GA airport near Arlington/Alexandria VA?

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JOhnH

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We need to visit family in Alexandria VA next month for an interment ceremony in Arlington National Cemetery. What would be a good choice for a GA airport for two nights where we can get a rental car?
Preferably closer to Alexandria.
 
JOhnH said:
We need to visit family in Alexandria VA next month for an interment ceremony in Arlington National Cemetery. What would be a good choice for a GA airport for two nights where we can get a rental car?
Preferably closer to Alexandria.
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I'm assuming you want to avoid FRZ airports as they require a bit of legwork before hand. Your best bets are Maryland (2W5) and an Uber, or Manassas (HEF) and a VRE or rental car ride in. The FBO on the NW side of the airport is walking distance to the broad run Manassas line VRE station, which is easy to use if you plan on following commuting patterns (ie heading towards the city in the morning and returning to manassas in the afternoon /evening. It's a bit less than a 1 hour ride.
 
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Note: as much as Stafford might appear attractive, the commute on 95 is not pleasant. If you're going to take the Fredericksburg VRE line, Shannon Airport is your best bet. Still, it's a bit more than an hour ride on the train to Alexandria.
 
Another option is KGAI. Uber ride to the Redline Metro, and right into the heart of DC. I’ve been into both KHEF and KGAI for business in DC. Never was able to make it work with the Virginia Railroad from KHEF. One doesn’t need a car around DC. Parking is ridiculous at hotels in the area and then the car just sits.
 
JOhnH said:
We need to visit family in Alexandria VA next month for an interment ceremony in Arlington National Cemetery. What would be a good choice for a GA airport for two nights where we can get a rental car?
Preferably closer to Alexandria.
Click to expand...
Leesburi46minutesfroArlingtoCemeterbyDulletollroa.Prettsuryocagerentacapickutheriorganizeinadvance
 
Frankly, having been based at IAD for years, I'd not have any issues with going in there. From there you can METRO/Uber whatever just about anywhere. But even at HEF or GAI you're not that far out.
 
Rcmutz said:
Another option is KGAI. Uber ride to the Redline Metro, and right into the heart of DC. I’ve been into both KHEF and KGAI for business in DC. Never was able to make it work with the Virginia Railroad from KHEF. One doesn’t need a car around DC. Parking is ridiculous at hotels in the area and then the car just sits.
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The yellow line bridge over the Potomac is still screwed up, so metro from the red line would be a not so fun ride. Also, it appears the OP is coming from Florida so an airport on the south side of the city makes more sense.
 
Randomskylane said:
Leesburi46minutesfroArlingtoCemeterbyDulletollroa.Prettsuryocagerentacapickutheriorganizeinadvance
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That’s with 10pm traffic. Run that again during the day and see how that measures up. I live in Alexandria and tried flying out of JYO. It didn’t take me long to figure out that that just wasn’t going to work.
 
flyingron said:
Frankly, having been based at IAD for years, I'd not have any issues with going in there. From there you can METRO/Uber whatever just about anywhere. But even at HEF or GAI you're not that far out.
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Have they completed a Metro line out to IAD, or do you still have to take an express shuttle service to the metro stop at the end of the line?
 
The metro line is there. The station is just north of the main roadway loop just on the terminal side of "Garage 1". A tunnel takes you under the hourly parking to the terminal. The problem is that it's a hike to the FBOs from there, but they should be able to give you a lift.
 
I have not researched it too much, but I have a relative in DC who I want to eventually visit. I always assumed that when I did, I'd figure out how the FRZ works and deal with it. Is the FRZ really so onerous that it's worth talking about hour-long train rides from some places, schlepping between the FBOs and the IAD train terminal, etc? Is it really not worth spending some time preflight to deal with the FRZ overhead and land closer to the destination? Does the answer change if you're flying IFR vs. VFR?
 
You can't just "deal" with the FRZ. You have to get fingerprinted and apply for access. Once you have the access, you can get into VKX and CGS. Those aren't a whole lot closer than IAD or GAI. It's still a bit of a hike from CGS to College Park Metro.

IFR or VFR doesn't make a difference. You have to file a special flight plan and be on positive control either way. There are also special security rules once you're on the ground and before you depart.
 
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