Your planned cross-country route would take you within 55 miles of the DCA VOR/DME. You must

• A. Complete the required training necessary and comply with all applicable regulations to be able to enter this airspace
• B. Obtain a waiver
• C. File IFR only
• D. Request a special clearance

Answer: (A)

Entering the Washington, DC Special Flight Rules Area requires prior SFRA training and adherence to its procedures. If your route takes you within 55 miles of the DCA VOR/DME, you’re in that airspace, so you must have completed the required SFRA training and then operate under its rules. That means filing and activating a flight plan (IFR or VFR with SFRA procedures), maintaining two‑way radio communications with ATC, and using a discrete transponder code. A waiver isn’t the mechanism for entry, and the rules aren’t limited to IFR only; you may fly VFR or IFR as long as you follow the SFRA requirements. There’s no separate “special clearance” to bypass these steps—compliance with the SFRA procedures is what allows entry.