Chart Supplements
The Chart Supplement is a series of civil/military flight information publications issued by FAA every 56 days consisting of the Chart Supplement U.S., Chart Supplement Alaska, and Chart Supplement Pacific.
The Digital Chart Supplements are published in a PDF format and are available for viewing, searching, downloading and printing. The Supplements contain data on public and joint use airports, seaplane bases, heliports, VFR airport sketches, NAVAIDs, communications data, weather data, airspace, special notices, and operational procedures.
The Chart Supplement U.S. (green) is a seven-volume book series is designed for use with appropriate IFR or VFR charts and contains data including, but not limited to airports, NAVAIDs, communications data, weather data sources, special notices, non-regulatory operational procedures, and airport diagrams. Coverage includes the conterminous U.S., Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands. The Chart Supplement U.S. shows data that cannot be readily depicted in graphic form; for example, airport hours of operations, types of fuel available, runway widths, lighting codes, etc
The Chart Supplement Alaska (red) This single volume book is designed for use with appropriate IFR or VFR charts. The Chart Supplement Alaska contains data including, but not limited to, airports, NAVAIDs, communications data, weather data sources, special notices, non-regulatory operational procedures, and airport diagrams. The publication also includes uniquely geographical operational requirements such as area notices and emergency procedures
The Chart Supplement Pacific (blue) is a single-volume book is designed for use with appropriate IFR or VFR charts. The Chart Supplement Pacific contains data including, but not limited to, airports, NAVAIDs, communications data, weather data sources, special notices, non-regulatory operational procedures, and airport diagrams. The publication also includes airspace, navigational facilities, non-regulatory Pacific area procedures, Instrument Approach Procedures (IAP), Departure Procedures (DP), Standard Terminal Arrival (STAR) charts, radar minimums, supporting data for the Hawaiian and Pacific Islands, and uniquely geographical operational requirements such as area notices and emergency procedures
For more information, visit the FAA's web page, where you can download current Chart Supplements (PDF format).
The Chart Supplement and the Airport/Facility Directory
Student pilots typically are shown the Chart Supplement during training, about the time that they get their first look at aviation charts. However, there's not much standardized information on how to use these small, data-dense booklets — other than the guidance that's found within its own covers.
Most student pilots probably are aware that the Chart Supplement functions like the white pages in an old phone book — it's a paper-based lookup tool that can be used to gather a lot of detail about every airport within the supplement's multi-state coverage area.
Somewhat less obvious is that a lot of this data can be understood only by looking at the book's introductory materials, which includes a multi-page "Airport/Facility Directory Legend." Student pilots will benefit from some study here.
The Chart Supplement used to be called the "Airport/Facility Directory," commonly initialized as the "A/FD" among pilots. While instructors no longer refer to the book as the A/FD, some pilots still do. Moreover, the legend at the front of the book is called the "Airport/Facility Directory Legend."
Why is this?
The bulk of the Chart Supplement, which is dedicated to airport information, is still considered to be the Airport/Facility Directory.
The A/FD + everything else in the book = the Chart Supplement.
Therefore, it's fine to say that you need to "look it up in the A/FD" — it still exists.
Airport Diagrams
The Chart Supplement includes full-page airport diagrams for all towered fields within the coverage area. In the pre-Foreflight era, these were frequently used by pilots. Individual pages can be removed and clipped to a kneeboard. For pilots who don't use Foreflight's airport diagrams, they are inexpensive and very useful, especially for taxi operations at unfamiliar airports.
A helpful key is included at the front of the Airport Diagrams section. Return to this page if anything on a diagram is unclear.
Chart Supplement Airport Diagrams also are a primary resource for locating FAA-designated "hot spots" on airport surfaces.
The Airport Diagram section includes a listing of all hot spots in the coverage area with textual descriptions. Give this a careful review before flying to any unfamiliar airport.
And So Much More
The Chart Supplement includes a variety of other information before and after the A/FD section:
- A cross-reference of military airports and their associated cities
- Seaplane landing areas
- Abbreviations, acronyms, and initialisms commonly used within the publication
- Special Notices
- Regulatory Notices
- FAA Telephone Numbers and National Weather Service
- NWS Upper Air Observing Stations
- Air Route Traffic Control Centers: RCO locations and frequencies
- Flight Service Station Communication Frequencies
- VOR Receiver Checkpoints and VOR Test Facilities
- Parachute Jumping Areas
- Supplemental Communication Reference
- Preferred IFR Routes
- Minimum Operational Network (MON) Airport Listing
- PIREP Form
To most non-professional pilots, a great deal of this may appear trivial. However, student pilots — and those seeking new ratings and certificates — will need a working familiarity with the Chart Supplement, since there are FAA knowledge test questions that specifically use the Chart Supplement as a reference.
Foreflight
The complete Chart Supplement series is accessible within the Foreflight app. Foreflight also maintains their own proprietary airport diagrams.
Test Questions
Where can pilots find the location of a VOR Receiver Checkpoint? The Chart Supplement.
Where can information about Parachute Jumping Areas be found? The Chart Supplement.