The FAA’s familiar green Airport/Facility Directory that has both assisted and baffled pilots and instructors is changing its official name with the March 31 editions to become the new U.S. Chart Supplements. All of the information provided in the publication will remain the same.
The seven regional manuals list public-use airports, seaplane bases, heliports, military facilities, and certain private-use airports requested by the Department of Defense for which a DOD instrument approach procedure has been published. The directories include hours of operation and telephone numbers for airports, air traffic control facilities, and weather services. They also contain updates to navigation charts that are revised every six months.
The FAA updates the supplements every 56 days, making them a staple in pilots’ flight bags; they also are searchable online and available as PDF downloads.
The newly named supplements for the lower 48 states, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands will continue to contain complete airport data highlighting navigation, communication, weather sources, runways, obstacles, and other information necessary for safe flight. Pilots in Hawaii and Alaska have been using chart supplements for years.
The FAA said the change will bring the Airport/Facility Directory in line with Interagency Air Cartographic (AICC) 8 specifications for printed products. Additionally, all knowledge tests, literature, and other references will soon reflect the new name, which has already been implemented for the country’s northwest region.
“The major noticeable change will be the title,” according to an FAA charting notice made public in February. “Airport/Facility Directory will still refer to the front section of the books where the airports, NAVAIDs, and weather devices are listed. Chart Supplement will refer to the entire volume.”
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