Video: A unique view of the DC Flyover

A video posted to YouTube June 5, 2024, of the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association’s National Celebration of General Aviation Flyover of Washington, D.C., includes previously unreleased footage and the best look yet at the aerial parade, according to AOPA officials.

During the May 11 event, 54 aircraft flew from Frederick Municipal Airport in Maryland to Washington, D.C. The aircraft flew in “chapters,” tracing GA’s history from the golden age of the 1930s to the most advanced machines flying today, AOPA officials explained.

AOPA livestreamed the event on that day, however, because of all the federal agencies involved, and to satisfy security requirements, air-to-air imagery from the media helicopter and countless shots from cameras mounted on some of the participating aircraft could not be immediately broadcast.

That’s because the route crossed into some of the most restricted airspace in the United States, AOPA officials explained.

That footage, along with additional perspectives captured from participating aircraft and cameras on the ground, has been incorporated in the new 38-minute video.

“The finished product gives viewers a unique view of the aviation parade, from the staggered takeoffs in Frederick to over the Potomac River, to passing the Lincoln Memorial and Washington Monument, and over the National Mall at 1,000 feet,” AOPA officials said.

Viewers will get a look some of the aircraft involved, including a Beechcraft Model 17 Staggerwing flown by AOPA President Mark Baker, followed by more than 50 other aircraft, including helicopters, a Grumman HU-16 Albatross, a Fire Boss, a Douglas DC-3, a Cirrus SF50 Vision Jet, and Daher’s TBM 850.

Ending the parade were the Titan Aerobatic Team’s three rumbling North American T-6 Texans with smoke on.

The show was narrated from the roof of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History by AOPA’s longtime editor in chief, Tom Haines, and broadcast news journalist Miles O’Brien.