The Flying Thingy of Planes is a gargantuan, cultured nation, ruled by Dan Havilliand with a fair hand, and notable for its keen interest in outer space, devotion to social welfare, and stringent health and safety legislation. The compassionate, democratic, devout population of 10.076 billion Planesians are free to do what they want with their own bodies, and vote for whomever they like in elections; if they go into business, however, they are regulated to within an inch of their lives.

The enormous, socially-minded government juggles the competing demands of Healthcare, Education, and Administration. It meets to discuss matters of state in the capital city of Bombardier-Boeing-Airbus city. The average income tax rate is 90.7%, and even higher for the wealthy.

The all-consuming Planesian economy, worth a remarkable 1,125 trillion Engines a year, is highly specialized and led by the Tourism industry, with major contributions from Book Publishing and Information Technology. State-owned companies are common. Average income is an impressive 111,665 Engines, and distributed extremely evenly, with practically no difference between the richest and poorest citizens.

People stand their fridges back-to-front to benefit from the free heating, rural children are told reading's important (for other people), code enforcement officers circle wealthy Planesians like vultures, and vital intelligence-gathering activities are put on hold as agents return home for seduction training and advanced poker instruction. Crime, especially youth-related, is totally unknown, thanks to a well-funded police force and progressive social policies in education and welfare. Planes's national animal is the Syrian Hamster, which frolics freely in the nation's many lush forests, and its national religion is Airplane Worship.

Planes is ranked 5,459^th in the world and 281^st in The North Pacific for Most Beautiful Environments, with 2,241.23 pounds of wildlife per square mile.