Featured Maps: Great Circle Mapper 14th Anniversary (13 September 2010)

14 years ago the Great Circle Mapper was announced to the world via a post to the sci.aeronautics.airliners Usenet group. Several example maps were suggested to get people started with how the site might be used, not unlike the Featured Maps. The first example (7750nm,8700nm@SFO, displayed below using the current site) illustrated the range of the then-current 747-600X and 747-500X proposals. The second example (HKG-SCL,HKG-EZE) showed several paths from Hong Kong to nearly antipodal major airports.

Since then, the HKG code has moved from Kai Tak to Chek Lap Kok and Boeing has dropped those 747 upgrade proposals and eventually replaced them with the 747-8 family but the Great Circle Mapper looked much like the map page of today's site. This screenshot is from 11 days later, just after ETOPS ranges were added.

Many thanks to all the users of the site who provided ideas and encouragement over the past 14 years.