2. ATP Captain Stirling MacFarlane (KMSP) 11,860.6 nm
3. Sr. Chief Pilot Larry Spears (KDFW) 11,954.1 nm
4. Chief Pilot Todd Callicoat (KDTW) 12,628.2 nm
5. ATP Captain Aaron Marshall (KDFW) 12,664.5 nm
6. Sr. Captain Simon Read (KSMP) 13,838.2 nm
7. Chief Pilot Stan Fitzgerald (KLAX) 15,785.0 nm
We have several pilots who have submitted itinerary's for navigating the Capital's Tour. All have come up with totally different ways of approaching the problem of negotiating their way from State Capital to State Capital and covering all 50 Capital Cities. It has occured to us that it might be fun to see who has come up with the most efficient way of navigating this Tour. The pilot that comes up with the most efficient flight plan will be awared a one time bonus equal to his yearly salary here at ANW. Now there's a deal that's hard to pass up. He will also recieve the coveted "Master Flight Planner Award".
So here is the deal. Because weather would play a big part in the time it takes to fly the Tour, we have opted to use distance as the yard stick in determining the shortest route. To keep the playing field level, Stan Fitzgerald, LAX Hub Commander, has come up with a flight planning tool that is easy to use and does not require each pilot to be using the same version of X-plane. So anybody interested in trying for the Master Flight Award, is asked to take his flight plan to the landings.com site and run their itinerary through the flight planner to determine the total Nautical Miles he will fly. (Please Note: The flight planner gives you three options for measuring distance. Statute Miles, Nautical Miles and Kilometers. We will use Nautical Miles)
Please send a copy of your complete itinerary showing the distance between each airport and the total Nautical Miles your route will cover, to Capt. Spears. He will announce the winner of the Master Flight Planners Award in the Skylounge. However, if someone at a later date, comes up with a shorter route, the winner will have to surrender his award, (he may keep the bonus check) and it will be awarded to the new Master Flight Planner.
If there is enough interest, we could probably establish a Grand Master Flight Planner Award for the best World Tour Flight Plan. The winner would recieve a one time bonus of twice his yearly salary here at ANW and of course, the highly coveted "Grand Master Flight Planners Award"
