15.vfr-charts-sectional-and-tac. VFR Charts: Sectional and Terminal Area Charts (TAC)
Visual flight rules (VFR) navigation depends on charts that depict terrain, obstacles, airspace, airports, and navigation aids in a format optimized for pilotage and dead reckoning. The two principal VFR charts published by the FAA's Aeronautical Information Services are the Sectional Aeronautical Chart and the VFR Terminal Area Chart (TAC). A third product, the VFR Flyway Planning Chart, is printed on the reverse side of selected TACs.
Sectional Aeronautical Charts
Sectional charts are the workhorse of VFR cross-country flying. They are published at a scale of 1:500,000 (1 inch ≈ 6.86 nautical miles) and cover the contiguous United States in 37 named sections (e.g., Atlanta, Los Angeles, Seattle). Each chart is updated on a 56-day cycle, and the effective and expiration dates are printed on the cover.
Sectionals depict:
- Topography — contour lines, color-coded elevation tints, shaded relief, and spot elevations. The Maximum Elevation Figure (MEF) is printed in each quadrangle bounded by ticked lines of latitude and longitude, showing the highest terrain or obstacle in that quadrangle rounded up to the next 100 feet, plus a buffer.
- Obstructions — towers, antennas, and other vertical obstacles, with the height above mean sea level (MSL) shown in bold and the height above ground level (AGL) in parentheses below it. Obstacles 1,000 ft AGL and higher use a different symbol than those below 1,000 ft AGL. Lighted obstacles show a lightning-bolt symbol.
- Airports — magenta for non-towered, blue for towered, with runway pattern, lighting, services (fuel availability indicated by tick marks around the airport symbol), and the Communication/Airport Data block listing CTAF, ATIS, ground, tower, and AWOS/ASOS frequencies.
- Airspace — Class B (solid blue), Class C (solid magenta), Class D (dashed blue), Class E surface and 700/1,200 ft AGL floors (faded magenta and blue), Mode C veils (thin solid magenta 30 NM ring), MOAs, restricted, prohibited, warning, and alert areas.
- Navigation aids — VORs, VORTACs, NDBs, with frequency boxes containing the identifier, Morse code, and frequency.
- Special use — military training routes (IR/VR), parachute jump areas, glider operations, and ultralight activity.
VFR Terminal Area Charts (TAC)
TACs zoom in on busy Class B airspace and surrounding areas at a scale of 1:250,000 (1 inch ≈ 3.43 NM) — twice the detail of a sectional. They are required reading for any flight in or near Class B and are highly recommended for transits beneath the lateral limits or through Mode C veils. TACs share the symbology of sectionals but show additional reporting points, more obstructions, and finer airspace shelves with floors and ceilings labeled in MSL hundreds of feet (e.g., 100/SFC means 10,000 ft MSL down to the surface). TACs are revised on the same 56-day cycle as the underlying sectional.
VFR Flyway Planning Charts
Printed on the back of selected TACs, flyway charts depict suggested routes and altitudes around or through Class B airspace to help VFR traffic avoid the busiest sectors. They are planning aids only — not for navigation — and do not relieve the pilot of the requirement to obtain an ATC clearance before entering Class B.
Chart Currency and Sources
FAR-equivalent best practice (and FAA guidance in AC 91-78) is to use current charts. Aeronautical information changes frequently — frequencies, airspace, towers, and obstacles. Charts can be obtained as paper products from FAA-authorized print providers, as digital raster files (GeoTIFF) from the FAA, or through Electronic Flight Bag (EFB) applications such as ForeFlight or Garmin Pilot, which overlay the same chart product with GPS position.
Reading the Chart Legend
The chart legend on the cover panel is the authoritative key for symbology. Critical items every student should be able to locate:
- Airport data block format and runway length conventions.
- Latitude/longitude tick spacing — each minute of latitude equals 1 NM.
- Airspace floors and ceilings and how they are abbreviated.
- Terrain color shading legend and the highest elevation on the chart.
Practical Use in Flight Planning
When planning a VFR cross-country, pilots draw the course line on the sectional, identify checkpoints visible from the air (towns, rivers, highways, lakes, antennas), measure true course with a plotter, and note MEFs along the route to choose a safe cruise altitude — generally at least 1,000 ft above the highest MEF within a corridor of the route, while complying with the VFR cruising altitude rule of §91.159 above 3,000 ft AGL. Where the course passes near or through Class B, switch to the TAC for the terminal segment.
A disciplined pilot keeps the chart oriented to the direction of flight, ticks off checkpoints by clock time, and cross-references chart symbology with what is actually outside the windscreen — the essence of pilotage.