Reading the sectional chart
Symbols, terrain, airspace, and airport data on a real chart of Boston.
15 min read · Navigation
After this lesson you can
- Identify the three VFR charts and know which one to reach for.
- Read the colors, symbols, and airport data blocks on a real sectional excerpt.
- Find the highest terrain, the tallest obstruction, and the special use airspace along a planned route.
- Measure a true course and a distance directly on the chart.
The sectional chart is the working map of American VFR flying. Everything a pilot needs to plan a route below 18,000 ft is printed on it: airports and their radio frequencies, the shape and altitude of every layer of controlled airspace, terrain, obstructions, and the magnetic variation of the ground below.
This lesson works from a real excerpt centered on Boston Logan and its Class B airspace. Reading a chart is a skill that only develops on a real chart, with real numbers on it - not a stylized diagram - so every example in this lesson is something you can point to on the image.
The rest of this lesson
- 1.Three charts, three scales
- 2.Measuring direction: true course and its reciprocal
- 3.A real excerpt: Boston and its Class B shelf
- 4.Reading an airport data block
- 5.Class B airspace and the numbers that stack
- 6.Terrain and obstacles
- 7.Measuring a route before you fly it
These 7 sections, their figures, the checks along the way and the end-of-lesson quiz come with the PPL track. Paid once, yours for good.
Key terms
Try to recall each definition before turning the card.