Leg 3 KIAD - Washinghton (US) to KORF Norfolk (US)

KIAD - Airport Info

ICAO code: KIAD
Airport name: Washington Dulles International
Location: Washington, DC, USA

Useful informations

Airport elevation: 313’
Time zone: ET (GMT -5)
Lighted runways: Yes
Maximum runway length: 11501
Runway surface: Asphalt

Instrument approach (ILS, LOC, LDA, and SDF):

Runway 1L: ILS 111.30 - 011º
Runway 1R: ILS 110.10 - 011º
Runway 12: ILS 109.30 - 121º
Runway 19L: ILS 110.10 - 191º
Runway 19R: ILS 111.30 - 191º

Washington Info

If civic politics is the American religion, then Washington DC is the nation's holy city. White houses, capital and pentagonal buildings, supreme courts - these monumental Lego shrines are rarefied with real power. A patriotic combination of history and histrionics: BYO wiretap.

To some, Washington means white marble, verdant lawns, and the colourful, ritualistic pageantry of American politics: the Capitol dome gleaming against an azure sky; limousine processions on Inauguration Day; the mournful, sombre, stately changing of the guard at Arlington National Cemetery.

Yet Washington is no mere political ornament. It is also a city, a city where ordinary and extraordinary people live, work and play, a city of vibrant and beautiful neighbourhoods where the federal government and its machinery are merely backdrops to life, not the main-stage drama. After visitors have explored the wonders of the Smithsonian Institution's 14 museums (always free!), strolled through the halls of power, and played spot-the-senator in famous eateries, delightful districts like Dupont Circle, Adams-Morgan and Georgetown offer opportunities to meet ordinary folks, tour lovely historic buildings, and dive into fabulous world cuisine.

Orientation

Washington is plonked down in the District of Columbia, a little enclave chopped from the state of Maryland. It is bounded on one side by the Potomac River (on the other side of the river you'll find Arlington and Alexandria, Virginia) and on the other sides by the state of Maryland. The city covers 170sq km (65sq mi). Washington is ringed by a freeway bypass called the Beltway, which divides the urban insiders from the suburbanites. The Capitol isn't just the symbolic centre of Washington: from here the city is divided into four compass-point quadrants along axes following N Capitol St, E Capitol St, S Capitol St and the Mall. Identical addresses appear in all four quadrants, so you need to know the directional component of the address you want.

Streets are arranged on a grid of north-south numbered streets and east-west lettered streets. This grid is overlaid by broad diagonal avenues. The geometric pattern is further interrupted by traffic circles that add to the city's appeal but can make DC a challenging place for outsiders to navigate by car.

KORF - Airport Info

ICAO code: KORF
Airport name: Norfolk International
Location: Norfolk, VA, USA

Useful information

Airport elevation: 26’
Time zone: ET (GMT -5)
Lighted runway: Yes
Maximum runway lenght : 9001
Runway surface: Asphalt

Instrument approach (ILS, LOC, LDA, and SDF):

Runway 5: ILS/DME 109.10 - 047º
Runway 23: ILS/DME 109.10 - 227º

Norfolk Info

A strategic location at the broad mouth of the Chesapeake Bay, and an extensive deep-water harbor made colonial NORFOLK the main American trading port, and in the mid-eighteenth century it was the largest city in Virginia. After being burned by the British in 1775, and suffering naval bombardments during the Civil War, Norfolk never regained much character, and despite recent efforts to redevelop its waterfront, the modern city is little more than a supply depot for the vast naval shipyards. Along with Hampton and Newport News on the north side of the James River, Norfolk is home to the largest naval base outside Russia, and carriers, cruisers and all manner of gray-steel behemoths steam past incessantly.