Digital Chart Downloads
 

Anyone know where to get a copy of free digital VFR charts?

VT

Find someone with an A0 scanner. It's legal if it's for your own use.

No current aviation charts are available free for Europe, that I know of.

You can download various aviation charts, usually but not necessarily out of date, on P2P networks. And the applications needed to run them. Most of them are copyright breaches but this is in the name of safety, isn't it ;)

In fact there is a massive European online community dedicated to map sharing of all types, topo, road, and all others, driven along nicely by Europe's super-tight copyright regs on all maps. Oziexplorer is the application of choice here (an excellent product, well worth buying) which runs under both PC windoze and pocket/pc.

The only exception are the American ONC/TCP charts which I believe (I am away from home right now) are explicitly copyright free. But they haven't been maintained for years and don't show controlled airspace anyway. They are the only charts available for much of "remote" Europe though.

A0 scanners do exist but unfortunately the owners get twitchy about map scanning. It's a bit like walking into a scuba diving shop (that sells oxygen) and tell them that you want it for aviation use.

PocketFMS - free digital charts that you can put on your PC or PocketPC, European wide coverage and updated every month. Perfect for flight planning on the PC and fine for GPS moving map.

Depends a bit what you're after. AFAIK, there aren't any - legal - downloads for Jepps or equivalent. However, approach plates, SIDs & STARS and airport diagrams can be found. In Spain, AENA (www.aena.es; you need to register, but it's free) have them, also in Germany you can find many on individual airport / airfield websites. Just do a Google with the identifier, usually turns something up.

In the US, there's http://aviationtoolbox.org/raw_data/...onals/current/

While it says 'current' on there, I've got my doubts, looking at some of the dates.

For France you can try this: http://www.sia.aviation-civile.gouv.fr/

HTH