1:500,000 or 1:250,000 VFR Charts
 

This may sound like a stupid question but i've reached a point during my PPL after a few lessons whereby i'm looking at buying a few bits and pieces which i'm going to need at some point during the course.

I'm taking lessons in and around London and was wondering what VFR charts would be preferable when flying in this area, whether it be 1:500,000 or 1:250,000.

If you are flying an aeroplane the 1:500,00 is the most useful, if you are flying a helicopter I'd use the 1:250,000.

Personally I use both.
The half mil is good for planning and the overview, but the quarter is much easier to navigate by whilst actually flying if low and reasonably slow.
Assuming you actually plot your route on the chart, rather than just use GPS. But even then I tend to use the memory map quarter mil on an Ipaq with a bluetooth GPS receiver as confirmation.
Of course if you are blatting along from VOR to VOR at 140kts then the half mil is fine and less of them to carry.

Agree with Whopity although I would add both are useful for helicopters; depends on the distance you're flying. :)

Cheers

Whirls

Sheesh, if your aircraft is as slow as my Cub then it's less discouraging with a 250 000. Seriously though, if the airspace is complicated then it might help to have both. I use memory map charts on CD for flight planning, then print them for one-off use. Nice clean map each flight.

Nav: Half mil for the en-route airbourne. Use the quarter mil to have a look for features near fixes and turning points before you go, in case there are features not shown on the 1:500K's.

250's are good for near the airfield too...

(Google maps sat photos can also be handy for turning points, but take into account for seasonal variation!)

I tend to use 1:500.000 for most of my (fixed wing) flying. But for a complicated area like London I would prefer 1:250.000. And I recently completed a rather tricky flight using a 1:50.000 even.

I think you are only required to use the 1:500.000 for PPL training but after you get your license maybe treat yourself to a gps, and flick between both maps. Id try and spens as little as possible at the moment :ok:

Must ask why? :confused:

Surely, a real helicopter pilot uses the 1:25k ;)

I use the 1:500k only, but then I don't navigate visually. GPS only, backed up by VOR/DME etc.

Always used 1:500k, never got so lost that couldn't find myself in a reasonable amount of time - although it is true that some Jeppesen VFR+GPS charts are pretty ****, since for some countries level of details is pretty good (lakes, powerlines, etc.) and for the other is really bad (Hungary for ex.).

For London or any densely populated terminal area, I would recommend starting off with 1:250,000 and then moving up to 1:500,000 when you're more familiar with the airspace and doing more x-country flights.

IMHO, the straight answer is that the 1:500k is perfectly OK for fixed wing flying, and the 1:250k offers additional detail which is relevant only if one is navigating using the map+stopwatch method.

The obvious drawback of the 1:250k is that you have quite a few of them, which becomes a hassle if going anywhere.

The Jepp 1:500k maps are poor in comparison with the UK CAA ones, and contain many ambiguities in airspace labelling (which is IMHO unacceptable) but are better than most other national maps, and practically speaking they are all there is for the majority of Europe.

I would say half-mil all the time. If you are on any form of reasonable length trip, the quarter mil either takes up too much space or you are constantly refolding it.

I use 1:250 all the time and never had a problem with space (flying a chipmunk) when doing a long nav trip I just make sure my maps are folded in such a way that I can refold in flight quickly and easily.
One thing to bear in mind is that the 1:250 has airspace info up to 5000ft

Its a good question. In the NATS videos about the London TMS Irv Lee has the quarter mill while the pilot (sorry I forgot the name) has the half mill. At numerous points Irv says that the quarter mill has relevant detail which is not seen on the half mill.

Up until recently I always used the half mill charts. However I've become drawn to the quarter mill and haven't quite decided whether they're a help or just confusing me! I have the Aware GPS and had the battery go dead (didn't realise the cig lighter plug didn't work) within 5 miles of Luton controlled airspace. Caught me unawares and I panicked - which didn't impress my passenger much, especially when I had to take both hands off the control yoke ("steering wheel") to reset the GPS!

Instantly learnt that

a) Don't panic if unsure of position. I turned a few degrees so make sure I wasn't heading for controlled airspace. Farnborough North asked for my position as I had forgotten to turn the transponder back on. As soon as it was on they gave it too me. I found the power Monkey - reset the unit and when the GPS came back on I was exactly on track. (No brownie points for good airmanship that day!)

b) Do your route planning as if you didn't have a GPS. Have lots of waypoints and keep track of times.

c) Much more fun following railway lines, roads and coast lines then the magenta line on the GPS.

No doubt one of the Three Stooges will be along to shoot me down but, I believe, that the 1:500,000 CAA chart actually has some legal standing i.e. you have a current chart, are caught overflying say, a prohibited area which hasn't been marked, you have a reasonable defence.

I don't believe such a luxury exists with the 1:250,000.

Cheers

Whirls

having sorted out the paper charts, would you then consider the charts for the Aware GPS.

Is the 250,000 upgrade useful? I have not played with the unit yet, but wonder if the zoom of the display in 500,000 scale charts is enough.

I am likely to be bimbling along at about 90kts (my other aircraft is slower) and find that 250,000 paper charts are good for detail and give enough "speed illusion".

What have others found?

Andrew.

I have the 250000 Aware GPS upgrade. Very nice. You need to use it in conjunction with a bigger map to maintain an overall picture. Same as with a car sat nav. Good view of the trees but which wood am I in?

Don't forget that the airspace shown on a quarter mil map does not go as high as the half mil (as far as I remember) Something you also have to remember if you buy Jeppeson maps. Perhaps those more knowledgeable than I can offer more details about this to you.