If you hear a low rumble from the skies between noon and 1 PM this Saturday, look up.
You may see some of the more than 50 vintage and modern aircraft expected to fly over the National Mall—considered one of DC’s most restricted flight zones—during an event celebrating general aviation, a broad term that encompasses all civilian, non-commercial flight. Think recreation and business flights, as well as flights delivering humanitarian aid or fighting wildfires.
Behind the event is the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA), a political nonprofit based in Frederick that advocates for the general aviation industry. It’s hosting the flyover to celebrate the association’s 85th anniversary and also to “tell the story of general aviation in the United States.”
The aircraft, many of which will be flown by the highly-vetted pilots who own them, in the flyover will represent 15 different “chapters” of general US aviation history, from the “Golden Age” to the post-WWII boom to aerobatic aircraft. The planes will range in age too, dating as far back as 1939 to as recent as a 2024 production line.
Aviation fanatics can expect to see some of the following: a Waco UPF–7, a North American Navion, a Douglas DC–3, a Spartan Executive, a Hatz biplane, and a Beech Starship, along with modern-day aircraft like a Robinson R44, a Carbon Cub, and an Icon A5. For the finale, the Titan Aerobatic Team will show off its AT-6 “Texan” aircraft.
Launching from Frederick Municipal Airport at 11:30 AM, the planes will follow the Potomac River from Lowes Island in Loudoun County down over Roosevelt Island before turning east over the Lincoln Memorial and the Washington Monument. Once past the Smithsonian Castle, the planes will turn south and follow the river toward Alexandria. They’ll fly at about 1,000 feet—the minimum altitude required for aircraft over populated areas—at around 106 miles per hour, said AOPA.
The best place to view the planes? Anywhere along the Potomac River between Georgetown and Alexandria—and, of course, on the western end of the National Mall. AOPA recommends tuning into a live stream of the show on their Youtube channel, featuring aviation journalist Miles O’Brien and Tom Haines, the former editor in chief of AOPA’s magazine. Situated from atop the National Museum of American History, the two will narrate the parade of planes, providing context and history behind each aircraft.
The event marks the rare occasion in which general aviation aircraft will be allowed within the Mall’s highly restricted airspace, “Prohibited Area P-56.” To make it happen, the association says it had to gain the approval of 10 government agencies, including the FAA, Transportation Security Administration, Secret Service, and Capitol Police. Reagan National will even delay planes on Saturday to accommodate the flights.
“The intricate planning and intense coordination with a myriad agencies and regulators have been in the works for more than a year,” said AOPA in a press release on Tuesday. “But the team always knew takeoffs wouldn’t happen until it received an official yes/no the week of the event.”
