What is the Chart Supplement and is it the same as the Airport/Facility Directory?

Yes. The Chart Supplement is the current name for what was formerly called the Airport/Facility Directory (A/F/D). It is an FAA publication listing every airport, seaplane base, and heliport in the United States with detailed operational information.

Where can I access the Chart Supplement for free?

The Chart Supplement is available for free on the FAA website. It is also integrated into electronic flight bag apps like ForeFlight and Garmin Pilot, where the same data is reformatted into each airport's information page.

What is a displaced threshold and how does it affect landing distance?

A displaced threshold is a portion of runway at the approach end that is available for takeoff roll and taxi but **not for landing**. It reduces your usable landing distance, sometimes significantly — a published 4,000-foot runway might have only 3,200 feet available for touchdown.

Do I need to read the raw Chart Supplement format or is the EFB version enough?

For everyday planning, the EFB reformatted version contains the same data. However, practicing with the raw abbreviated format is recommended because a designated pilot examiner may hand you the actual publication during a checkride and ask you to interpret it.

The Chart Supplement entry for your unfamiliar fuel stop and the five lines of text that keep you from a very bad surprise

The Chart Supplement (formerly the Airport/Facility Directory) contains critical airport information that never appears on a sectional chart — fuel availability, runway surface conditions, traffic pattern directions, operating hours, and hazard remarks. Failing to check it before landing at an unfamiliar airport can leave you stranded without fuel, landing on a shorter runway than expected, or flying the wrong traffic pattern into conflicting traffic. Reading the entry for every airport on your route takes two minutes and prevents problems that don’t need to happen.

What Is the Chart Supplement and Where Do You Find It?

The Chart Supplement is an FAA publication listing every airport, seaplane base, and heliport in the United States. It is organized by region and available for free on the FAA website or through electronic flight bag apps like ForeFlight and Garmin Pilot.

Each airport gets a dense, abbreviated entry that covers everything from geographic coordinates and field elevation to fuel types, runway details, frequencies, and special remarks. The format looks intimidating at first, but once you learn the abbreviations, it becomes the single most useful preflight planning resource for any airport you have never visited.

Older pilots still call it the A/F/D (Airport/Facility Directory) — same publication, different name.

Why the Sectional Chart Is Not Enough

A sectional chart tells you roughly ten percent of what you need to know about an airport. It shows location, runway orientation, elevation, and whether the field is towered or untowered. It does not tell you:

That the fuel pump closes at 4:00 p.m.
That the runway has been NOTAMed down to 2,000 feet because of construction
That the only fuel available is Jet A, which will destroy a piston engine
That the traffic pattern uses right turns on a specific runway
That parachute jumping, crop dusting, or wildlife activity occurs near the field

All of that lives in the Chart Supplement.

How Do I Read Runway Information in the Chart Supplement?

The runway data line is the one most pilots skip — and it may be the most important. It lists length, width, surface type, and condition for each runway.

A runway that looks like 4,000 feet on the sectional might actually be 3,200 feet of usable pavement with a displaced threshold on one end. That displaced threshold is available for takeoff roll but not for landing. Your “nice long runway” just got significantly shorter.

Surface type changes your landing distance calculation entirely. A grass or turf strip that has seen three days of rain can add 30 to 50 percent to your ground roll. A pavement condition index below about 55 should make you think twice about trusting your nosewheel to that surface.

Width matters more than most pilots realize. If you have been training on runways 75 to 100 feet wide and land on one that is only 40 feet wide, the narrower runway creates an optical illusion on final — it looks farther away than it is. Pilots tend to fly a higher approach and then dive for the runway at the last moment. Knowing the width in advance eliminates the surprise.

What Should I Check About Fuel Availability?

The Chart Supplement lists fuel types available at each airport. Common entries include 100LL (standard aviation gasoline for piston engines) and Jet A. Some airports carry both; some carry only Jet A.

Beyond fuel type, check whether service is self-serve or full-serve and note the FBO hours of operation. An airport might list 100LL on the books, but if the FBO closes at 5:00 p.m. and the self-serve pump requires an account you don’t have, you are effectively out of options.

This scenario plays out regularly: a pilot runs 30 minutes late due to an underestimated headwind, lands at 5:20 p.m., finds the building dark, and does not have enough fuel to reach the next open airport. Check the hours. Then build a cushion.

The Chart Supplement will not tell you about a broken credit card reader on the self-serve pump — that is what NOTAMs are for. You need both sources.

How Do I Find Traffic Pattern Information?

The standard traffic pattern uses left turns, but some airports assign right traffic on certain runways due to terrain or noise abatement procedures. The Chart Supplement specifies this clearly.

If the entry says “Right traffic Runway 18” and you fly a standard left pattern to Runway 18, you are flying directly into opposing traffic that is doing it correctly. At an untowered field, this conflict can happen with zero warning.

Pattern altitude may also be nonstandard. Some airports specify 1,300 feet AGL or other altitudes due to terrain. Check before you arrive.

What Is in the Remarks Section and Why Does It Matter?

The remarks section at the bottom of each entry is easy to overlook and full of operationally critical information:

Wildlife hazards: “Birds on and in the vicinity” or “deer on the runway at dawn and dusk”
Parachute jumping in the area
Noise abatement procedures affecting departure routing
Ultralight activity near the field
Pilot-controlled lighting: frequency and click sequence (e.g., 122.8, seven clicks for high intensity)

None of this appears on the sectional or in the ATIS. If you are arriving near dusk and need to activate runway lights, you need the frequency and procedure before you are two miles out in fading light.

The Five Questions to Ask for Every Airport on Your Route

After selecting your route and fuel stops, pull up the Chart Supplement entry for every airport you plan to use and answer these five questions:

Is the runway long enough? Consider usable length after displaced thresholds, your aircraft weight, and density altitude — not just the published number.
Is the fuel I need available when I arrive? Confirm fuel type and operating hours.
What is the traffic pattern? Left or right turns, pattern altitude, any nonstandard procedures.
What frequencies do I need? CTAF, approach control, ATIS/AWOS, and pilot-controlled lighting.
What is in the remarks that could change my plan? Wildlife, parachute operations, noise abatement, terrain hazards, anything unusual.

If you can answer those five questions for every airport on your route, you are ahead of most pilots with years of experience.

How Does the Chart Supplement Factor Into the Private Pilot Checkride?

The Airman Certification Standards for the private pilot certificate expect you to plan a cross-country using appropriate charts and publications. The Chart Supplement is explicitly one of those publications.

The examiner wants to see that you did not just draw a line on a map. You should be able to explain why you picked a specific fuel stop over one 30 miles earlier or 20 miles later — citing runway length, fuel type, traffic pattern, frequencies, and services available.

Practice reading Chart Supplement entries in their raw, abbreviated format, not just the reformatted version in your EFB app. On the checkride, the examiner may hand you the actual publication and ask you to interpret it.

How Often Is the Chart Supplement Updated?

The Chart Supplement is published on a 56-day cycle. The information is current as of its publication date, but conditions change between cycles. Always cross-reference with NOTAMs before departure.

The Chart Supplement tells you what the airport normally looks like. NOTAMs tell you what is different today. You need both.

For deeper reference, Chapter 9 of the Pilot’s Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge covers Chart Supplement use in cross-country planning. The Aeronautical Information Manual also provides guidance on interpreting airport data.

Key Takeaways

The sectional chart shows roughly 10% of what you need to know about an unfamiliar airport — the Chart Supplement fills in the rest.
Always check runway usable length, not just published length — displaced thresholds reduce your available landing distance.
Confirm fuel type and availability hours before committing to a fuel stop; arriving after the FBO closes with no self-serve access is a real and common problem.
Verify traffic pattern direction for each runway — right traffic at untowered fields catches pilots off guard with zero warning.
Read the remarks section for wildlife, parachute operations, lighting procedures, and other hazards that appear nowhere else in your preflight planning.