VFR/IFR Charts

[scuzzer23]

All I gots to say is:

http://www.myairplane.com/databases/approach/index.php

Current, free, and...well, free!

 

[avbug]

I was once asked to take an ambulance flight in a King Air to a point about half-way across the country. The company making the request performed mostly local work, and had only a Western US set of jepps. They told me to download the chart for the fuel stop and the destination off the internet...they'd had a pilot do that before, and didn't want to subscribe to a full set of charts.

I was a bit flabbergasted. I asked them what I was supposed to do enroute if I had to make an unscheduled stop? The patient might need to get on the ground. An airplane problem might occur. Who knows? A runway at the fuel stop might be closed or have some reason that required me to go elsewhere, or be below minimums...there might be unforecast winds.

Carriage of only a few charts for a few select airports is asking for trouble. If I'm going to a region or area, I carry charts for the entire area...not just the destination or a few local fields nearby. Plans change enroute, and having downloaded a few charts of the internet won't cut it. What are you going to do when the entire route is IFR? Bet on one chart from the internet? Not legal, not safe, not smart.