I am visiting the Udvar-Hazy Center, the annex for Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum located on the grounds of Dulles Airport. It is also an excellent place for planespotting - especially for aircraft landing on 1R. Due to the bitter cold outside, this photo was taken inside the museum's tower, so there is a bit of loss in picture quality.

This very early-build Boeing 777, serial number 27 built in 1996, arrives from London Heathrow as United 919 and touches down on Runway 1R.

Dulles has been a United hub since 1985, and it emerged as United's gateway to Europe in the 1990s. Even with the Continental merger giving United an even bigger gateway in Newark, Dulles remains very important for United transatlantic services. One of my favorite air travel memories, from way back in 1999, involved wrapping up a nightmare week in the Netherlands, and hopping on a United flight to Dulles; United has been my favorite airline ever since.