Operation: Fly NC

For years I've been playing a little game, just for my own amusement. Every time I go on a cross country, I intend to land somewhere different each time. Eventually, I'd like to visit every public-access airfield in North Carolina by air.

Well, now there's prizes with it. Someone, somewhere decided to encourage tourism, education and flying. They've scattered rubber stamps to FBO's and aviation museums across the state, along with stacks of booklets. The booklet contains a grid, each square labelled for one of the 81 participating airports or museums. To prove you've visited each site, you carry your book along and have the appropriate square stamped.

Each site has a stamp with the same basic North Carolina motif, each containing the call letters of the airport (to prevent getting multiple stamps in the same location). Collecting a certain number of stamps from airports and museums earns a prize, the grand prize being a really nice aviator watch.

The only problem is that I've visited a dozen fields before the contest started, so I don't have their stamps and I have to return. The official rules of the game are that you must visit each site in person to get the stamp, and they'll even card you to make sure that you own the book. It expressly states that you don't have to fly into each airport, thus if you feel uncomfortable flying into an airport, you are allowed to drive or otherwise arrive. (One of the stamps is located at Charlotte Douglass, for crying out loud)

Because I set out once to land at each public-access airport, I intend to visit each field by air. I will only drive to airports I've already landed at, like Moore County airport or Albert Ellis. Granted, I was given my booklet at Hickory and I had driven there, but I did drive there so that I could fly an airplane based there, so I have technically landed at Hickory Regional. I currently only have three airport stamps; Hickory, Sanford and SOP. others to follow.

Check out their website, operationflync.com, and have some fun.