Pilots Tackle Challenge to Land at All of Iowa’s Airports

When pilots dream up the best places to fly, it’s true that rarely would Iowa soar to the top of the list—even for those who learned to fly in the state between the Mississippi and Missouri rivers.

But the aviation scene thrives there, with its wide-open airspace, easy terrain, and a host of friendly airports that welcome visitors throughout the year.

This summer, pilots took advantage of the good weather to tick off airfields throughout the state in the Fly Iowa Challenge, a continuing program of the Iowa Aviation Promotion Group launched in 2007.

The program encourages pilots to land at any—or all—of the 114 public-use airports across the state, as a way to increase activity at Iowa’s airports and support pilot proficiency levels.

Pilot Robert Briggs went for the gold this summer, by landing a Cessna 172 rented from Walter Aviation in Perry, Iowa at all of those airports—for the second time.

He did it to celebrate his 50th year of flying, and to raise money and awareness for LifeLine Pilots, a group of volunteers in the Midwest who coordinate flights for those needing medical and other assistance.

Briggs lost a brother at age 16 to leukemia, which drove his support for the LifeLine Pilots. His day job is flying for FedEx, and he holds a Guinness World Record for the pilot with the highest number of certificates and ratings.

Briggs completed the journey in early September. Along with him was new pilot Julia Walker, who earned her private pilot certificate on August 25, just the day before the pair left for Iowa in a Cessna Citation CJ1 into Shenandoah (KSDA) to make the five-day series of flights.

The total flight time was 28.4 hours—all loggable cross-country PIC that Walker can count toward the experience needed for her next goal, an instrument rating.

Day one took the pair across southeastern Iowa, spanning territory from Perry (KPRO) to Keokuk (KEOK) on the Mississippi. The second day traveled from Perry across the western part of the state, with day three taking them up to Sioux City (KSUX) in the northwest corner on the Missouri.

Day four hit east central Iowa, capturing such points as Dubuque (KDBQ) and Iowa City (KIOW). The fifth day, September 2, wrapped up the mission stretching up to Decorah (KDEH) and finally back to Perry, with 2,383 nm tallied via FlightAware.

The IAPG outlines the challenge for any pilot to complete. After registration for the passport certificate pilots should log their flights in an official logbook in order to ensure they qualify.