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Maps aren’t something new. They began many years ago when one of our Neanderthal brothers or sisters firstetched the location of a cave on a deerskin. This really upset the deer, of course, causing him to run away. That pro-duced the world’s first moving map display.

Many advances have come along since that time. We now draw maps on ground-up trees, which are easier to sneakup on than deer, come in several exciting shades, and leaf a good impression.

Maps are simply representations of the earth’s surface and its topographic features—the bumps and holes that aremountains and lakes, hills and valleys, deserts and forests. In the case of aviation maps, there is also informationabout a variety of manmade features, such as cities, towns, roads, railroad tracks, and the other evidence of humanexistence. The challenge of mapmaking is to translate a three dimensional reality into a two dimensional map.Despite the age-old injunction about not fitting a round peg in a square hole, that’s exactly what every mapmaker hasto do. Like it or not, the earth is round and bumpy; maps are flat. Therein lies the rub.

A good map does severalthings at once. First, it mini-mizes the distortion that isinevitable in converting a 3-Dworld to a 2-D map. Second, itconveys at a glance crucialinformation. What’s crucial?As a pilot you need to knowwhere the land rises and falls(lest it rise up and smite thee),and what the major landmarksare, so you can figure outwhere you are.

Pilots use a wide variety ofmaps (or charts, as they areoften called) to tell themwhere to go, or where they’vebeen. Each type has specificinformation, and being able toselect the right chart for theright job is an important pilotskill.

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Reprinted with permission of Mrs. Bob Stevens

Cartoon by Bob Stevens

Chapter Ten

Aviation MapsThe Art of the Chart

Licensed exclusively for DeWayne Britton ([email protected]) Transaction: #0002858938

Rod Machado’s Private Pilot Handbook

The AeronauticalSectional Chart

The sectional chart is a pilot’smost common tool for VFR naviga-tion. Figure 3 shows a typical section-al chart. It is one of 37 such chartscovering the entire continentalUnited States. Each one is issuedwith an effective date and an expira-tion date (Figure 4). Sectional chartsare good for approximately 6 months,then reissued. It’s very good practiceto avoid using an outdated chart.While terrain doesn’t move all thatmuch (not even in California), air-ports, obstructions, navigational aids

and airspace can change. The lastthing you want to do is attempt tonavigate using a VOR that’s beenshut down or moved.

Many years ago a friend was usingan old sectional chart (outdated bymore than a year) for navigation to aLouisiana airport. The chart indicat-ed the VOR was located on the air-port. Arriving over the VOR, all mybuddy saw was swampland. He final-ly called the tower and asked themwhat happened to their airport.They said the VOR had been moved15 miles north of the field sevenmonths earlier. He’s lucky the FAA

wasn’t moving it the day he flewthis cross country. (Imagine the con-fusion he’d feel at seeing a VORcruising down the street on a flatbedtruck!)

Cautious pilots know chart infor-mation can change within the 6month publishing cycle. Fortunately,the Airport/Facility Directory pro-vides you with information on thesechanges, as shown in Figure 5. Theonly way you can be completelyassured a sectional chart (or anyother aeronautical chart) is up todate is by checking the AFD for thesechanges.

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MAKING A FLAT EARTH

Once upon a time, people thought the earth was flat. Some still do.The irony is, in order to make a map, you have to make the earth flat.

How you do that is a complicated question, and the answer isn’tabsolute. There is no perfectly correct solution to the problem of

rendering a 3-D earth on paper. It’s a question without a correctanswer. Any such rendering causes distortion, resulting in dis-

tances, directions, or features being misshapen, dispropor-tional, or otherwise inaccurate representations of what’s real-

ly on the ground.

Ultimately, the mapmaker must take into account whatkind of information will be most important to the map

user, and then choose a system of conversion thatminimizes distortion of that information.

Most of the maps in use by aviators today are of atype called Lambert conformal conic projections.Figure 1 shows how a conical-type projection isconstructed. An imaginary cone placed over thespherical earth makes contact with the surface in

two places—known as standard parallels. Imagine alight bulb inside the earth that projects a shadow ofthe surface features onto the cone. If these shadow-

type features are printed onto the conical paper, andthe paper is unfolded and laid flat, a familiar mapwith fairly accurate surface features appears. In fact,

there would be no distortion along the standard par-allels and only limited distortion north and south of

the two parallels, as depicted in Figure 1.

Figure 2 shows the two standard parallels forone of three common aviation charts that

we’ll discuss. Considering the relativelylarge scale of these charts, you’ll have little

or no error resulting from chart distortion.

Fig. 2Fig. 1

Note: Standard parallels no longer shown on sectional chart’s face.


Chapter 10 - Aviation Maps: The Art of the Chart

The sectional chart has a scale of 1 to 500,000. Thismeans every inch on a sectional chart represents 500,000inches on the actual earth. Fortunately, we can leave ourrulers at home because sectional charts (and others)carry their own mileage scale, as shown in Figure 6. Thisscale is consistent for all sectional charts and equates to 1inch=6.86 nautical miles. You can also measure using thetwo-knuckle method, as described in Chapter 11, thoughthis is generally a bit less accurate.

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Fig. 3

Fig. 4

Fig. 5

Fig. 6

A TYPICAL VFR SECTIONAL CHART EACH SECTIONAL IS ISSUED WITH AN EFFECTIVEAND AN EXPIRATION DATE

The Airport/Facility Directory lists changes that affectaeronautical sectional charts.

A wise mansays, “You shouldn’t flywith strangers especiallyif they fly stranger than

you.”

A VFR sectional chart comes with its own mileage scale.



World Aeronautical Charts (WAC)I always thought they were called WAC (pro-

nounced “whack”) charts because that’s thesound they made when military instructorsused them to hit their students over the head(hey, I was wrong). Fourteen WAC charts coverthe continental United States, Cuba and PuertoRico, as shown in Figure 7. These charts have ayearly publication cycle (half as frequent as thesectional chart).WAC charts have a scale of 1 to 1,000,000

(the precise ratio by which pilots exaggeratetheir adventures and war stories). These chartscover twice as much area per inch as does thesectional chart. They’re useful for flight plan-ning purposes when it’s necessary to get a big-picture idea of terrain, navaids and special useairspace. Because of the smaller scale, this chartis particularly useful to pilots flying medium-speed aircraft at higher altitudes. When usingthis chart you should be cautious, since theincreased scale limits charting detail. Forinstance, WACs don’t show locations of Class Eor D airspace, and only limited amounts of ClassB and C airspace are shown. They do, however,show restricted areas (and other special use air-space), airways, terrain relief and other visualaids to navigation.

VFR Terminal Area ChartsI never liked the word terminal. It’s a tad

scary if you think about it. I once told a stu-dent I’d be taking him into a terminal area onour next flight. He didn’t show up! Rest easy.Terminal areas are simply places with busy(such as Class B) airspace, usually with amajor commercial airport right about in themiddle. Many of these areas have a VFR ter-minal area chart associated with them(Figure 8A). The area covered by the VFRterminal area chart is indicated by a whitebordering rectangular line on a sectionalchart as shown in Figure 8B.

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THE WAC OR WORLD AERONAUTICAL CHART

THE VFR TERMINAL AREA CHART

Fig. 8B

A white bordering line identifies theboundaries of the VFR terminal area chart(TAC) on a sectional chart.

Fig. 7

Fig. 8A



VFR terminal area charts are exceptionally detailed,with a scale of 1 to 250,000 (1 inch=3.43 nautical miles)which provides much more detail than sectional charts.These charts, revised once every 6 months, are very use-ful for pilots operating from airports within or near amajor terminal area. For instance, they allow you to moreprecisely identify terrain features that help you physical-ly avoid the shelf of Class B airspace. Figures 9A, 9B and9C show a comparison of all three charts and theirincreasing information detail.

Topographical Information OnA Sectional Chart

Topographical (ground) features on a sectional chartare of great value to the VFR pilot, if she or he knowswhat to look for. Pilotage is most often accomplished byuse of the sectional chart, but learning to translate theshadings and markings on the chart into a mental pictureand match it up with what’s outside is definitely alearned skill. It’s also a skill you definitely should learn.

Not all features are created equal, especially on achart. The big stuff is pretty easy. Most of my studentsdon’t have a problem figuring out the Pacific Ocean. It’sbig, it’s blue, and they’ve usually seen it before.Deciphering the contour features of a mountain or thealluvial fan of small streams takes a little more skill.

Here are some of the major topographical features youshould be familiar with. Keep in mind that not all featureson the ground are shown on the chart. What mapmakersshow on the chart, however, is almost always found on thesurface. (I say almost always because, over time, somelandmarks disappear by erosion, construction, etc.)

Relief (the sloping of terrain) – Depicting three-dimensional hilly and mountainous terrain on a two-dimensional chart presents some difficulty. Mapmakerspartially solve the problem with the use of contours todepict terrain elevations. Contours are lines joining areasof equal elevation—somewhat like the isobar on a weath-er map connecting areas of equal pressure. Figure 10 isan example of how contours depict terrain elevation.

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Fig. 9A Fig. 9B Fig. 9C

500' MSL

Shoreline

1,000' MSL

1,500' MSL

2,000' MSL

2,000'1,500'

1,000'500'

500'1,000'

1,500'

Contour lines allow you to interpret terrain height and gradient above mean sealevel on a sectional chart. The contour lines above are spaced at 500 foot intervalswhile other maps may use 100 or 250 foot terrain intervals.

TERRAIN CONTOUR LINES

Water

Fig. 10

Terrain comparison on a VFRterminal area chart.

Scale - 1:250,000

The same terrain comparisonon a sectional chart.

Scale - 1:500,000The same terrain comparison on

a WAC chart.Scale - 1:1,000,000

These are typical terrain contourlines found on a sectional chart.



On a sectional chart, contour lines are spaced at 500foot intervals, as shown in Figures 11A and 11B.Occasionally, contours may be shown at 250 foot, 100 footor even 50 foot levels in areas of relatively low relief(slope). You can tell a lot about the slope of the terrain byexamining the spacing between the contour lines inFigure 11A. Closely-spaced contour levels indicate rapidlyrising terrain, while contours spaced farther apart indi-cate less precipitous terrain.

Color – An additional aid in determining the heightand slope of terrain is color. Every sectional chart has a

terrain color bar on its front side (see Figure 12). Thecolor bar shows a specific color representing the maxi-mum and minimum elevations of terrain. These colorsrange from light green for the lowest elevation to darkbrown for higher elevations. For instance, the dark yel-lowish-color shown at position A in Figure 12 representsterrain rising between 5,000 and 7,000 feet above sealevel. Remember, a specific color doesn’t precisely indi-cate the height of terrain, it indicates a range of altitudes(i.e., 5,000’ to 7,000’) through which terrain can be foundin those areas. More precise indications of terrain areidentified by something known as spot elevations.

Spot Elevation Symbols – Figure 13A shows a spot ele-vation used on VFR charts (Figure 13B shows the actual ter-rain features from the air). Normally, spot elevations (shownas small black dots) are chosen by mapmakers to indicatethe high point on a particular mountain range or ridge. Nextto the small black dot is the elevation of that spot above sealevel. Remember, there can be several spot elevations in alocal area. These spot elevations show heights of localpeaks and don’t necessarily represent the highest terrainin that area. The highest terrain located within an areabordered by lines of latitude and longitude (known as aquadrangle) is identified by a slightly larger black dot.

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Fig. 12

Fig. 11A

Fig. 13A Fig. 13B

Terrain from Figure 13Aas seen from the air.

Terrain contours on a sectional

chart are usually spaced at 500foot intervals as shown below.

The terrain color bar on VFRcharts helps identify terrainheight and slope.

A small black dot repre-sents a spot elevation thatidentifies high points on amountain range or ridge.

Fig. 11B

This is what terrain on the sectional chartexcerpt below looks like from the air.

ValleyTerrain Contour

Ridge

A



Spot Elevations Showing Highest Terrain –Quadrangles are the rectangular areas bounded by printedlines of longitude and latitude, as shown in Figure 14.Within each quadrangle there is a single large black dot.This dot is a special spot elevation figure that locates thehighest terrain within that area and shows its height abovesea level (see Figure 15). While there may be several spotelevation figures (small black dots) within a quadrangle,there will only be one represented by a larger black dot.

Maximum Elevation Figures (MEF) – Maximumelevation figures (MEFs) represent the highest elevationof terrain and other obstacles (towers, trees, etc.) withina quadrangle. Figure 16 shows the MEF value (point A)from the quadrangle containing the spot elevationidentified by point B. The two-digit number representsthe MEF value in hundreds of feet with the last twozeros missing. Figure 16 (point A), shows an MEFvalue of 6,700 feet MSL.

MEF values are slightly higher than the obstructionwithin the quadrangle it represents. How much higher?Cartographers (people who make maps) have a specificformula for figuring MEF values. To understand howthis is computed, you must first understand that onlymanmade obstacles standing more than 200 feet AGLare generally charted. Those 200 feet or less are chart-ed if they are considered critical by cartographers (i.e.,in the vicinity of an airport). Cartographers then add aminimum of 100 feet onto the highest elevation shownon the chart. Then they round up to the nearestwhole-number hundred value. Finally, they add anadditional 200 feet for those manmade obstructionsthat may not be shown.

For instance, the MEF value in Figure 16 is 6,700feet MSL (point A). The critical elevation figure forthat quadrangle is 6,378 feet MSL (point B).Adding 100 feet onto 6,378 equals 6,478. Roundingthis up to the nearest whole number hundred valueequals 6,500. Adding an additional 200 foruncharted obstruction equals 6,700 feet MSL.

The MEF is calculated in a similar manner if a man-made obstacle standing more than 200 feet AGL is locat-ed on the highest peak in a quadrangle. In this instance,only 100 feet is added to the top of the obstacle, then thisvalue is rounded up to the nearest whole number hun-dred value to calculate the MEF. The point here is theMEF is not the minimum altitude you should fly withinthis quadrangle. You should be at least a minimum of1,000 to 2,000 feet higher (or more) than any MEF valueshown along your route. This becomes especially impor-tant at night when it’s difficult to see terrain or obstacles,even if these obstacles are lit (you don’t want to hit oneand light it up even more).

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Fig. 14

Quadranglesare made upof the boundedlines oflatitude andlongitude.Within eachquadrangle isa single“large” blackdot thatrepresentsthe highestterrain foundwithin thisarea (seeFigure 15 forexample of alarger blackdot). Line of Latitude

These are thefour corners ofthe quadrangle.

Line of Lo

ngitud

e

The spot elevation figure representing the highest spot

within a quadrangle is identified by a slightly larger

black dot and slightly larger numbers representing that

spot’s altitude.

The dark blue numbers in the center of the quadrangle is theMaximum Elevation Figure (MEF).

Fig. 16

Fig. 15

B A

Regular (small dot)spot elevation

Highest spotelevation for thisquadrangle (large

black dot)

Highest spot ele-vation for this

quadrangle (largeblack dot)



Obstacles – At first glance, theitem in Figure 17A looks like thetepee (or bingo temple) on an Indianreservation. It’s not. This symbolrepresents obstacles standing lessthan 1,000 feet AGL. The bold num-ber represents the height of the topof the obstacle above sea level. Thenumber contained within the paren-theses is the height the obstaclestands above ground level. If you’reever asked to find the height of thebase of the obstacle above sea level,

you only need to subtract the obsta-cle’s AGL height from its heightabove sea level. (Be careful when tak-ing a knowledge exam. Test makershave often graduated from “TrickQuestion Graduate School” and willtry and confuse you with AGL andMSL values.) Figure 17B shows thesame obstacle as seen from the ground.

Obstacles standing 1,000 feet andhigher above ground level are por-trayed by a more elongated obstruc-tion symbol, as shown in Figure 18.The bold numbers and those withinparentheses represent heights MSLand AGL, respectively. Sometimesthese obstacles will have light-raysymbols emanating from the top ofthe obstruction symbol, as shown inFigure 19. This indicates the obstaclehas a high intensity strobe lightingsystem associated with it. Sometimesan obstacle has the letters “UC” nextto it, as shown in Figure 20. Thismeans the obstacle is under construc-tion. If the eventual height aboveground that the obstacle will stand isknown, it will be shown in parenthe-ses (even though the building of theobstruction isn’t completed).

Roads – Roads and highwaysmake excellent VFR reference points,as shown in Figure 21A and 21B, andmany pilots claim that IFR reallystands for “I follow roads.” Highways,especially major ones, are relativelyeasy to identify from the air. VFRcharts often distinguish between sin-gle and multi-lane roads. Some majorinterstates even have their routenumbers listed on the sectionalchart.

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Fig. 17A

This is what a similar obstacle maylook like.

Fig. 17B Fig. 18

Fig. 19

Fig. 20

Actually Heard!A pilot calls the Flight Service

Station and says:Albuquerque Flight ServiceStation, this is Cessna 714

Sierra Bravo. I’d like to file aflight plan...depending on

where I am.

This symbol represents an obstaclestanding less than 1,000’ AGL. Symbols that look like large tepees

are obstacles standing 1,000’ ormore AGL.

Light rays emanating from anobstacle indicates the presence ofhigh intensity strobe lights.

“UC” next to an obstacle indicates it

is under construction.

The Perils of Opening a ChartToo Quickly in the Cockpit



Railroad Tracks – Railroadtracks (Figure 22A) are often rela-tively easy to identify from the air(see Figure 22B), especially if you’reat a fairly low altitude. This is partic-ularly true when a train lopes alongthe tracks (it’s rare to see trainsmoving without tracks. If you seeone, take a picture and send it tome—it’s worth millions).

Wires – Power transmission wiresand telephone lines are depicted oncharts as shown in Figure 23A. Thesewires are usually a lot easier to seeon the chart than they ever are fromthe air (Figure 23B). They’re notvery wide, and they tend to blend inwith the terrain below, though youmight have some success spotting thesupporting towers. I’d be cautionsabout relying on them as my solesource of VFR landmarks or check-points for any cross country flight.

Shorelines, Rivers & Streams –Shorelines for coastal areas alongwith piers, wharves and jetties areexcellent landmarks as shown inFigure 24A and 24B. Other large

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Fig. 22BFig. 22A

Fig. 24B

Fig. 23BFig. 23A

Fig. 24A

Fig. 21A

Roads are excellent visual checkpoints for navigation

by pilotage.

Railroad tracks from Figure 22Aas seen from the air.Railroad tracks can make goodcheckpoints.

Power transmission lines aresometimes difficult to see from theair.

Power lines similar to those inFigure 23A.

Shorelines, wharves and piers are excellent checkpoints. Shoreline from Figure 24A as seen from the air.

The arrow points to the same road shown in Figure 21A.

Fig. 21B



bodies of water make excellent landmarks as shown inFigure 25A and 25B. Of course, this assumes a droughthasn’t made the shoreline unrecognizable. You’ll proba-bly have more difficulty in recognizing streams andsmall rivers from the air, as shown in Figures 26A and26B. Frankly, unless you’re using major rivers (theColorado River for example), you’ll be better off usinglarger bodies of water, roads or other references for VFRcheckpoints.

Populated Areas – On sectional and VFR terminalcharts, populated areas in the form of cities and largetowns are outlined in yellow, as shown in Figure 27A. Aslong as you don’t become too hung up on comparing theactual city to the yellow borders on the sectional, you’llfind them a useful VFR reference point. Cities oftengrow faster than cartographers update their chartinginformation. This can cause the city to have a very dif-ferent outline than that shown on the chart (Figure27B). Smaller towns and villages are shown by an emptycircle (Figures 28A and 28B). These areas also make use-ful VFR landmarks. You’ll find cities and towns evenmore useful at night, where their lights provide extreme-ly helpful landmarks for VFR navigation.

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Fig. 25A Fig. 25B

Fig. 26A Fig. 26B

Fig. 27A

Fig. 27B

The same large body of water as seen from the air.

Streams and small rivers are sometimes difficult to iden-

tify from the air, especially when they’re dry.

This is the populated area in Figure 27A as seen from theair. At night, city lights can make these areas easily identi-fiable from the air.

Large bodies of water can make excellent checkpoints.

This is an airborne shot of Figure 26A. These smallstreams are not always easily identifiable from the air.

Populatedareas (shownin yellow) are

good refer-ence points

althoughtheir borders

may notreflect the

actual shapeof the area.



Airports – Frankly, there are fewVFR reporting points better than air-ports. I like them for VFR navigationbecause I like having a place to landin the event of engine, weather or(human) bladder problems. Airportsare divided into colors on the map(they are not really painted these col-ors, just like the states aren’t paintedthe colors you saw on your juniorhigh school maps). Magenta coloredairports (Figure 29) don’t have an airtraffic control tower (ATCT). Thoseshown in blue have a tower (although

it may not be in operation 24 hours aday—most aren’t). Figure 30 showsan airport associated with an ATCtower. All recognizable runways,including closed runways, are pic-tured within the airport symbol, forvisual identification.

Normally, both the magenta andblue airport symbols are circlesunless the airport has a hard sur-faced runway greater than 8,069 feet.In that case, cartographers place anenclosed box around the runwayperiphery, as shown in Figure 31.

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Fig. 28A Fig. 28B

Fig. 29

Fig. 31

Fig. 30

FIXED!

BROKEN?

Airports colored in magenta don’thave air traffic control towers.

Airports (magenta or blue) withhard surface runways longer than8,069’ take on a more realistic look.

Airports colored in blue have airtraffic control towers.

Small towns and villages are shown by white circles with

the town’s name.

A current aeronautical chart is a like a good aviation mechanic. It has the most up-to-date information to help you get to where you’re going.

The same small town in Figure 28A, as seen from the air.At night the light clusters from these towns make goodcheckpoints.



Any airport having a darkened circle, with therunways in reverse-bold white, has a hard surfacerunway between 1,500 and 8,069 feet in length,as shown in Figure 32A and 32B. Airports withsoft surface runways (grass, dirt, etc.) or withhard surfaces less than 1,500 feet long areshown by an open symbol without the run-way(s) depicted (Figure 33A and 33B). Militaryairports are shown by a double circle (Figure 34).

An open dot within a hard-surfaced runwayconfiguration indicates the approximate posi-tion of a VOR located on the field, as shown inFigure 35. Airport symbols on VFR charts hav-ing four square protrusions around the airportindicate that fuel services are available duringnormal working hours (Mon.-Fri. 10 a.m. to 4p.m., local time). (See Figure 35.)

Some airports are restricted in thatthey are private and not open to publicuse. These airports are identified by theairport symbol containing the letter “R,”if they have other than hard surface run-ways and the letters “PVT” if they havehard surface runways 1,500 to 8,069 feetlong as shown in Figure 36.

Next to an airport symbol you’ll findthe airport data (Figure 37, position A).The official airport name is locatedabove the control tower frequency (iden-tified by the letters “CT”). Some airportshave more than two control tower fre-quencies (this isn’t for pilots who real -l y l i k e t o t a l k , e i t h e r ) . Differentfrequencies are for use by aircraftapproaching from different directions, orusing different parallel runways (at verylarge airports). The Automatic TerminalInformation Service frequency, which islisted, will provide the proper frequency.In lieu of the ATIS, other airports suchas Chico (Figure 37, position B) haveAWOS or ASOS installations that pro-vide a repeating, one-minute automatic

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Fig. 33A

Fig. 32BFig. 32A

Fig. 34 Fig. 35 Fig. 36

This is a typical soft surface runwayseen from the air.

Fig. 33B

Airports having other than hardsurfaces at least 1,500’ long or softsurfaces are shown by an opensymbol.

Restricted airports (not open tothe public) are shown with an “R”in the airport circle or by “PVT.”

An open dot within a hard-surfacerunway configuration indicates theposition of a VOR on the airport.Square protrusions indicate fuel ser-vices are available during normalbusiness hours.

Military airports with other thanhard surface runways are shown bya double circle.

Airports with a solid circle (blue ormagenta) have at least a 1,500’to 8,069’ hard surface runway.

Bob, the reasonwe don’t see a restrictedarea on this chart isn’t

because it’s not current.It’s because the chart isfor a different state!

The only thingworse than nothaving a currentchart is having thewrong chart.

I hate itwhen that happens!

This is the hard surface runway fromFigure 32A as seen from the air.



recording of the local airport weath-er. (Read more about AWOS andASOS in Chapter 13, page M13.)

The last line of information startswith the airport’s elevation in darkbold numbers. An “L” following thisnumber means lighting is availablefrom sunset to sunrise. The nextnumber is the length of the longestrunway, in hundreds of feet (the use-able runway may be less) and theunicom frequency. The letters “RP”followed by a number indicate therunway(s) that have a non-standardright hand traffic pattern.

Unicom stations at tower con-trolled airports usually provide fuelservice while those at nontower air-ports usually provide traffic informa-tion (and may provide fuel service,too). Figure 38 shows the typical air-port data for a nontower airport.Notice that the letter “*L” has anasterisk next to it. This means air-

port lighting limitations exist.Runway lights for night landingsmay be available part time or onrequest. Refer to the A/FD to find outmore about the airport’s lighting.

Airways – VFR airways (Victorairways) are depicted on sectionalcharts as shown in Figure 39. Eachairway typically extends from oneVOR to the next and is identified byits own unique number. These arethe numbers used on a flight plan todescribe your route of flight. Asquare box with a number insideshows the airway distance betweenVOR stations, in nautical miles.

VFR Checkpoints – Visualcheckpoints are shown on sectionaland terminal charts by a magentaflag (Figure 40). These are prominentlandmarks visible from the air. Airtraffic controllers may ask you toreport your position in reference tothese landmarks when contacting

them for landing. (See PostflightBriefing #10-1 for more information.)

One time a student was approachinga major psychiatric hospital, which was a designated visual check-point. The student wasn’t aware ofthis reporting point. He called thetower for landing instructions andsaid, “San Jose Tower, this is 2132Bravo inbound from the north forlanding, over.” The tower replied,“Hey, 32 Bravo, are you headed for themental hospital.” The student said,“No. Why? Is my flying that bad?” Youmust pay attention to these symbols.

Airborne Vehicle Symbols – Inaddition to airplane activity, otherairborne vehicles use the airspace.Figure 41 shows those areas contain-ing ultralight activities, hang gliders,gliders and parachutists (we’ll con-sider parachutists airborne vehiclesin this instance). The symbols sim-ply remind you to be extra vigilant.

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Fig. 37 Fig. 38

Fig. 39 Fig. 41Fig. 40

A Victor airway is identified by theletter “V” followed by its ownunique number.

This figure shows typical airport data for a nontow-ered airport. The letter “*L” with the asterisk indi-cates that runway lighting limitations exist (i.e., itmay be available part time or on request. The bestway to tell is to check the Airport/Facility Directory).

This figure shows typical airport data for a tower controlled airport.Next to the airport symbol you’ll find airport data.

Visual checkpoints are identified bya magenta flag.

A

B

Airborne vehicle symbols identifyultralight, glider, hangglider,unmanned aerial vehicles andparachute areas.



Park, Wildlife, Forest, Wilderness and PrimitiveAreas – Figure 42 identifies the boundaries of either aNational Park Service area, U.S. Fish and WildlifeService area or U.S. Forest Service Wilderness orPrimitive area. Aircraft operating within one of theseareas are often requested to maintain a minimum alti-tude of 2,000 feet above the surface within these areas(unless the chart specifically notes a different altitude).Maintaining these minimum altitudes prevents destruc-tion or damage to our national wildlife. It also helps pre-vent people from thinking pilots are unconcerned aboutanyone but themselves. General aviation depends to a

substantial degree on public tolerance for its existence,and disrupting the solitude of backpackers or annoyingwildlife to death is not a defensible act.

Sometimes, of course, the wildlife defends itself. Manyyears ago, a fellow in Alaska decided wildlife wasn’t allthat sacred. He was piloting a helicopter when he spotteda grizzly bear. Descending to only a few feet above thegrizzly, he taunted the beast with the helicopter’s landingskid. In a surprise move (it was a surprise to the pilot)the bear rose up, grabbed the skid and retrieved his lunchfrom room service (if you know what I mean). Pay closeattention to the minimum altitudes for these areas.

While there are many other symbols to discuss on thesectional chart, we’ve covered some of the most impor-tant ones. Take time to study the VFR charts in greaterdetail. With a little practice in chart symbol interpreta-tion, you’ll be able to fly anywhere using pilotage as yoursingle navigational tool.

We’ve reached the Great Divide in our introduction toaviation. The next subject allows us to put our charts touse. After all, if you don’t know how to navigate you’renot likely to go anywhere (at least anywhere you intend-ed to go) and charts will have little significance to you. Inthe upcoming chapter, we’ll discuss the most commonmeans of navigation. You’ll find this chapter quite valu-able since you’ll need to have some knowledge of the sub-ject before your instructor lets you zip off on solo crosscountry flights.

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Fig. 42

The boundaries of a National Park Service area, U.S. Fish

and Wildlife Service area and U.S. Forest Service areas are

shown by a solid blue line bordered by dashes. Pilots are

requested to remain at least 2,000’ above the surface of

these areas.

Postflight Briefing #10-1

Fig. 44

GPS Identified VFR CheckpointsSome VFR checkpoints are collocated with GPS waypoints as

shown in Figure 43, positions A, B, C and D. The name of thecheckpoint is listed above its five letter GPS identification . To navi-gate to any of these collocated checkpoints, just tune the five letteridentifier into your GPS and proceed direct to the waypoint asshown in Figure 44.

In this instance, the GPS is set to track directly to the QueenMary VFR checkpoint which is collocated with the GPS waypointidentified as VPLQM (Figure 44, position E).

Since it’s not always easy to recognize these VFR checkpointsfrom the air, especially if you’re from out of town, using your GPSto identify them make navigation much easier in these instances.The GPS also provides you with the ability to inform ATC of yourposition and distance relative to any of these checkpoints.

Fig. 43

AB

C D

E


J15Chapter 10 - Aviation Maps: The Art of the Chart


The Terminal Area ChartThe Terminal Area Chart (TAC) shown in Figure 45, is provided to show more chart

detail in known high density traffic areas. Areas covered by the terminal area chart areidentified as magenta shaded blocks on the front panel of the sectional chart (Figure 46,position A). Each block represents an individual terminal area chart. Inside the terminalarea chart you’ll find the detailed area coverage of these areas along with whatever VFRFlyway and special airspace information is available for that particular area of coverage.

For instance, the Los Angeles terminal area chart contains several navigationinserts that provide information on published routes through theLos Angeles Class B airspace (Figure 47) as well as the specialflight rules area that provides easy transit directly across LosAngeles International airport (Figure 48). The VFR Flyway routes(Figure 49) shown on the chart are very useful when you’re oper-ating in a high density traffic area like the Los Angeles basin.

IFR arrival routes

Suggested VFR flyway & altitude IFR departure routesVFR transition route(ATC clearance required)

This chart helps you identify VFR flyways, which are designed to help VFR pilots avoid major controlled traffic flows. For instance,when departing Van Nuys airport (Figure 49, position B) to the west, it’s probably wise to fly toward the Sepulveda flood control basin(position C) then follow the flyway found just south of the 101 Ventura freeway (position D). Flying at or below 3,500 feet then at orbelow 5,500 feet westbound should keep you out of major traffic flows (the routes with small blue arrows and accompanying alti-tudes). Ground references shown on the chart make visual navigation easy.

Areas covered by terminal area charts can be found by

looking for magenta colored boxes on the front panel of

any sectional chart as shown above.

Fig. 45

Fig. 46

Fig. 48Fig. 47

Fig. 49

A

B

C

D


J16Rod Machado’s Private Pilot Handbook



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