[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":325},["ShallowReactive",2],{"learn-\u002Flearn\u002Freading-an-instrument-approach-chart":3,"learn-nav-\u002Flearn\u002Freading-an-instrument-approach-chart":302},{"id":4,"title":5,"body":6,"date":244,"description":245,"draft":246,"extension":247,"faqs":248,"howTo":249,"keyTakeaways":258,"meta":263,"navigation":264,"path":265,"quiz":266,"seo":291,"series":248,"seriesOrder":248,"sources":292,"stem":299,"topic":300,"__hash__":301},"learn\u002Flearn\u002Freading-an-instrument-approach-chart.md","Reading an instrument approach chart",{"type":7,"value":8,"toc":234},"minimark",[9,13,19,24,41,77,81,99,118,122,125,148,160,164,173,197,203,207,227,231],[10,11,12],"p",{},"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.",[14,15,16],"blockquote",{},[10,17,18],{},"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.",[20,21,23],"h2",{"id":22},"the-five-parts-of-a-chart","The five parts of a chart",[10,25,26,27,34,35,40],{},"Whether the chart comes from a State publisher or a commercial provider, the ",[28,29,33],"a",{"href":30,"rel":31},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.faa.gov\u002Fregulations_policies\u002Fhandbooks_manuals\u002Faviation\u002Finstrument_procedures_handbook",[32],"nofollow","FAA Instrument Procedures Handbook"," and the procedure design rules in ",[28,36,39],{"href":37,"rel":38},"https:\u002F\u002Fstore.icao.int\u002Fen\u002Fprocedures-for-air-navigation-services-pans-aircraft-operations-volume-i-flight-procedures-doc-8168",[32],"ICAO Doc 8168"," give it the same building blocks:",[42,43,44,53,59,65,71],"ul",{},[45,46,47,48,52],"li",{},"the ",[49,50,51],"strong",{},"heading",", identifying the aerodrome, the procedure title and runway, and the navigation and communication frequencies;",[45,54,47,55,58],{},[49,56,57],{},"plan view",", a map looking down on the approach track, fixes, holds and terrain;",[45,60,47,61,64],{},[49,62,63],{},"profile view",", a side-on picture of the descent;",[45,66,47,67,70],{},[49,68,69],{},"minimums box",", the altitudes and visibilities you may descend to;",[45,72,47,73,76],{},[49,74,75],{},"missed approach",", the escape route if you do not land.",[20,78,80],{"id":79},"plan-view-and-profile-view","Plan view and profile view",[10,82,83,84,86,87,90,91,94,95,98],{},"The ",[49,85,57],{}," is the bird's-eye map. On it you find the ",[49,88,89],{},"initial approach fix (IAF)"," where the procedure begins, the ",[49,92,93],{},"final approach fix (FAF)"," where the final descent starts, any holds, and ",[49,96,97],{},"step-down fixes"," with their minimum crossing altitudes.",[10,100,83,101,103,104,107,108,111,112,117],{},[49,102,63],{}," is the same approach seen from the side, and it is where the descent comes alive: the path down from the FAF, the ",[49,105,106],{},"glidepath angle"," (typically around 3 degrees), and the ",[49,109,110],{},"missed approach point (MAP)",", the spot at which, if you are not visual, you must go around. The ",[28,113,116],{"href":114,"rel":115},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.faa.gov\u002Fregulations_policies\u002Fhandbooks_manuals\u002Faviation\u002Finstrument_flying_handbook",[32],"FAA Instrument Flying Handbook"," shows how the two views describe the same path in plan and in elevation.",[20,119,121],{"id":120},"the-minimums-box","The minimums box",[10,123,124],{},"This is where you learn how low you may go. The key distinction is the type of approach:",[42,126,127,138],{},[45,128,129,130,133,134,137],{},"a ",[49,131,132],{},"precision approach"," (such as an ILS), with vertical guidance, gives a ",[49,135,136],{},"decision altitude or decision height (DA\u002FDH)",": the point at which you must decide to continue to land or go around;",[45,139,129,140,143,144,147],{},[49,141,142],{},"non-precision approach",", without vertical guidance, gives a ",[49,145,146],{},"minimum descent altitude (MDA)",": a floor you may level at but not descend below until you can continue visually.",[10,149,150,151,154,155,159],{},"Each is paired with a ",[49,152,153],{},"required visibility",", and both are read against the ",[28,156,158],{"href":157},"\u002Flearn\u002Fminimum-safe-altitudes-msa-mora-mea-moca","MSA"," circle that gives terrain clearance around the field.",[20,161,163],{"id":162},"a-worked-example","A worked example",[10,165,166,167,169,170,172],{},"Brief an ILS to a runway in order. The ",[49,168,51],{}," confirms the airport, \"ILS RWY 27\", and the localiser and tower frequencies. The ",[49,171,158],{}," circle shows, say, 2500 feet within 25 nautical miles, your terrain backstop.",[10,174,175,176,178,179,182,183,185,186,189,190,193,194,196],{},"In the ",[49,177,57],{}," you pick up the approach track inbound to the localiser, the ",[49,180,181],{},"FAF"," marked on the final descent point, and a missed approach track that turns away from terrain. In the ",[49,184,63],{}," you read a 3-degree glidepath down from the FAF to a ",[49,187,188],{},"DA of 550 feet",", with the ",[49,191,192],{},"MAP"," at the runway. The ",[49,195,69],{}," confirms the DA of 550 feet and a required visibility, with the figures for each aircraft category.",[10,198,199,200,202],{},"Before you start down, you brief the ",[49,201,75],{}," 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.",[20,204,206],{"id":205},"common-pitfalls","Common pitfalls",[42,208,209,215,221],{},[45,210,211,214],{},[49,212,213],{},"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.",[45,216,217,220],{},[49,218,219],{},"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.",[45,222,223,226],{},[49,224,225],{},"Brief the miss first."," The worst time to read the missed approach is while flying it; set it before you descend.",[20,228,230],{"id":229},"in-pilot-efb","In Pilot EFB",[10,232,233],{},"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.",{"title":235,"searchDepth":236,"depth":236,"links":237},"",2,[238,239,240,241,242,243],{"id":22,"depth":236,"text":23},{"id":79,"depth":236,"text":80},{"id":120,"depth":236,"text":121},{"id":162,"depth":236,"text":163},{"id":205,"depth":236,"text":206},{"id":229,"depth":236,"text":230},"2026-06-22","How an instrument approach chart is laid out, what the plan view, profile view, minimums box and missed approach each tell you, and how to read one in order so you brief the approach the way you will fly it.",false,"md",null,{"name":250,"steps":251},"How to read an instrument approach chart",[252,253,254,255,256,257],"Read the heading first: the aerodrome, the procedure title and runway, and the navigation and communication frequencies.","Check the minimum safe altitude (MSA) circle for terrain awareness around the field.","Work the plan view: the approach track, the initial and final approach fixes, holds and any step-down fixes.","Follow the profile view: the descent path, the final approach fix, the glidepath angle and the missed approach point.","Read the minimums box: the decision altitude or minimum descent altitude and the visibility required for the approach you are flying.","Brief the missed approach in full before you start down, so the climb, turn and altitude are set before you need them.",[259,260,261,262],"An approach chart has a consistent layout: a heading with the procedure and frequencies, a plan view, a profile view, a minimums box and the missed approach.","The plan view is the map of the approach; the profile view is the side-on descent picture with the final approach fix and missed approach point.","Precision approaches use a decision altitude or height; non-precision approaches use a minimum descent altitude, each with a required visibility.","Brief the missed approach before you start down, so the go-around is already set when you reach the decision point.",{},true,"\u002Flearn\u002Freading-an-instrument-approach-chart",[267,275,283],{"q":268,"options":269,"answer":273,"explanation":274},"Which part of an approach chart shows the descent path, the final approach fix and the glidepath angle?",[270,271,121,272],"The plan view","The profile view","The communications strip",1,"The profile view is the side-on picture of the approach, showing the descent path, the final approach fix, the glidepath angle and the missed approach point.",{"q":276,"options":277,"answer":273,"explanation":282},"On a precision approach such as an ILS, the height at which you must decide to land or go around is called the:",[278,279,280,281],"Minimum descent altitude (MDA)","Decision altitude or decision height (DA\u002FDH)","Minimum safe altitude (MSA)","Transition altitude","A precision approach uses a decision altitude or decision height, where you must decide to continue to land or go around; a non-precision approach uses a minimum descent altitude instead.",{"q":284,"options":285,"answer":273,"explanation":290},"When should the missed approach be briefed?",[286,287,288,289],"Only if you actually go around","Before starting the descent, so the climb, turn and altitude are ready","After landing","It does not need briefing","The missed approach is briefed in full before starting down, so the initial climb, turn and altitude are set in your mind before the moment you might need them.",{"title":5,"description":245},[293,295,297],{"label":294,"url":30},"FAA Instrument Procedures Handbook (FAA-H-8083-16B)",{"label":296,"url":114},"FAA Instrument Flying Handbook (FAA-H-8083-15B)",{"label":298,"url":37},"ICAO Doc 8168: PANS-OPS, Volume I (Flight Procedures)","learn\u002Freading-an-instrument-approach-chart","Operations","u7BkXjJkgU0fW9_BW7Sa1rDqiO9TacLxxWh55vtli6M",{"related":303,"newer":320,"older":316,"series":248},[304,311,316],{"path":305,"title":306,"description":307,"date":244,"topic":300,"draft":246,"minutes":308,"series":309,"seriesOrder":310},"\u002Flearn\u002Fairspace-speed-limits","The 250-knot speed limit and other airspace speed rules","Why there is a 250-knot speed limit below 10,000 feet, the slower 200-knot limits near and under busy airspace, and how the FAA and EASA wordings line up and differ, with a worked descent that puts the rules in order.",4,"plan-a-vfr-cross-country",7,{"path":157,"title":312,"description":313,"date":244,"topic":300,"draft":246,"minutes":314,"series":309,"seriesOrder":315},"Minimum safe altitudes: MSA, MORA, MEA, MOCA and MEF","The family of minimum altitudes that keep you clear of terrain and obstacles, what each one guarantees, and the difference between an altitude that also promises navigation signal and a chart figure that only tells you the highest obstacle.",3,6,{"path":317,"title":318,"description":319,"date":244,"topic":300,"draft":246,"minutes":308,"series":248,"seriesOrder":248},"\u002Flearn\u002Fsids-and-stars-explained","SIDs and STARs explained","What standard instrument departures and standard terminal arrival routes are, why they exist, and how to read the climb gradients and crossing restrictions that turn a busy terminal area into orderly, repeatable traffic flows.",{"path":321,"title":322,"description":323,"date":244,"topic":324,"draft":246,"minutes":308,"series":248,"seriesOrder":248},"\u002Flearn\u002Fmountain-waves-and-rotor","Mountain waves and rotor","How stable air flowing over high ground sets up standing mountain waves and the violent rotor beneath them, the cloud signs that give them away, and why the turbulence and downdraughts deserve respect.","Weather",1782089963541]