Let’s break down the key components of a standard chart.
The is more than a piece of paper or a PDF file. It is a distillation of hundreds of man-hours of flight checking, obstacle surveying, and legal certification. Elrey Jeppesen once said, "The only thing we have to sell is the pilot’s confidence."
The Terminal Approach Chart (or approach plate) is the most critical document in instrument flying. It guides a pilot from the enroute phase of flight down to the runway environment during low visibility. Jeppesen organizes these charts into seven distinct, standardized sections.
Standard departures and arrivals are grouped here or placed chronologically ahead of the approach plates. Reading the Fine Print: Critical Chart Symbols