Explorer Flight Missions - America’s National Parks Part 1: The Wild West
Part 1 — The Wild West: From Prairie to Red Rock
America is a big place. Really big. Across the country are some of the most spectacular landscapes on Earth, from endless prairie and towering mountain ranges to deep canyons, ancient cliff dwellings, and vast deserts of red sandstone. With TPC Explorer: America’s National Parks, we're setting out to explore some of these remarkable places from the cockpit.
TPC Explorer: America’s National Parks is a five-part journey across some of the most spectacular landscapes in the United States. Each part of the series takes us to a different region of the country, combining memorable airports, challenging routes, and the incredible scenery surrounding America’s national parks. We begin with Part 1: The Wild West, exploring the rugged landscapes of the Great Plains, Rocky Mountains, Colorado Plateau, and Utah’s famous red-rock country. From there, the series will continue through Part 2: The Pacific Northwest, Part 3: The Desert Southwest, Part 4: The Rocky Mountains, and Part 5: The Eastern Wilderness. Together, these five expeditions will take TPC pilots across an enormous variety of terrain and flying environments, from alpine peaks and dense forests to deserts, canyons, prairies, and rugged coastlines. It’s a journey designed to explore America one airport, one national park, and one flight at a time.
Our first expedition takes us west.
The Wild West: From Prairie to Red Rock begins in Aberdeen, South Dakota, where we'll leave the Great Plains behind and begin our journey toward the rugged landscapes of the American West.
We'll begin with Badlands National Park, where colorful formations rise dramatically from the surrounding prairie. From there, we'll head west toward the towering peaks of Grand Teton National Park, before continuing south into Colorado and the spectacular depths of Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park. Our route then carries us toward the ancient cliff dwellings of Mesa Verde National Park, before the final leg takes us into Utah's legendary red-rock country and Arches National Park.
Along the way, we'll encounter high-elevation airports, mountain terrain, wide-open country, changing weather, and some of the most spectacular scenery in the United States. The goal isn't simply to fly from one airport to another. It's to experience the landscape between them and discover what makes each destination unique.
Five legs. Five national parks. One journey across the American West.
Let's go exploring!
Admin Notes:
You can fly these missions on your own or get a group going - it’s up to you. Make sure you choose an appropriate aircraft and conduct proper flight planning.
To get the Explorer server role (access to Explorers DISCORD channel) and 2500 TPC Points:
Fly each leg described below (500 points per leg).
Leave a comment on this post with details about your journey.
Post pics from your flight in screenshots channel on DISCORD.
[OPTIONAL] Post a video of your landings in streams and videos channel of TPC Discord, for extra 500 TPC Points per video!
