Tracking Changes

Sunday, September 26, 2021 at 08:44 PM ET

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Key Takeaways:

Both paper and electronic aeronautical charts require frequent updates, with electronic systems streamlining currency but often involving large downloads and challenges in identifying specific changes.
Pilots must examine amendment dates on charts (e.g., AIS and Jeppesen) to understand when revisions occurred, noting that Jeppesen charts often provide reasons for changes, unlike government charts.
Significant chart updates, such as runway renumbering due to magnetic variation or the addition of symbols like 'D' for Declared Distances, necessitate careful review, underscoring the importance of treating all approaches, even familiar ones, as new to ensure awareness of current operational data.

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Before EFBs and apps displaying electronic terminal and en-route charts, we went through a monthly update ritual with paper charts. Every 28 days Jeppesen chart subscribers got new and updated paper sheets. The new sheets had to be placed into the famous Jeppesen seven-ring binders. Then obsolete charts were discarded. Depending on the subscription coverage, the update process could be quite lengthy. Then we had a yearly checklist to confirm each individual sheet was the right one. Government chart users had it much easier, simply disposing of obsolete chart book(s) and replacing them with new one(s).

For most of us using electronic charts, updating means downloading all the charts, not just changes. For extensive coverage, this can be an overnight affair given the size of the files and download speed. Panelmount navigators have a similar ordeal: monthly downloads of the charts (and other databases) usually onto an SD card and uploaded into the unit.