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References for aviation enthusiasts (airfield diagrams, flight procedures)

SWDigits
Aviator A

For anyone that is really curious about the choreography of aircraft at and near airports (in the air and on the ground) the FAA publicly publishes the references used by pilots and air traffic controllers.  Many will already know about this information but it may be new for many.  The following items are fun references.

 

  • Airport Diagrams -- The top down view of runways and taxiways.  Runways are numbered based on the direction they face (i.e. due North is Runway 36, East is Runway 09.  Basically add a "0" to the end of the runway and you have the compass direction it faces) and all taxiways are labeled with letters of the alphabet.

    You can search on the linked page by airport identifier, location, or name.

  • Instrument Flight Procedures Information Gateway -- You can also search this one by airport identifier, location, or name though it's a little trickier to figure out what you're looking at on the search results page.

    The fun column to start with is "Type" with "STAR" indicating an initial arrival routing to the airport, "IAP" indicating a final approach to the airport, and "DP" a departure from the airport.

    One of my favorite approaches to watch (from the air and on the ground) is the "RIVER VISUAL RWY 19" in to Washington, DC.

  • And if you want to tie everything together you can listen to the exchange at many airports using the live feeds on LiveATC.net

Have fun!


Customer | Home airport DCA
1 REPLY 1

Re: References for aviation enthusiasts (airfield diagrams, flight procedures)

TheMiddleSeat
Aviator A

👍