretty hardcore topic drift, but the Light Rail runs
on weekends... It's the MARC that does not run on weekends and seems
to be completely useless except for M-F rush hour.

The Metrobus from Greenbelt to BWI is I believe the B30 bus -
www.wmata.com for details on that.

aw

[Cub Driver]

>> It does take an hour or two, but it's cheap and easy and runs on
>> weekends, unlike the Light Rail train.
>
>The Amtrak metroliner I took from D.C. to New York on Saturday
>stopped at BWI.

Yes, the heavy stuff runs 7 days a week. But the schedule isn't as
frequent, and I believe it's more expensive.

(The bus/Metro combo is even cheaper than Light Rail. $2.50 for the
bus, and I suppose the Metro is a couple bucks.)

all the best -- Dan Ford
email: (put Cubdriver in subject line)

The Warbird's Forum www.warbirdforum.com
The Piper Cub Forum www.pipercubforum.com
Viva Bush! blog www.vivabush.org

[Cub Driver]

>(The bus/Metro combo is even cheaper than Light Rail. $2.50 for the
>bus, and I suppose the Metro is a couple bucks.)

For Light Rail, read MARC. (Never did cotton to them acronyms.) Sorry!

all the best -- Dan Ford
email: (put Cubdriver in subject line)

The Warbird's Forum www.warbirdforum.com
The Piper Cub Forum www.pipercubforum.com
Viva Bush! blog www.vivabush.org

[Ron Natalie]

"aaronw" > wrote in message ...

>
> Getting into some pretty hardcore topic drift, but the Light Rail runs
> on weekends... It's the MARC that does not run on weekends and seems
> to be completely useless except for M-F rush hour.
>

The light rail don't go nowhere from BWI now. It's shutdown until the
fall for track work. It doesn't go towards DC anyhow (BWI is the southern
end of the line that runs up through Baltimore).

[HECTOP]

I've flown both into DCA back in the days and into IAD as recently as 2002
and both were great experiences, although DCA was definetely the most GA
friendly big airport I've ever been to, I really miss it:

http://www.maxho.com/dca
http://www.maxho.com/BigTrip

was always lookin' for an excuse to fly into DCA on my own, and before 9/11
you could ask the departure for a city tour and they'd vector you around low
over the city

HECTOP
PP-ASEL-IA
http://www.maxho.com
maxho_at_maxho.com



"Guy Elden Jr." > wrote in message
...
> Hi all...
>
> I'm planning on flying down to D.C. from northern NJ in a couple of weeks,
> and was wondering which airport down there is the best these days? I know
> College Park is the most ideal, but unfortunately it's still not
> accessible
> by transient aircraft. Basically, I need the closest airport that has
> either
> a cab or access to public transportation to get into central D.C. I've
> flown
> into Dulles once before, and don't plan on repeating that harrowing
> adventure again (the controller that day was just not on his game at all).
>
> Any advice much appreciated! Thanks!
>
> --
> Guy Elden Jr.
>
>
>

[Ron Natalie]

"HECTOP" > wrote in message ...

> was always lookin' for an excuse to fly into DCA on my own, and before 9/11
> you could ask the departure for a city tour and they'd vector you around low
> over

You can't get within 18 miles of DCA now in a GA aircraft unless you've submitted
to the appropriate rectal probing. GA into DCA is even more limitted.

[HECTOP]

two weeks before 9/11 on approach to DCA:
http://www.maxho.com/BigTrip/pages/Pentagon.htm

btw I think it was you Ron who gave me advice about the City Tour, 10x again

HECTOP
PP-ASEL-IA
http://www.maxho.com
maxho_at_maxho.com




"Ron Natalie" > wrote in message
m...
>
> "HECTOP" > wrote in message
> ...
>
>> was always lookin' for an excuse to fly into DCA on my own, and before
>> 9/11
>> you could ask the departure for a city tour and they'd vector you around
>> low
>> over
>
> You can't get within 18 miles of DCA now in a GA aircraft unless you've
> submitted
> to the appropriate rectal probing. GA into DCA is even more limitted.
>