Speaking of reciprocation there isn’t any. Canada doesn’t make their sectionals available online at all. You pay or get nothing.
Actually, Canadian charts are viewable on FltPlan.com. However, FltPlan appears to prioritize U.S. charts when both Canadian and U.S. charts are selected, meaning that you see the skeletonized view of the area covered by U.S. sectionals. Simply deselect U.S. charts, while ensuring that Canadian charts are selected, to see aeronautical data for Canada.
There was also an announcement that only private airports with “landmark value” would continue to be charted, and no references to those with “emergency value” would remain.
No clue what the criteria are for one vs the other but it’s nice to know the FAA is looking out for us and decluttering our sectionals to leave landmarks but not emergency landing areas…
Previous to this change, and for as long as I can remember, FAA charts depicted a note telling pilots to refer to current Canadian charts and flight information publication publications for information in Canadian airspace.
It may well be that ensuring the accuracy of foreign aeronautical data was becoming an issue for the FAA and there may have been liability concerns. From practical point of view, charting aeronautical data in foreign states is not the FAA’s business and there is arguably a cost involved with tracking and updating foreign aeronautical data to be charted.
What is very unfortunate, though, is a lack of uniformity between chart products developed by different ICAO states, and ease of getting them. Canadian charts use some different symbology and don’t use magenta color like U.S. charts, but are relatively easy to get. Where would your average recreational pilot get a VFR chart for Mexico, Cuba, the Bahamas, the Dominican Republic, some of the other Caribbean countries or Samoa? In Europe, many VFR pilots seem to buy charts produced by private companies, just like IFR pilots tend to use Jeppesen or Lido charts when flying internationally. This helps address the commonality and supply issue, although there is typically a higher cost involved than buying “official” charts.
This makes about as much sense as the media’s unfortunate habit of terminating weather maps, forecasts and such information at the US border. Or perhaps the next step is effectively banning cross-border overflights. Without proper charts, how is the PIC able to obtain ‘all information pertinent to the flight’?
The cynic in me thinks this is a ploy by Foreflight (Boeing) to get more Canada subscriptions. But that would mean cooperation with/by the FAA…
Never mind.
This also impacts services like SkyVector which I used a lot for planning flights in Southern Ontario/Quebec/New Brunswick. You can still plan airport to airport, but many of the navaids are not there from what I can see.
This article needs to be reprinted with authoritative FAA explanations when they become available.
If I subscribe to Canadian instrument charts in FF do I get Canadian sectionals, or whatever they are called?
Canadian VNC charts do show U.S. information along the border electronically.
The termination of Wx charts across the border is incredibly annoying If you’re flying anywhere in the region on the U.S. or Canadian side, it makes weather planning 50% longer.
Exactly. In EU almost every country has they sectional charts and the neighbors ones don’t have acess to the borders sectional airports of the foreign countries in they sectional charts. You must buy the charts (digitally or paper ones), although EU is union of countries. Sad things happen.
Yes you will get Canadian VNC charts with a Canadian subscription.
With the removal of all data, safety has been markedly reduced. For example, immediately west of Sault Ste Marie, Michigan (KANJ) there is Class D airspace in the United States associated with a Canadian airport (CYAM) in Ontario. The new charts do not publish any frequencies so this airspace is effectively off limits to US pilots using FAA charts. It also makes it impossible to monitor traffic coming and going in the area. This is a huge step down in safety and reduces the ability to maintain situational awareness.
The FAA really needs to maintain a band of data in southern Canada and northern Mexico so that flights near the border can be as safe as those in the rest of the country.
Canada’s charts extend to about the 48th parallel, 60 miles into the USA. Ours need to extend into Canada by a similar amount. The FAA is already aware of this principle. The San Francisco Sectional overlaps the Klamath Falls Sectional by a small amount. All other FAA VFR charts are similarly overlapped.
We need chart overlap into Canada and Mexico.
Matthew P., that was my exact thought as well. I just renewed by Foreflight subscription, which has always displayed full aeronautical data for the Canadian border area and suddenly – poof – it’s gone!
I do understand that Foreflight is simply using the chart data supplied by the FAA, but I’ll be damned to pay for a product only to have said product degraded after I hand over my money.
Remember. It’s government vs the people. Not government for and by the people.
If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it!
Did someone in the FAA not have enough to do? “Hey, I have an idea, let’s give pilots LESS information!! that’s it!”
Starting with my area FSDO, I am contacting the FAA to find out the reasoning behind this terrible decision and to request that it be reversed.
I hope that all other pilots, especially those who regularly fly near or over the border, will likewise let the FAA know that the removal of so much data from the sectional charts is a serious safety of flight issue and that the aeronautical data in border areas must be restored.
If enough of us make a stink, we may be able to prevail – if we don’t at least try, then what will be the next cut GA pilots will suffer?
Joel L., Well said!
For NY and New England pilots, this change will make flying to AirVenture a bit more difficult, and less safe. Needs fixing!