Chart circles

A what? Bryan explains that about 10 years ago he taped an outdated Chicago sectional chart to his hangar wall, for decoration. After admiring the chart simply as art for a time, he had the idea to circle each airport he had visited with an orange highlighter. Although he circled a decent number of airports, he eventually needed to expand his display to include Green Bay, St. Louis, Detroit, Cincinnati, New York, and Washington, D.C., sectionals, since he had landed at airports in those areas. Contemplating the circles thinly spread out across seven sectionals made him realize there were hundreds of airports he had never visited within flying range of the Arrow. This fueled his desire to collect more chart circles.

Bryan rarely flies his airplane without a specific destination in mind—or alone. He flies to eat (gotta eat lunch somewhere), and he flies for camaraderie. Although he has a copy of John Purner’s book The $100 Hamburger: A Pilots’ Guide in his hangar, his go-to source for restaurants—located on airport property or nearby via FBO courtesy car—are the friends he invites to fly along. Seasoned pilots, new pilots, and nonpilots alike share in the fun of picking an airport to which they have never flown, making phone calls or searching online to identify the most interesting restaurant. The eager fliers eat lunch at a location up to 150 miles distant in Illinois, Iowa, Wisconsin, Indiana, or Michigan and are back home by 3 p.m.

Upon returning to Bryan’s hangar at the end of the adventure, the now-familiar airport is found on the huge expanse of sectionals on the wall, and the airport is circled with a highlighter. The brilliance of chart circles is that Bryan has gamified his recreational flying. After nearly three decades as pilot in command, chasing chart circles and sharing the experience has kept Bryan’s passion for general aviation burning bright. In fact, multiple younger pilots—recently graduated from college—have adopted his chart circle challenge and even introduced it to their friends. It’s ironic in this age of social media that something as tangible as printed sectional charts can still be proudly displayed by young and old for all to see the many places they’ve traveled as pilots.

Beyond the search for a good restaurant, there are many other reasons to collect chart circles. AOPA Pilot’s annual Destinations issue is intended to inspire pilots to fly to airports (near and far) that are a gateway to interesting places. Every year, the AOPA Pilot staff seeks destinations that mirror the diversity of options that general aviation affords us: some destinations are close, convenient, affordable; some are remote, rugged, and expensive; most are something in between. All allow pilots to dream a little about how much we’re going to enjoy the destination—and the journey.

For some of us, planning the journey is almost as much fun as the trip itself. As we spend time rubber-banding routes in iFlightPlanner for AOPA (or your favorite electronic flight bag) and looking up potential refueling spots along the way, we realize there are so many opportunities to collect new chart circles en route. I encourage you to bypass some of your normal stops and visit new ones to help keep the journey fresh and exciting—and isn’t that why we started flying in the first place? A few of my favorite airports were discovered when I was not looking for, or wanting to land at, someplace new. But sometimes unwanted diversions and unplanned chart circles make the best memories.

With enough planning, you can tackle just about any distance and apparent obstacle to fly to your dream destination—even if it’s in another country. You can find an incredible amount of travel advice on the AOPA website in the Travel and Pilot Resources sections. If you can’t find what you’re looking for, you can call AOPA’s Pilot Information Center at 800-USA-AOPA, Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Eastern, for expert help from our team of pilots and CFIs. If for any reason flying to your destination just isn’t possible, renting an airplane once you’ve arrived is often an option.

So, you flew to your destination (perhaps one featured in this issue), spent a week relaxing or exploring, and visited several new airports along the way. Where will you display your well-earned chart circles?

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