Aeronautical Charts

Site Home : Teaching : Short Talks : One Element

What You'll Learn Today

• Map Design for a Different Audience
• The importance of scale
• You can't show everything

Flying from Hanscom Field to Bradley

• The basics of an aeronautical chart
• How will we find our way?
• What altitude should we fly? Navigation in three dimensions now.
• Airspace to avoid?
• Whom to talk to for help?

The basics of an aeronautical chart

• come down the Merrimack River from Newfound Valley (2N2): just elevation 510 and 1900' runway; note:
  • surrounding mountains
  • the river,
  • towns by how lit up they are at night
• Concord, NH (CON): lighted 6000' runway and automated weather
• Manchester, NH (MHT): surrounded by Class C airspace
• Logan Airport (BOS)
• Hanscom (BED)

How will we find our way?

• don't put it on chart unless it can be seen from the air:
• pass Minute Man airport and then I-495
• a big radio tower, 2048' above sea level, 1250' above the ground,
• the Worcester airport, ORH
• the Mass Pike and intersectio with I-84, next to Southbridge airport
• Bradley, in the middle of two big cities; will be the dark hole in the middle at night

How High to Fly?

• Hanscom at 132' above sea level
• big tower at 2048'
• Worcester Airport at 1009'
• Bradley at 173'
• maximum elevation figure: 1600, 2400, 1700, 1600 (rounded up to nearest 100')

Airspace to avoid?

• Class B over Hanscom
• wildlife refuges to the west of Hanscom
• restricted area R-4102 near Minute Man (shooting!)
• Worcester Class D airspace up to 3500'

Whom to talk to?

• Hanscom Tower
• Boston Approach (not shown)
• Bradley Approach (white box surrounded by magenta)
• Bradley Tower

Scale

• look at the white boundary around Boston; Terminal Area Chart available
• show helicopter and WAC charts (for planning a trip to Alaska)

Purpose

• flying in the clouds? See World Lo
• flying a jet up high? See World Hi

Kids can Fly!

• you can't drive a car
• you can fly a plane or helicopter with an adult pilot in the other seat (most aircraft have dual controls)
• youngest competent stick-and-rudder pilots: age 7
• age to solo: 16; 14 for a glider or balloon
• age to take friends and family as passengers: 17