How to Read a Private Plane Navigation Chart
Hopefully you will one day be given the opportunity to go flying in a small general aviation airplane like a Cessna or Piper. The experience will be very memorable. After the initial thrill of takeoff, there's a lot of staring out the windows at the terrain below. At some point you may ask yourself, where are we and how do we get back to the airport? Read on to learn how to read a private plane navigation chart.
- Difficulty:
- Easy
Instructions
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1
Study the contents of a sectional chart. Pilots use specially designed maps for in-flight navigation called VFR sectional charts. These maps depict cities, airports, lakes, tall towers, major highways, and they show where the navigation aids are located and what frequency they are broadcasting on. These nav aids help a pilot to plot a course to a desired location.
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2
Go to a local pilot shop and purchase the sectional chart for the area you'll be flying in. They are less than $10. Or if you want you can order the chart online, or better yet, you can even view a sectional chart using the Internet at Skyvector. Once you are on the main page, type in the airports four-letter identifier code in the lookup box and press go. For example Dallas-Fort Worth's airport code is KDFW.
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3
After doing your initial look, use the adjustable zoom slider to zoom out to see the entire map. On the left side you will see a legend explaining the symbols on the map. Click on the legend area to center the map here, and then zoom back in to be able to read.
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4
By holding the left mouse key down, the map is easily movable.
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