The Mission
The Flight of The Hopper chronicles the continuing journey of The Hopper and its crew as they traverse the world in search of beer. Utilizing Microsoft Flight Simulator, the crew will establish a weekly flight plan which will bring them to a new location, where they will procure a sample of the local brew for consumption on the next leg of their journey.

This website will chronicle their adventures in flying and consumption, complete with Pilot Reports (PIREPS) and beer reviews. The crew also welcomes other participants who share a similar love of simulated flying and brewed beverages. The hope is to safely complete a journey around the world, sampling as many beers as possible.

The Hopper itself is the name of the Pilatus PC-12 that the crew is using for this journey. The choice of this aircraft gives the crew a platform with decent range, speed and STOL capability. All flights will be completed in real time (no slewing or time acceleration) and weather, with a time variant because these flights will take place in the evening, and nobody wants to fly only at night. In addition, a realistic variable will be included in the aircraft reliability to make things interesting. A full PIREP will follow each flight and be posted on this site, complete with departure and arrival times, flight plan details and a vivid description of the adventurous flight.

During the flight, the crew will be sampling a brew from the departure point. This brew will be reviewed and that review will also be posted on this site. To be sure, the crew will find navigational challenges and difficult approaches more interesting due to the fact they will be, if things go as planned, somewhat impaired upon arrival.

The Flight of The Hopper will begin in Key West, Florida, with a general idea of traversing the Atlantic and making it to Europe by mid Spring. We hope those who love flight simulation and beer will join us. If there is enough interest, we may even take some of the future legs of this journey and make them a public online flying event.

Some Caveats:

• If the departure point doesn't have native beer that is available, beer from a previous departure point may be substituted (there should always be an emergency stash in the cargo hold).
  
  
• If the departure point is governed by another entity, the governing body's native beer may be substituted (i.e. Greenland is governed by Denmark, thus Danish beer may be substituted).
  
  
• If The Hopper is damaged or crashed beyond sensible repair, punishment is a return to the United States where the crew will pick up their new PC-12 from an airport in St. Louis.

Not To Be Taken Seriously (a disclaimer)
Before the aviation aficionados and hard core simmers get too uptight, understand that this is an experiment in fun. We do NOT encourage people to fly drunk in real life. If anything, the review of the PIREPS on this site should serve as an example of how dangerous flying while impaired can really be. This is really nothing more than an excuse to drink a few beers while exploring the vast wonders of the latest incarnation of Microsoft Flight Simulator. Please don't drink and operate any kind of vehicle. Please don't drink until you are of legal age, and when you do, please drink responsibly. For more information, please read our very entertaining disclaimer.