Ol' Man River Part II

[Viking01]

This is the second flight along the Mississippi River from the Gulf of Mexico to Lake Itasca. During this flight, we will visit the states of Mississippi, Missouri, Louisiana, Arkansas, Tennessee, and Kentucky.

We leave Hardy-Anders-Adams (KHEZ), MS, and follow the river north. Our first stop is Vicksburg (KVKS), MS. Vicksburg was built by French colonists in 1719. During the American Civil War, it was an important Confederate river port, and its surrender to Ulysses S. Grant in July 1863, along with the concurrent Battle of Gettysburg, marked the war's turning point. Reconstruction followed the war, and then a violent return to power by white supremacists and the Democratic Party in 1874 and 1875, including the Vicksburg Massacre. Today, Vicksburg's population is majority African-American. The city is home to three major United States Army Corps of Engineers installations, often involved in local flood control.

We now make a detour to visit Jackson (KJAN), MS, the capital and most populous city in the U.S. state of Mississippi. Founded in 1821 as the new state capital for Mississippi, Jackson is named after General Andrew Jackson, a war hero at the Battle of New Orleans during the War of 1812 and later the seventh U.S. president. After the Battle of Vicksburg, fought near Jackson during the American Civil War in 1863, Union forces under General William Tecumseh Sherman launched the siege of Jackson and set fire to the city. In the 1920s, Jackson surpassed Meridian to become the state's most populous city following a speculative natural gas boom in the region. The current slogan for the city is "The City with Soul". It has been home to many prominent blues, gospel, folk, and jazz musicians.

We return to the river and land at Byerly (0M8), LA, before arriving at Greenville (KGLH), MS. We cross the river into Arkansas and arrive at Thompson-Robbins (KHEE), AR. The airport serves Helena-West Helena.

We cross the river again and land in Memphis (KMEM), TN. Memphis is the second largest city in Tennessee and the county seat of Shelby County, named after the capital of ancient Egypt. Memphis was the center of the burgeoning cotton industry, where African-American slaves worked on the plantations and helped the white population prosper. The city is one of the metropolises of the classic southern states. After Memphis flourished until the Civil War and the 1870s, the city was hit by several disasters, including several yellow fever epidemics that killed a quarter of the population. In more recent times, the city owes its economic boom primarily to the shipping company FedEx, which is by far the city's largest employer. The city is an important place for the development of blues and soul, as well as rock 'n' roll. Elvis Presley lived in Memphis, and many of the greats of rock music began their careers there. Beale Street is one of the centers of the blues.

Straight north we land at Arkansas International (KBYH), AR. The former Blytheville Army Airfield was reopened by the Air Force in 1956 as Blytheville Air Force Base and was home to the 97th Wing of the Strategic Air Command's Ground Alert Program from 1959 to 1991. The base was closed in December 1992 as part of the 1991 BRAC Commission. In the 1980s, Blytheville began to develop an industrial base, much of it centered on the steel industry. Nucor Steel opened a plant east of Blytheville on the Mississippi River in 1987. We follow the river to Marston (KEIW), MO.

The Mississippi meets the Ohio

We fly over the confluence of the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers and land in Barkley (KPAH), KT. The only airline serving Barkley is Contour Airlines, which flies Embraer 145s to Charlotte Douglas International Airport in Charlotte, North Carolina. The flight ends at Cape Girardeau (KCGI), Mo. The town is named after Jean Baptiste de Girardot, a French soldier who established a trading post in the area. The 'cape' in the town's name referred to a rocky outcrop overlooking the Mississippi River. It was later destroyed by railroad construction.

The flight has a length of about 500 miles with 9 landings. We want to cruise at about 220 knots. The PC-12, the TBMs, and the King Air are some of the suitable aircraft. I will be in the SWS PC-12. As always, please fly what you like.

The flight plans are here.

Recommended scenery:

KMEM Memphis  

KHEZ Natchez-Adams (downloaded already for the first Mississippi flight)

KBYH Arkansas Intl.

KPAH Barkley

KCGI Cape Girardeau

KMEM and KJAN are also available as payware from fly2 and BMW via ORBX

We try real weather. Please set your simulator for a 10:00 am local departure

 

Multiplayer Particulars
Date and time: Wednesday, March 5, 2025. 1900 UTC
RTWR Multiplayer Discord Channel
Microsoft Flight Simulator Multiplayer: United States East server.

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[somiller]

https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_U.S._states_by_traditional_abbreviation