An instrument approach chart packs a whole arrival onto one page, and the first time you see one it is a wall of symbols. But the layout is standardised, so once you know where each piece lives you can read any chart in the same order, top to bottom, and brief the approach the way you will fly it.
This is general educational information, not operational, legal, or regulatory advice. Rules differ by authority and change over time. Always verify against current official sources and follow your operator's approved procedures.
The five parts of a chart
Whether the chart comes from a State publisher or a commercial provider, the FAA Instrument Procedures Handbook and the procedure design rules in ICAO Doc 8168 give it the same building blocks:
- the heading, identifying the aerodrome, the procedure title and runway, and the navigation and communication frequencies;
- the plan view, a map looking down on the approach track, fixes, holds and terrain;
- the profile view, a side-on picture of the descent;
- the minimums box, the altitudes and visibilities you may descend to;
- the missed approach, the escape route if you do not land.
Plan view and profile view
The plan view is the bird's-eye map. On it you find the initial approach fix (IAF) where the procedure begins, the final approach fix (FAF) where the final descent starts, any holds, and step-down fixes with their minimum crossing altitudes.
The profile view is the same approach seen from the side, and it is where the descent comes alive: the path down from the FAF, the glidepath angle (typically around 3 degrees), and the missed approach point (MAP), the spot at which, if you are not visual, you must go around. The FAA Instrument Flying Handbook shows how the two views describe the same path in plan and in elevation.
The minimums box
This is where you learn how low you may go. The key distinction is the type of approach:
- a precision approach (such as an ILS), with vertical guidance, gives a decision altitude or decision height (DA/DH): the point at which you must decide to continue to land or go around;
- a non-precision approach, without vertical guidance, gives a minimum descent altitude (MDA): a floor you may level at but not descend below until you can continue visually.
Each is paired with a required visibility, and both are read against the MSA circle that gives terrain clearance around the field.
A worked example
Brief an ILS to a runway in order. The heading confirms the airport, "ILS RWY 27", and the localiser and tower frequencies. The MSA circle shows, say, 2500 feet within 25 nautical miles, your terrain backstop.
In the plan view you pick up the approach track inbound to the localiser, the FAF marked on the final descent point, and a missed approach track that turns away from terrain. In the profile view you read a 3-degree glidepath down from the FAF to a DA of 550 feet, with the MAP at the runway. The minimums box confirms the DA of 550 feet and a required visibility, with the figures for each aircraft category.
Before you start down, you brief the missed approach off the chart: climb straight ahead to a stated altitude, then turn to a holding fix. Now, when you reach 550 feet and the runway is not in sight, the go-around is something you execute, not something you have to work out.
Common pitfalls
- Do not confuse DA with MDA. A decision altitude is a go or no-go point on a precision approach; a minimum descent altitude is a floor on a non-precision one, and you may not descend below it without the visual references.
- The MAP is not always the runway. On a non-precision approach the missed approach point can be short of the threshold, so know where yours is.
- Brief the miss first. The worst time to read the missed approach is while flying it; set it before you descend.
In Pilot EFB
Pilot EFB is a study and planning companion for the kind of chart-reading an instrument rating demands, and it sits alongside your weather, NOTAMs and the rest of your briefing in one offline-first place. It does not replace your charts or your avionics, so fly the published procedure from your official source of record. Pilot EFB is not a certified Electronic Flight Bag, so treat it as a study and planning aid and brief from your official source of record.