With a camera slung around his neck and his 21-month-old daughter on his shoulders, Jamie Volkert, of Arlington, Va., revels in National Airport’s congestion as the post-Thanksgiving travel rush begins.

Volkert and his family are part of a small but serious group of airplane spotters, who spend their weekends at Gravelly Point Park noting tail numbers and snapping photos.

“It was a beautiful day out so we had to come out to Gravelly Point,” Volkert said. “It is a great place to watch planes especially on a busy day like (the Sunday after Thanksgiving).”

While the Arlington, Va. park offers great views of the Washington skyline, its main attraction is Runway 1/19, a 6,869-foot asphalt airstrip located just 400 feet to the south. Every two minutes, planes scream over the park at just over 100 feet off the ground and at speeds exceeding 150 mph.

“It is a real adrenaline rush when the planes fly by low and fast,” Volkert said.

This rush keeps people coming back to Gravelly Point Park.  On weekends, the park fills with picnicking families, aviation enthusiasts, and cyclists from the Mount Vernon Trail.

Like a siren’s song, the roar of revving jet engines summons visitors’ attention. As planes approach, a strange phenomenon occurs: Gravelly Point’s observers immediately stop what they are doing and yield to approaching planes. They closely monitor the planes as they make their final turns towards the runway. Gravelly’s visitors swivel their heads and cameras and follow the planes until touch down.

Gravelly Point attracts a wide variety of spectators including a small but dedicated group of airplane spotters, who are well versed on the nuances of flight. These spotters come equipped with everything from cameras with telephoto lenses to radio scanners.

Sunil Gupta, founder of Washington Baltimore Spotters Group (WBSG), is one of these serious spotters, who can often be found photographing approaching jetliners at Gravelly Point. The WBSG is made up of dozens of hardcore members, who spend up to 20 hours per week spotting at local airports.

Gupta said that there are three types of plane spotters: those that come to watch, those that only collect tail numbers, and those that photograph approaching aircraft.

“Gravelly Point is ideal for all three types of plane spotters…you can get very close to the aircraft landing and watch the operations of the whole airport,” Gupta said. “Very few other spotting locations offer all of these (amenities).”

Jonathan Csapo, 23, of Washington considers himself a serious spotter as well. Csapo, a local college student, frequently visits the park to admire and even film approaching jetliners.

“Granted its no SXM (a reference to beach approach at St. Maarten’s Princess Juliana International Airport), it’s still a fantastic place to plane spot,” Csapo said. “You get a prime view of planes just taking off and coming in for landing.”

For Csapo, the real thrill is when airplanes take off north over Gravelly Point. To avoid overflying the Washington Monument and Washington, departing airplanes climb quickly and immediately bank left. This takes them directly over the park with their engines at take off thrust.

“Airplanes generally retract their gear five to six second after rotation,” Csapo said. “At Gravelly Point, planes that pass over are usually in the first steps of gear retraction, which means they’re really low.”

Gravelly Point also offers serious spotters a unique perspective on one of the most difficult approaches in the country, the River Visual Approach. Carefully constructed to conform to noise restrictions and to avoid Washington’s prohibited airspace, this southbound approach has pilots follow the Potomac River to National’s Runway 19.

The tricky approach is complicated by the fact that runway 19 is short by today’s standards and doesn’t allow much room for error. At the end of the approach, the pilots must bank their aircraft hard right to line up with the runway. This turn takes arriving planes directly over the park at an altitude of less than 100 feet

A wind-whipping sound follows five to six seconds after every southbound landing, which some liken to a zipping zipper. Gravelly Point is one of the few places in the world where you can hear a passing aircraft’s wake turbulence. The sound is produced by the rapid collapse of swirling vortices, which are created by the aircraft’s wingtips as they cut through air.

For Peter McSwain, a 61-year-old spotter, this is the best part of Gravelly Point.

“There is not a better place in the world to watch airplanes come in,” McSwain said. “It is always a thrill to see and hear the airplanes cut through the air on the way to the field.”

The airport’s tightly choreographed routine of alternating takeoffs and landings is repeated several hundred times per day and well into the night.

As the airport’s runway lights start to glow, the mood and crowd changes at Gravelly Point. Csapo said that some people bring dates to watch late-evening arrivals after the park’s 10 p.m. closure.

“It makes for a romantic spot though I suspect the threat of being arrested by Park Police might be a turn-off to some,” he said.

Directions to Gravelly Point:

Gravelly Point is administered by the National Park Service and is open daily from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m.  The park is accessible by Metro, automobile, and bike. By Metro, take the blue or yellow line to the Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport station. Walk though the parking garage and follow the tunnel to the Mount Vernon Trail. Make a right turn as soon as you reach the trail.  Head north on the Trail until you reach the park. It is about a 15-20 minute walk from the airport Metro Stop. By car, take GW Parkway North. Gravelly Point Park is the first exit after the airport. The park is only accessible in the northbound direction.  If heading southbound on GW Parkway, you must exit at the airport and navigate towards GW Parkway North. By bike, the Park is accessible by the Mount Vernon Trail. It is about four miles from the Rosslyn trailhead of the Mount Vernon Trail.