VFR Maps USA

[Birky]

I'm planning a flying trip to California. Does anyone know a good source of 1:500,000 route planning maps?

Best

Birky

[Seagull61]

Birky,
I`m also going to California in May. I`ve used http://skyvector.com - great online terminal and sectional maps with embedded METAR`s and TAF`s, plus double click the airport for more info.
Have fun!

[dublinpilot]

Have a look here. (http://aviationtoolbox.org/raw_data/FAA/sectionals/current/)
These ARE out of date. So they shouldn't but used for actual flight planning, but if your trip is a little away yet, and you only want to have a look and see what's practical then you may find them useful.
dp

[Tall_guy_in_a_152]

I found that the usual UK shops and mailorder places only sell Florida sectionals, not California.

I used the online Skyvector site mentioned above for familiarisation before I left (and Flightsim with VFR scenery!) and bought the charts and facility guide as soon as I arrived in sunny SoCal. They are very cheap (as is everything flying related in the USA).

[Ni Thomas]

After a bit of trolling around the various supplier websites last year, I found the cheapest to be :- [email protected]
Ordered 10 or so Sectionals (Flying from Bridgeport (KBDR), Connecticut to Fredericksburg (T82), Texas and back :) ).
They delivered to the blokes from where I hired the Grumman AA5B (Carney Aviation @ Bridgeport - $44/hr Dry)
Paid by Credit Card - No hassle and a good service.:ok:

[cal368]

Got to agree SoCal. I learned at El Monte back in '98 found my self going through them quite quickly. But they are infinitely better than the unfolded, pain in the neck Laminated charts we have here in the UK. OK you can get some folded ones now but they are still a pain. Plus at around $25 dollars each they become sore to replace when you mislay them. Bring on US style charts here:ok:

[Birky]

Wow. Many thanks indeed guys/gals. Especially for the Skyvector information.

Wonder when Google Earth will get in on the action?

Birky

[Russell Gulch]

Here (http://mapserver.maptech.com/homepage/index.cfm?lat=42.64420443048529&lon=-89.29133277942443&scale=1000000&zoom=100&type=2&icon=0&width=498&height=498&searchscope=dom&CFID=2366988&CFTOKEN=24040874&scriptfile=http://mapserver.maptech.com/homepage/index.cfm&latlontype=DMS) is another good source, similar to skyvector.

[On the Spot]

Try aeroplanner.com superb planning tool, you can log all your plans and then simply and semi auto update them for weather on the day. Notams included too. Terrain sections, airport diagrams for taxying and a gas price facility not that it maters too much if you are used to UK prices. Downloadable charts for the GPS and a superb "triptick" functions that gives you a PDF file of A4 colour prints of the route overlaid on a sectional that is always up to date. Good quality colour laser printer means you don't even have to buy the paper chart - although I am not sure about the legality. It will also do IFR depaartures and approaches if you are that way enabled
I never go to the US without it and find the subscription really good value for the costs of a couple of charts and a directory.
(No commercial connection by the way -only a v satisfied user)

[On the Spot]

You pay your money and make your choice of course.
I too use it for short flying trips, particularly in order to be able to prepare in advance of arrival and find the 1 month subscription facility and national coverage convenient to be relatively cheap.
I would like to do the comparison with jeppesen sometime as well.
Above all a similar facility in the UK would be great but then there is notthe market for it I guess.
I saw that the Jeppsen has worldwide data - does that include the UK and at the same level of service ?

[david viewing]

I hope the mods won't object to my putting in a plug for my friend Randy at Arizona Pilot Supplies (http://www.flyaas.com/), an independent retailer at the Prescott Az airport who stocks charts for the whole US as well much else and is used to shipping to UK.

[DSAA]

Birky,
I`m also going to California in May. I`ve used http://skyvector.com - great online terminal and sectional maps with embedded METAR`s and TAF`s, plus double click the airport for more info.
Have fun!

Are there any similar websites for UK airspace?

[IO540]

Jeppesen Flight Planner (JIFP) is available for Europe here (http://www.jeppesen.com/jifp/download)- it's about Euro 150 per year which I believe includes their weather data feed.

I had a play with it recently. It's almost exactly identical to Flitestar. There is a page on that Jepp website detailing the differences between JIFP and Flitestar. It's fairly obvious what they have done: the PC application is Flitestar, but instead of accessing the database on the hard disk or CD they get the data off the Jepp server.

It's a good product. If Flitestar does the job for you, and you have broadband access (essential for JIFP; 3G would also do if your employer is paying for the data ;) ) then it will do what Flitestar does, at a cost of v. roughly 1/5 of the cost of Flitestar (IFR v. IFR comparison, based on outright Flitestar IFR purchase and four updates through the year), and you get the latest database all the time, automatically, with no messing about with update CDs.

The drawback is that if you are mobile (and if you are not, why need European coverage?) then often there is no wifi or 3G, and JIFP on GPRS is very slow. A GSM data connection (GPRS or 3G) is also going to make JIFP very expensive to use - unless you are on one of those juicy contracts where you get a monthly data allowance but not many have the allowance available abroad (when roaming). An IFR planning session is a good few MB.

There is no "online Jeppview" for Europe yet i.e. no approach plates. I suspect there will be, eventually. The pricing will be interesting as Jeppview is hugely overpriced for GA. I know airlines have access to online approach plates from Jepp but under some other and very different arrangement and they pay through the nose for it.

The really good thing for GA would be an online version of the Bottlang VFR guides. The UK is covered OK by Pooleys etc but going abroad VFR gets messy; most people with an IR rarely bother flying VFR anymore because of the hassle.

[IO540]

I don't think JIFP Europe will plot restricted areas etc graphically. Only 3rd party "non official" products do that, and the notam data stream doesn't allow this to be done with total reliability.

It's also fun to note that the US version is a fraction of the cost per unit of coverage to the European version :) But Jeppview is the same.