MSFS2020 - U.S. State Capitals tour in Cessna 172

Published by Serge Stuart,


UPDATE: I have completed this tour. Stay tuned for the next adventure.

Andrew Northover, over at MSFS2020 FB group, had this idea to fly Cessna 172 to every State Capital in America, inspired by Randal Olson’s State Capitols road trip. I loved this idea and decided to do this trip as well.

I am a long time flight simulator user (FSX), and recently switched to MSFS2020. For GA aircraft, the sim is good to go; for jetliners, I am waiting for third party study-level aircraft. I normally fly Airbus A319, and the Airbus A320 family is not modeled that well for default aircraft. So, for the time being, flying GA AC VFR and IFR is great for sightseeing all of the State Capitals.

I plan on doing a video for each leg of the trip on my YouTube channel, and will include a link to each leg’s video below.

Some flights will be VFR, some IFR, depending on weather, airports, and other factors.

A little bit about my system and setup:

I run IBP Intel i7 10700K processor, Nvidia 2080S GPU, 32 Gb of RAM, 1Tb SSD. The screen is 1440 LG 32 inch panel.

My controls are Thrustmaster A320 sidestick (I also have a yoke and Logitech 3D pro stick), FSX keyboard, and iPad running Foreflight. Sound: CA sound system with sub-woofer.

For flight planning and secondary navigation, I use Foreflight.

Here is a folder with a few flight plans: US Capitals Tour - FLIGHT PLANS

Here’s the itinerary for the trip. (Click on each leg to see a video of the flight).

  • Leg 6: Harrisburg, VA to Charleston, WV (IFR) (no video) (SkyVector FP)
  • Leg 8: Columbus, OH to Frankfort, KY (no video)
  • Leg 9: Frankfort, KY to Nashville, TN (no video)
  • Leg 10: Nashville, TN to Indianapolis, IN
  • Leg 11: Indianapolis, IN to Lansing, MI
  • Leg 12: Lansing, MI to Springfield, IL
  • Leg 13: Springfield, IL to Madison, WI
  • Leg 14: Madison, WI to St Paul, MN
  • Leg 15: St Paul, MN to Pierre, SD
  • Leg 16: Pierre, SD to Bismarck, ND
  • Leg 18: Helena, MT to Olympia, WA
  • Leg 19: Olympia, WA to Salem, OR
  • Leg 20: Salem, OR to Sacramento, CA
  • Leg 21: Sacramento, CA to Carson City, NV
  • Leg 22: Carson City, NV to Boise, ID
  • Leg 23: Boise, ID to Salt Lake City, UT (IFR / FF / VATSIM) 21 Nov 2020
  • Leg 24: SLC to Cheyenne, WY (Leg A: U48 to KRKS; Leg B: KRKS to KCYS)
  • Leg 25: Cheyenne, WY to Denver, CO
  • Leg 26: Denver, Co to Santa Fe, NM (with fuel stop in KTAD)
  • Leg 27: Santa Fe, NM to Phoenix, AZ (with a stop in KGUP)
  • Leg 28: Phoenix, AZ to Austin, TX (with a stop at KFST)
  • Leg 29: Austin, TX to Oklahoma City, OK (with a stop in KDFW)
  • Leg 30: OKC, OK to Topeka, KS
  • Leg 31: Topeka, KS to Lincoln, NE
  • Leg 32: Lincoln, NE to Des Moines, IA
  • Leg 33: Des Moines, IA to Jefferson City, MO
  • Leg 34: Jefferson City, MO to Little Rock, AR (with stop)
  • Leg 35: Little Rock, AR to Jackson, MS
  • Leg 36: Baton Rouge, LA to Tallahassee, FL ( with stop)
  • Leg 37: Tallahassee, FL to Montgomery, AL (KMGM) (with a stop at KASE and diversion to KDHN due to weather)
  • Leg 38: Montgomery, AL to Atlanta, GA (KMGM to 6A2)
  • Leg 39: Atlanta, GA to Columbia, SC
  • Leg 40: Columbia, SC to Raleigh, NC
  • Leg 41: Raleigh, NC to Richmond, VA
  • Leg 42: Richmond, VA to Annapolis, MD
  • Leg 43: Annapolis, MD to Dover, DE
  • Leg 44: Dover, DE to Hartford, CT
  • Leg 45: Hartford, CT to Providence, RI
  • Leg 46: Providence, RI toBoston, MA

End of tour.