Maps and Charts
Pilots will need to be able to read airspace maps in order to complete a flight operation.
Terms and Rules
Navigation: Ability to know where you are, and choose a path that will lead you to a location
Image Source: https://www.hpac.ca/pilots/transport-canada-air-regs-hagar/canadian-airspace-explained/
Safe Flights: Pilots must be aware of how far their RPAS is from aerodromes, airport, helicopters, etc. Must be aware of what manned activity it can reach.
Designated Airspace Handbook: lists current status of Canadian Airspaces (Nav Canada and Transport Canada makes this available). Can be written or digital. Usually updated every 56 days.
Restricted Air Spaces: CYR (restricted - class F - military, prisons, sensitive areas), CYA (advisory areas - special air activities, like gliding), and CYD (dangerous activities, like blasting)
Pilots Cannot fly over the Canadian and United States Border
Maps & Symbols
Pilots will need to be able to read information from a map.
VNC (Visual Flight Rules Navigation Chart): 1 to 500,000 scale; covers a larger area
VTA (Visual Flight Rules Terminal Area Chart): 1 to 250,000; more detailed local map. Designed for manned aviation but useful for RPAS pilots
Elevation: measured in feet and are shown in a colouring scheme (hypsometric tint). Also shown by contour lines on a map. Closer together means steeper.
Legend: shows symbols.
There are many symbols used to communicate what is present or allowed in a particular aerodrome or airspace.
Checkpoint: flag surrounded by a hexagon
Airspace boundary: thick shaded line
VFR Route: diamond dotted line (general fly in/out route that doesn’t need Air Traffic Control clearance)
Obstruction: Upside down V
Runway: bordered rectangle
Image Source: https://www.angleofattack.com/sectional-symbols/
Longitude and Latitude
Maps may also indicate the position of a place by longitude and latitude.
Latitude: is the measurement of distance north or south of the Equator. First line starts at the Equator.
Longitude: is the measurement east or west of the prime meridian. Travel from pole to pole
Latitude and Longitude: 180 lines - helps determine where we are.
Minute of latitude: is 1 nautical mile
Prime Meridian: is the line of 0° longitude, the starting point for measuring distance both east and west around the Earth
Magnetic North: is subject to change over time (due to Earth’s magnetic field), whereas true north stays constant.
Image Source: https://www.analyzemath.com/latitude-longitude/latitude-and-longitude-coordinate-system.html