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Long Beach → Baltimore

LGB–BWI · Long Beach Airport to Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport

Best bet

Either side

Both sides workThe two sides come out close to level.

Both sides have something going for them, and the totals come out close enough that picking one would be a coin flip with extra steps.

Flight paths move around. Treat this as the better bet, not a promise.

What you might see

In flight order, with distance measured from the representative route.

LGB to BWI: where each landmark sits relative to the routeA diagram of the representative route running left to right, with the departure airport at the left and the arrival airport at the right. Landmarks on the left side of the aircraft are plotted above the route line and landmarks on the right side below it, each at its distance from the route. The numbered list below this diagram carries the same information as text.LGBBWILEFT SIDERIGHT SIDE123456789
Distance from the route is to scale (up to 41 miles); the shaded ends are the 40-mile zones around each airport where the runway in use decides the view. Numbers match the list below. Hollow markers didn't count toward the recommendation.

  1. San Gorgonio Mountain

    RightEarly9 mi off the route

    San Gorgonio Mountain is about 9 miles off the right, early in the flight.

    Good possibility

  2. San Jacinto Peak

    RightEarly30 mi off the route

    Early in the flight, San Jacinto Peak sits roughly 30 miles to the right.

    Distant possibility

  3. Grand Canyon

    LeftQuarter in33 mi off the route

    Look left about a quarter of the way in for Grand Canyon, about 33 miles out.

    Good possibility

  4. San Francisco Peaks

    RightQuarter in24 mi off the route

    San Francisco Peaks is about 24 miles off the right, about a quarter of the way in.

    Good possibility

  5. Painted Desert

    RightQuarter in41 mi off the route

    About a quarter of the way in, Painted Desert sits roughly 41 miles to the right.

    Distant possibility

  6. Canyon de Chelly

    Either sideQuarter in6 mi off the route

    Canyon de Chelly passes almost directly beneath about a quarter of the way in, which is the one place a window seat can't help you.

    Good possibility

  7. Shiprock

    LeftQuarter in19 mi off the route

    Shiprock is about 19 miles off the left, about a quarter of the way in.

    Distant possibility

  8. Sangre de Cristo Mountains

    LeftQuarter in30 mi off the route

    About a quarter of the way in, Sangre de Cristo Mountains sits roughly 30 miles to the left.

    Distant possibility

  9. the National Mall

    RightNear the end21 mi off the route

    the National Mall sits close enough to BWI that the runway in use and the procedure of the day decide whether it shows up at all.

    Runway dependent

The sun

Flying soon? Add your date and departure time and we'll work out where the sun should be, and which side gets less of it.

Airport codes or city names. SEA, Seattle, and Seattle-Tacoma all work.

Skip the date and you still get the landmark answer. Add it and we work out where the sun will be, using the departure airport's local time.

The route we used

2,313 mi
Great-circle distance
69°
Course out of LGB
94°
Course into BWI
7
Landmarks that counted

That is the shortest path between the two airports, used as a representative corridor rather than a flight plan. The first and last 40 miles are treated as uncertain, because that part of the flight is shaped by the runway in use and the published departure or arrival procedure. Anything in those zones is listed and marked, never counted toward the recommendation.

Left and right, from where?

Left and right are from your perspective sitting in the cabin, facing the front of the aircraft. Seat letters are not a reliable guide to which side you are on, because aircraft are configured differently.

Why this isn't guaranteed

Flights don't follow the same path every day. Runway configuration, weather deviations, traffic, and air traffic control all move the track around, and none of it is knowable in advance. We also have nothing to say about cloud cover, which is the other thing standing between you and Mount Rainier. The full method.

Flying the other way?

Baltimore → Long BeachEither side

Calculated from scratch, not by flipping this one. The landmarks arrive in the opposite order, the sun is somewhere else entirely, and the answer changes with them.

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