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Vin Fiz
Revisited
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f
you have your pilot's license, then it's a good bet you are
wondering what it would be like to retrace the route of the
Vin Fiz across America. Several pilots, such as
Henry Kisor, have done just that. Many more have dreamed it. We almost got our
chance when Boston Science Communications approached us and
asked if we would build a Vin Fiz look-alike and fly it across
America for a television documentary. In the end, we had to give up the dream
because neither of our two organizations could find funding.
But while we were putting on dog-and-pony shows to drum up
support, we did an enormous amount of research and initial flight
planning. We studied old railroad maps which Cal Rodgers used for
navigation and marked the tracks he must have followed. We
transferred these routes to current aviation sectional charts and
looked for airports near the locations of Rodgers' landings.
Finally, we plotted courses between these airports, following
Rodgers' initial route as closely as possible while avoiding
restricted areas, high terrain, and dense air traffic. It was a
tremendous amount or work and seems a shame that it should go for
naught.
So because the dream of following the Vin Fiz across
America is common among pilots who appreciate the romantic
history of aviation, we thought we'd publish our flight planning
for you brave, plucky individuals intent on flying the first
transcontinental air route, or a portion of that route. Feel free to
use them as references, but remember that these sectionals are no
longer current. You cannot use them for navigation.
You'll have to plan your own flight on current charts. And there are
other considerations:
- Legend Blue
indicates the reconstructed route of Cal Rodgers and his Vin
Fiz in 1911; red
indicates our flight plans. Circles indicate departure and
arrival points. Note that Cal rarely traveled in anything
approaching a straight
line.
- Private airports Because our aircraft was to be low
and slow, we planned landings at small public-use airports. In a
very few cases, when there were no public airports nearby, we
chose private airports. These are clearly indicated on the
sectionals and you will have to call ahead to get permission to
land.
- MOAs We tried to avoid military operations areas,
but there a few MOAs that have to be crossed. Watch out for
these, look up the active times, and know the altitudes you must avoid
to safely fly in these air spaces.
- Controlled airspace Our flight plans avoid
controlled airspaces around busy commercial airports, but where
it is unavoidable, we opt to fly over busy airports, letting air traffic
control guide us through the airspace.
- Flying direct In this age of GPS navigation, you
may wonder why we have taken pains to follow Victor airways and VOR vectors across America. Aside from the fact that the VOR
system is a great backup for global positioning and Victor
airways avoid obstructions, the Wright Brothers Aeroplane
Company is, first and foremost, an educational institution. We
had planned to webcast our flights to schools, demonstrating
aviation science, technology, engineering, and mathematics as we
flew. VOR navigation is a great way to teach radial geometry and
trigonometry without the kids ever suspecting they're getting a
massive dose of math. However, if you prefer GPS to VOR and
you're not a teacher, fly direct.
- Legs While the stops are roughly the same, the legs
in our flight plans are not the same as the legs in the original
flight of the Vin Fiz. If you want to adjust our flight
plans to fly the same legs as Cal Rodgers, consult the Vin
Fiz Logbook.
One more thing Since you are obviously a romantic soul and
understand the value of grand gestures, you're going to need a bottle
of Vin Fiz to strap to your airplane. Fortunately, you can still
purchase a bottle or two at
drinkvinfiz.com.
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Leg
1 Sheepshead Bay, NY to Middletown, NY. |
Leg
2 Middletown, NY to Binghamton, NY via Hancock, NY, Carbondale,
PA, Throop, PA, Scranton, PA, and Great Bend, NY.
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Leg 3
Binghamton, NY to Elmira, NY.
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Leg 4
Elmira, NY to Olean, NY via Hornell, NY.
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Leg 5
Olean, NY to Meadville, PA via Salamanca, NY.
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Leg 6
Meadville, PA to Kent, OH via Warren, OH.
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Leg 7
Kent, OH to Mansfield, OH.
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Leg 8
Mansfield, OH to Marion, OH.
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Leg 9
Marion, OH to Huntington, IN via Bobo, IN and Geneva, IN.
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Leg 10
Huntington, IN to Adine, IN.
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Leg 11
Adine, IN to Lockport, IL via Hammond, IN and Chicago, IL.
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Leg 12
Lockport, IL to Peoria, IL via Streator, IL.
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Leg 13
Peoria, IL to Springfield, IL via Middletown, IL.
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Leg 14
Springfield, IL to Nebo, IL.
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Leg 15
Nebo, IL to Thompson, MO.
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Leg 16
Thompson, MO to Marshall, MO.
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Leg 17
Mashall, MO to Kansas City, KS via Blue Springs, MO.
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Leg 18
Kansas City, MO to Moran, Mo.
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Leg 19
Moran, MO to Vinita, OK via Russel Creek, OK.
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Leg
20 Vinita, OK to Muskogee, OK.
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Leg
21 Muskogee, OK to McAlester, OK via Northtown, OK.
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Leg
22 McAlester, OK to Durant, OK.
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Leg
23 Durant, OK to Dallas, TX via Pottsboro, TX, Bonita, TX,
Gainesboro, TX, and Fort Worth, TX.
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Leg
24 Dallas, TX to Waco, TX.
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Leg
25 Waco, TX to Austin, TX via Granger, TX.
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Leg
26 Austen, TX to San Antonio, TX via Kyle, TX and Marcos, TX.
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Leg
27 San Antonio, TX to Sabinal, TX via Lacoste, TX.
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Leg
28 Sabinal, TX to Del Rio, TX via Uvalde, TX and Spofford, TX.
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Leg
29 Del Rio, TX to Sanderson, TX via Dryden, TX.
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Leg
30 Sanderson, TX to Marfa, TX via Alpine, TX.
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Leg
31 Marfa, TX to Sierra Blanca, TX.
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Leg
32 Sierra Blanca, TX to El Paso, TX via Fort Hancock, TX.
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Leg
33 El Paso, TX to Lordsburg, NM via Deming, NM.
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Leg
34 Lordsburg, NM to Wilcox, AZ.
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Leg
35 Wilcox, Az to Tuscon, AZ.
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Leg
36 Tuscon, AZ to Phoenix, AZ via Maricopa, AZ.
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Leg
37 Phoenix, AZ to Yuma, AZ via Stoval, AZ. Note: Rodgers flew
over but did not stop in Yuma. We opted to schedule a stop in Yuma
because the Dateland Airport is an abandoned military field with no
reliable services that we could find.
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Leg
38 Yuma, AZ to Imperial Junction, CA.
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Leg
39 Imperial Junction, CA to Banning, CA.
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Leg
40 Banning, CA to Long Beach, CA via Beaumont, CA, Pomona, CA,
Pasedena, CA, and Compton, CA.
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