Chart Wise

When pilots head to Las Vegas, most think of the nightlife or maybe gambling. With nearly year-round sunshine and often scorching temperatures, the last thing on their minds is probably the weather, despite Las Vegas’ regular monsoon season that runs from mid-June through September. That’s the time of the year when Las Vegas receives most […]

Until the recent slowdown in travel because of the COVID-19 virus, Branson, Missouri, was a top destination in the Ozarks for families with kids, boasting a host of live shows, restaurants, golf courses, museums, hiking trails and much more. While everyone hopes the lull in flying to getaways such as Branson will be short, the […]

Olive Branch—in Mississippi— might not be a city that easily rolls off the tongue of pilots everywhere, but as the crow flies, Olive Branch Airport (KOLV) is just 26 miles from Memphis International (KMEM), home base to package-delivery giant FedEx. That airline alone adds some 450 daily operations to KMEM. But KMEM’s nearly 230,000 annual operations include plenty of […]

Whether you’re flying to the Maine coastline to add your name to the list of the 3 million annual visitors to Acacia National Park or to try to decide which restaurants really are the 10 best for lobster in the region, you might come face to face with the RNAV (GPS) Runway 22 for an […]

With approximately one-third of its annual 128,200 operations traffic count consumed by airline operations and the rest split between air taxi, general aviation and military operations, Boise, Idaho (BOI), demands pilots be on their toes for traffic of all shapes and sizes when visiting. This month’s ILS Y 10 Right approach comes equipped with a […]

Minneapolis-St. Paul Inter-national Airport (KMSP) ranks 16th in the nation for air traffic, a constant mix of airline, business aviation and military airplanes. It’s harried enough to also challenge some general aviation pilots. A great alternative to KMSP sits just five miles northeast, St. Paul’s Downtown Holman Airport. KSTP’s Runway 32 stretches 6,500 feet and […]

Even the simplest instrument approach can present challenges to pilots who don’t plan ahead, but in this month’s chart, the ILS Runway 21 at Flagstaff Pulliam Airport, Arizona (FLG), pilots will encounter some issues unique to flying an approach into an airport with an elevation in excess of 7,000 feet—7,003 feet to be exact. This […]

With Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport (ATL) notorious as the busiest airport in the US—with passengers carried at just over 103 million—the air traffic in the Atlanta area can, at times, be intense. DeKalb-Peachtree (PDK), just 17 nautical miles northeast, is a perfect GA airport for anyone visiting the metro area interested in avoiding ATL traffic. […]

Gaithersburg is the choice for many pilots who don’t want to fly into Washington Dulles International Airport (IAD) or aren’t able to fly into Washington’s Reagan National Airport (DCA). The Montgomery County Airpark (GAI) sits roughly 25 miles north of the nation’s capital, making for a short drive to downtown Washington. The airpark’s single 4,202-foot […]

A. Map on the Ground Think of a taxi chart like a road map, assuming you’re old enough to remember one of those. Without charts on their kneeboards or iPads, pilots might have no idea of where they’re expected to taxi before ground control begins issuing clearances. The airport diagram helps pilots understand taxiway and […]