It is indeed our pleasure to welcome you to PrayerFlight and to thank you for your commitment to over-fly your state capital at 12:00 noon for our "50 Capitals" PrayerFlight.  We want you to know that your participation in this "50 Capitals" project is the only kind in the history of our National Day of Prayer and we also believe it to be the only time in the history of our nation that a concerted effort has been made to have airplanes with prayer warriors over-fly every state capital, lifting up our nation in prayer during our National Day of Prayer.

 

As we have been reaching out across our nation, speaking with pilots one on one, we have spoken with dedicated, excited, curious and friendly men and women who are ready to fly in one accord - to pray for our nation. On May 7th we will have men and women flying all types of aircraft from old military war birds to single person sky writing planes to ultra light machines, over-flying every state capital from Maine to California, from Alaska to Florida, from Wisconsin to Hawaii, lifting up the greatest nation on earth to our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

 

With this letter, we want to stress a couple of important points for our flight so that we are all operating within the same focus, guidelines and understanding.

 

Volunteer
Each participating pilot is volunteering his or her time to this mission and each participating pilot is responsible for the safe completion of the flight.

 

Weather/Weather Delays
Each pilot shall check to ensure that weather conditions will not interfere with the safety of his or her flight. The design of a PrayerFlight is to allow on-board prayer warriors the ability to see the subject of his or her prayers and the majesty of God's creation and therefore, a total IFR situation may not be conducive to our goals. The final go, no go decision certainly shall rest with the pilot in command of that flight and obviously weather conditions and a pilot's operation within certain weather conditions must be based on his or her abilities and current ratings.

 

If your flight can not be made on May 7th at 12:00 noon, we ask that you make the flight at the earliest convenient time, even if it takes going into the first weekend of May.

 

Safety
Safety of flight is priority and goal #1, and it is the responsibility of the pilot in command. Under no circumstances does PrayerFlight condone any flight or operation that is deemed unsafe or jeopardizes the safety of the pilot, passengers or innocent by-standers. The intent of PrayerFlight is to provide an avenue by which prayer warriors may safety and comfortably pray for our communities, states and nation in flight.

 

Capital City Over-Flights
As you have noticed, the name of our project is "50 Capitals", meaning the capital city, not the capitol building; and it is not the intent of PrayerFlight to over-fly, circle, low-flight or otherwise cause concern, anxiety or alarm to any person or organization. We understand that many of you will be flying in special airspace over your state capital city and as such, it will be necessary for you to coordinate your flight with Air Traffic Control through a routinely placed flight plan and/or by adhering to any and all FAA Regulation(s), especially as it deals with airspace regulations. As an example, a flight that takes us over Columbus, Ohio (Class B Airspace) shall be handled as a straight-through flight after which we shall circle back around at the edge of the Class B airspace as we head back home. The flight shall be performed with an Air Traffic Control Clearance and as pilots, we all know with any decent visibility day, our ability to see and have our prayer warriors pray over the capital city can be done with ease, even from several miles away. Many of us will be able to see the seat of legislatures and many of us will not - remember, the intent is the capital city.

 

Post Flight Report
As we will be covering every state in the nation, it will be very important for our pilots to submit a Flight Report once you have completed your flight. This report will allow us to make a full report of our activities to interested persons and to gauge the success of this historic endeavor; we believe that all of our committed pilots and prayer warriors will be excited about what they have experienced and will want to take part in future PrayerFlights. Again, we ask for your submittal within several hours of your flight if at all possible; otherwise, please forward your report as soon as possible.

 

PrayerFlight and the FAA
Throughout our planning, we have received a number of questions concerning "call signs" and Air Traffic Control. Airplanes that are flying the PrayerFlight mission are not authorized any special call signs. Pilots shall use there original "N" number as they would with any other flight. PrayerFlight desires to maintain a reputation of being a good consumer of our excellent Air Traffic Control system and as such, we do not intend, nor will we create any issues within the Air Traffic Control system. If it is not possible to fly directly over your state capital city, no problem; simply continue your flight around the capital city as your prayer warrior direct their prayers to the city.

 

Media Guidelines
Included with this pilot packet is a Press Release. A press release substantially like this one will have been sent to many major press outlets throughout the country. PrayerFlight encourages our local pilots to change the italic portion of the release to your specific locality and invite the press to cover your particular flight. You will want to note your specific contact information for follow-up questions by the press. PrayerFlight suggests that if you have media requests to cover your flight onboard that you ensure enough room remains for your prayer warrior as the flight is intended for prayer over our capital city. Locally we have taken an abbreviated press flight with one prayer warrior to demonstrate and speak with the press onboard. This is totally up to the pilot; however we have found this press flight to be quite rewarding as the message of prayer will be spread to hundreds of thousands of people in your area of the country. You will find enclosed in this pilot's packet a "talking points" paper to assist you with any media inquiries.

 

Prayer Guide
Also included in this pilot's packet are "Prayer Guides" from the National Day of Prayer. Many have asked us, what should we pray for while airborne? This prayer guide offers excellent insight into this question and should be included in your pre-flight briefing with your prayer warriors. We suggest that as you approach your capital city, you ask your prayer warriors to begin praying over each topic, one by one. If you have more than one prayer warrior aboard, it would be good to share the prayer topics.

 

Future PrayerFlights and/or Chapter Involvement
Included in the Post Flight Report you will find several checkboxes that inquire into your future desire to participate in other PrayerFlights and/or PrayerFlight Chapters. We hope that you will have enjoyed this experience and will indicate your willingness to participate in future PrayerFlights.

 

Telephone Contact Information
As our mission date approaches you may find the need to speak directly to one of our board members and we encourage you to seek us out for any unanswered questions and/or comments. You may contact Jerry, our "50 Capitals" Mission Coordinator at (419) 303-2687 or Vice President Michael Harnishfeger at (419)634-9756.

 

Again, we thank you so much for your commitment to fly prayer warriors over your state capital on May 7th, 2009 and we pray that God will bless you richly for your commitment to His Kingdom.