A Flight into Washington National, 1999

Devon and I flew in to D.C. in 1999 in a rented 172. Great fun, excellent, professional handling by all the controllers. A bit nervewracking to be so close to all the prohibited areas, and mixed up among big heavy fast jets. But fun - great fun.

Coming down the Potomac, you get some pretty nice sights. Devon caught this shot of the Washington Monument looking down the National Mall.

Looking further down the Mall (through dirty plexiglass) another familiar sight...

Short final for Runway 15 takes you right over the Pentagon at about 300'. You can see the runway threshold top left of the picture, just across the river.

Outbound, we got vectored north and east around the Mall, and managed to catch another nice view of the Capitol building. Didn't get any photos of the White House -- I was concentrating on not straying too close.