One of the fun things which I and fellow members of the Virtual Pilots Association (VPA) always look forward to this time of the year is the release of the VPA World Tour for the new year. It is usually released on New Years Day after hard work done by the planning team, and a lot of guessing in the VPA forum by other members on what the next tour will be like.

This year we begin the tour in Antarctica. From Teniente Rodolfo Marsh Martin on King George Island. Far away from almost everything. It is a short gravel runway for take off followed by a 500 nautical mile hop across open sea making choosing a good aircraft type for the job imperitive.

After deliberating with myself, I picked the Airbus A319 from Aerosoft. Faster than my favourite – the Douglas DC-3 – but gravel strip operation might not be a usual thing for the Airbus.

Lined up for take off from runway 11. Only 4,200 feet long. Short but doable with flaps config 2 and maximum take off thrust.