KDCADCAWashington, D.C., United States
Ronald Reagan Washington National
A river visual inside the DC Flight Restricted Zone, next to prohibited area P-56.
15 ftElevation
01/19 · 7,169 ftRunway
P-56, River VisualKnown for
What to watch out for
- P-56 — the prohibited area over the White House and National Mall — starts just 1.5 NM north of the airport, surface to 18,000 ft. Violations get intercepted and prosecuted.
- The whole airport sits inside the DC Flight Restricted Zone (FRZ), roughly 15 NM around the field.
- The River Visual to runway 19 threads the Potomac between P-56 and the city: you follow the river visually, then make a steep right turn onto short final over the water.
- The visual needs weather: the plate demands 3,500 ft ceiling and 3 miles — below that you fly the LDA or RNAV (RNP) instead.
- Strict noise abatement applies — power reductions at 1,500 ft on departure and river routing to keep noise off the city.
- A federal perimeter rule limits nonstop flights to destinations within 1,250 statute miles — that is why the airport serves mainly short-haul.
Procedures
The numbers
- P-56
- 1.5 NM N of DCA
- surface to 18,000 ft MSL — never enter
- River Visual minimums
- 3,500 ft · 3 mi
- DCA VOR
- 111.0 · CH 47
- River course
- 187° inbound
- turn to final ~visual, steep over the river
- Tower
- 119.1
- Perimeter rule
- 1,250 sm
- federal limit on nonstop destinations
Flying it in the sim
- ·This is a visual approach that behaves like an instrument one — brief the fixes and the P-56 boundary even though you are flying visually.
- ·The turn to final comes up fast at 140 kt: slow early, or you will overshoot into P-56 territory.
- ·In MSFS the river and city are well-modelled — fly it in clear weather first, then try the LDA.
- ·P-56A covers the Mall/White House, P-56B the Naval Observatory — on the chart, stay right of the river.