DCA 11/13 (With an added bonus...)

With the beautiful weather the DC area has been having recently and the wonderful photos that John and Fasil have been posting, I found it hard to resist a spotting outing any longer... I debated between IAD or DCA but decided on the later because of its convenience to my campus. Gravely Point Park is a mere 10 minute metro ride away from my dorm. The afternoon light was perfect and the aircraft were banking just as they should from runway 1. Nothing special in terms of aircraft, though the quad F-16 flyby was certainly a surprise! :)

Enjoy!

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8200/8...a9ef1b279a.jpg

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Great work and shots.

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Originally Posted by Iberia A340-600

Nothing special in terms of aircraft, though the quad F-16 flyby was certainly a surprise! :)

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8068/8...5fb7708e2d.jpg

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Did you get any photos of the F-16s, or only of these F-18s? ;-)

very nice work, Gordon!

I wouldn't have the foggiest idea of how to tell them apart, Moose! Thanks for the correction. Any idea who the two navy and grey ones belong to?

I can't really tell from what I little I can see of the markings, but I can tell you that the upper right and bottom aircraft in the shot are Super Hornets (F/A-18E single seaters) and the other two are older, standard Hornets (F/A-18C) - the Supers have the square engine intakes. Both types are stationed at NAS Oceana in Virgina Beach, so that could be where they are out of.

Put up a big shot of the F-18s so we can see tail markings and/or squadron markings.

Beautiful light and nice set

The F/A-18C Legacy Hornets are from VFA-34, the Blue Blasters. The Supers are F/A-18E's from VFA-81, the Sunliners. rare that you would get both of the full color CAG jets in a formation. Very nice!

And both Squadrons are based out of NAS Oceana, although they deploy with west coast airwings

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Originally Posted by NickPeterman

And both Squadrons are based out of NAS Oceana, although they deploy with west coast airwings

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Are they still Ax coded, or were they part of the wing that switched over to Nx coding?

I know that VFA-81 now has an NA tailcode, unsure on the Blasters

Where do you spot at DCA? I will be there on Monday (connecting flight). There's a 2 hour connection time so if the security lines don't look too long, I might be able to leave the airport and spot for an hour or so before getting back in. If not, I'll see if I can spot from within the airport.

Most of the photos were taken from an embankment located next to the path bridge that makes up part of the Mt. Vernon trail that runs along the airport perimeter. If you exit the airport from the arrivals hall and follow the road you can reach Gravely Point Park, which is the designated spotting location for DCA.

Here's a link to a DCA spotting guide with more thorough directions: http://www.washbaltspotters.net/files/dcaspots.pdf

Excellent shots!