… “Do You Know the Way to San José?” Which asked that question, wondering if she could go back there to “find some peace of mind…” because she was “born and raised in San José” and there’s “lots of space there…”

Things have changed a bit since 1968. But the quest to find your way never ends.

A while back Regular Reader Jon (“The Unknown”) wrote in with a great question. “If I start from my house and fly NE, keeping my plane flying in a straight line, what country do I next enter?”

It’s a great question, but “Do you know where I land if I fly northeast?” doesn’t quite scan in a song form. (Sorry, Jon. Great question; terrible lyric.)

As it turns out, Jon tU lives very near to Vancouver, BC. So I’ve modified his question just a bit to make it just a tad simpler. (And for these Challenges, you can safely ignore all weather issues… it’s a perfect flying day all over the planet!)

Here’s the start of Jon’s hypothetical flight path:

1. If Jon flies from the Vancouver, BC, airport on a NE heading, and flies in a straight-line, swerving neither to the left or the right, what’s the next country he’ll fly over? (And for extra credit, what’s the name of airport he should land at?)

2. If Jon is flying an Airbus A340-200, about how long will the flight take? (Again, ignore weather, headwinds, tailwinds, etc.)

3. What distance is it from Vancouver to this mysterious destination’s biggest airport (that is, where can he safely land his Airbus A340-200 in that country)?

4. Can he make it there without refueling?

If you’re up to the Challenge, be sure to let us know HOW you found the answer. As Jon writes, “This is a matter of thinking about how search it out…” And he’s right–using what you’ve learned here, you should be able to do this fairly easily.

Enjoy.

And Search On!