Washington Dulles International Airport (KIAD) is one of the most important airports at the east Coast of the United States. It is located in Virginia and 26 miles from Washington D.C, the capital of the United States. Comparing with two other two major airports KDCA and KBWI in Washington-Baltimore area, Dulles has the most international traffic with more than 22 million passengers a year and more than 125 destinations around the world. Located next to Dulles airport is the Udvar-Hazy Center, which has a lot of interesting collections like SR-71 Blackbird inside, it’s worth to have a visit.

Dulles is a hub of United Airlines which flies to Europe, Asia and South America. Almost all major Europe airlines like Lufthansa, Air France as well as Asian airlines like ANA, Air China service daily flights to Dulles. In this way, all kinds of heavies especially like United B767-400 can be observed every day. Also, because of its special location, VIP aircraft and Special Visitors like Amiri 747-400, Luftwaffe A310 and AN-124 can be seen all year round if you are lucky enough. The airport authorities are pretty friendly to spotters. In short, IAD is a wonderful choice for plane spotting.

Written by Ruoyang Yan, also appreciate Ruoyao Wang who provides information and photos for spot location 5 & 6. (Last update May 2018)

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	Airline Variety
	Photo Locations
	Weather
Airport Informations	Runways	01L/19R	01C/19C	01R/19L
		2.865 m (9.400 ft)	3.505 m (11.500 ft)	3.505 m (11.500 ft)
		Concrete	Concrete	Concrete
		12/30	12R/30L PLANNED
		3.201 m (10.501 ft)	3.200 m (10.500 ft)
		Concrete	Concrete
	Terminals	Concourse Z (Main Terminal)	Concourses A and B	Concourses C and D
		Air Canada Express, Frontier	all non United Flights	only United and United Express
Spotting Informations	Ladder	No need at all.
	Car	Not necessary but recommended, all four locations can be reached by public transportations but they’re not that convenient especially if you’re planning to depart from Downtown Washington DC.
	Restrooms	All locations have restrooms located nearby except location 3 and 6.
	Drinks/Food	There are shops nearby at all locations except location 3 and 6.
	Hotels	Many hotels located around the airport and most of them provide shuttle bus from the terminals, the most convenient hotel is Washington Dulles Airport Marriott since it’s the closest one.
	Season	All year round is fine, but in winter it gets dark pretty early (Around 4 – 5pm).
Runway Usage	01C/19C	Mainly be used for arrivals. In southern operation, domestic flights and almost all European airlines will land on 19C. But in northern operation, arrivals on 1C are mostly those coming from south and west while others are more likely to use 1R. ANA, Korean Air and cargos will mostly use 1C/19C regardless of direction of operations. During the peak in the early morning, 1C/19C may also be used for domestic departure.
	01R/19L	Used for both arrivals and departure. During southern operation, arrivals coming from south and most international flights of United Airlines will use 19L while most European airlines will use 19C. In northern operation, traffic coming from north and east will use 1R in the morning, in the afternoon almost all international arrivals will use on 1R.
	01L/19R	Only be used during peak hours, at most time, there is no operation on this runway.
	12/30	Only be used for departure. Arrivals will only happen when encountering strong NW wind during few days of a year. Most departure flights will use runway 30 in the morning.

	Spot #1 – Sully Place Shopping Center – 1R Arrivals in The Morning
WHERE	If you’re driving, use VA-28N and exit at S/Sully Road. follow the direction of Sully Place Shopping Center, it’s a pretty market area so parking is always available. You can also take Bus 652 to “Centreville Rd and Metrotech Dr” and walk for a short distance to there.
WHAT	This location is good for spotting arrivals on 1R during north operation. traffic come from north and east like Emirates, Ethiopian and South Africa will use 1R. You can move to the sidewalk for a better angle since there are trees and wires which may obstruct the planes.
TIME	From sunrise to noon all year round.
MISC.	Shops and restrooms are inside the market.
FOCAL LENGTH	200mm for B777/ A380, 300mm or longer for domestic flights and business jets.

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	Spot #2 – IAD Parking garage 2 – All movements on 1C/19C in The Morning
WHERE	Parking garage 2 in next to the main terminal of IAD, there is pathway connects the ticketing level of the terminal and the 3rd floor of garage 2. Use the elevators to the top level for a better angle. You can also take the parking lot shutter bus from the arrival level of terminal. (The parking fee is $6 / hour and $17 / day)
WHAT	This location is wonderful for spotting all operations happen on 1C/19C in the morning. During southern operation, most arrivals will use 19C. And during northern operation, arrivals are more likely to be those coming from south and west. ANA and Korean Air will mostly use 1C/19C. Sometimes in early morning (about 7am to 9am), 1C/19C may also be used for departures which you could get a pretty good angle, but after the peak, departures will move to 12/30.
TIME	From sunrise to noon all year round.
MISC.	Shops and restrooms are inside the terminal which is accessible by the pathway on the 3rd floor of the garage.
FOCAL LENGTH	250mm for B777/ A380, 400mm or longer for domestic flights and business jets on the runway. Shorter length is available for spotting the movements on the taxiways.

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	Spot #3 – IAD Parking garage 1 – Arrivals on 19L and Departure on 1R in The Afternoon
WHERE	Parking garage 1 is a separate building so it’s relatively farther from the terminal than garage 2. But it’s easy to find, just follow the direction of garage 1 and go to the top level to get a better angle. Garage 1 is also accessible by the parking lot shutter bus. (The parking fee is $6 / hour and $17 / day)
WHAT	This location is ideal for spotting arrivals on 19L in the afternoon. During southern operation, international arrivals of United Airlines are more likely to use 19L, some other arrivals like European and Asian airlines may also land at 19L but they are most likely to use 19C during southern operation. In northern operation, you can also spot 1R departure before sunset, keep in mind that 1R will mainly be used for arrivals in the early afternoon, departure will mostly happen in before sunset especially those European airlines landed in the afternoon. Also note that during summer, heat haze can be a problem so this location is more ideal during cooler weather.
TIME	From noon to sunset all year round.
MISC.	As I mentioned before, Parking garage 1 is separate from the terminal, please bring food you need and there is no restroom inside the garage.
FOCAL LENGTH	300 mm for B767/B777, 400mm or longer for domestic flights.

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	Spot #4 – Udvar-Hazy Center – 1R Arrivals in The Afternoon
WHERE	Udvar-Hazy Center is next to the IAD, you can follow the direction drive to the museum parking lot or take the Bus 583 from the terminal which is convenient. Parking fee is $15 if you enter before 4pm and it’s free after that time.
WHAT	It might be the most famous spotting location of IAD during northern operations. Most international arrivals will use 1R including heavies. aircraft flies low at this location so it’s easy to get nice pictures. You can move around the parking lot to find a better angle since sometime the trees may obstruct the planes.
TIME	From noon to sunset all year round.
MISC.	MacDonald and restrooms are inside the museum and the entry is for free.
FOCAL LENGTH	150 mm for B777/ B747/ A380, 250mm or longer for domestic flights and business jets.

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	Spot #5 – Fairfield Inn – 19L Arrivals in The Morning
WHERE	This location is at the parking lot of the Fairfield Inn. The address is 23000 Indian Creek Dr, Sterling, VA. It’s at the north side of the airport. To access it from Old Ox Rd, you can turn right into Pacific Blvd, and then turn right again into Indian Creek Dr. You can park your car in the Eastern side of the Fairfield Inn’s parking lot.
WHAT	At this location you can spot the morning arrivals of Runway 19L. International arrivals from Europe and Middle-East in the morning are likely to use this runway during southern operations. Some domestic flights can also be seen.
TIME	It is good from sunrise to noon all year round.
MISC.	Restroom is located inside Fairfield Inn. Foods are available nearby in the Cracker Barry Store.
FOCAL LENGTH	100-200mm

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	Spot #6 – Ambassed or Bible Church – 1C Arrivals in The Afternoon
WHERE	This location is at the parking lot of the Ambassador Bible Church. The address is 15100 Enterprise Ct, Chantilly, VA. It is in the south side of the airport. To access it from Lee Jackson Highway, you can turn left into Pleasant valley Rd, and then turn left again into Lafayette Center Dr. You can park your car in the parking lot of Ambassador Bible Church.
WHAT	At this location you can spot the afternoon arrivals of Runway 1C. The majority of the traffic here is domestic. Some of the international flights from Asia or South America will also use this runway. In some circumstances arrivals from Europe do use this runway but it is not a common scene as they are more likely to use 1R which can be spotted at location 4.
TIME	It is good from noon to sunset all year round.
MISC.	There aren’t any restrooms or stores nearby. Prepare your own food and water.
FOCAL LENGTH	100-200mm

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