Sectionals, is there a difference between vendors?

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clawz

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Shawn P
Tried searching but did not see any threads pop up. Is there a difference in sectional chart vendors printing quality?

For instance in Rod's book I have no issue differentiating between the various airspace colors and what not but in Bob's samples in the back of his books they tend to run together and be hard to differentiate.

Just curious as to if it is a printing issue with just the charts I have on hand or if there is a major difference in quality between vendors before I order any.

Side note for those wondering, yes I am mildly color deficient but passed my 3rd class medical color vision testing on the 6 primary plate test.
 
The content is pretty much the same. If you like the Jeppesen style of things, you can buy their charts.

'Duracharts' uses some sort of semysynthetic stock but prints the same content as the FAA sections. You can still write on them with pen and pencil but they dont fall apart at the seams after a month.
 
With the the exception of a few people who are producing bound books (Air Charts, etc...) of the Sectionals, all the resellers are selling the same US Government printed charts.
Most of the electronic versions of the sectionals are derived from the GEOTIFFS that are fairly accurate reproductions of the paper charts.

Jeppesen for a short time made their own VFR/GPS charts. I believe they pulled the plug on that venture. I bought them for a while, they were kind of interesting. I live with the electronic versions now (Foreflight).

The stuff in the text books are just lousy reproductions by their publishers. They don't really indicate any difference in quality of the actual original map.
 
... all the resellers are selling the same US Government printed charts. ...
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I would have said that too until a couple of weeks ago when I saw http://www.duracharts.com/Default.asp mentioned on one of these forums.

I ordered a couple of their sectionals to try and now I have set up subscriptions. Cost is similar to FAA charts but they are much tougher, the paper is whiter making the chart a little easier to read, and they are said to be (I have not tested) water resistant. It is a clearly superior product and I hope they build a successful business printing and selling them.
 
airdale said:
I would have said that too until a couple of weeks ago when I saw http://www.duracharts.com/Default.asp mentioned on one of these forums.

I ordered a couple of their sectionals to try and now I have set up subscriptions. Cost is similar to FAA charts but they are much tougher, the paper is whiter making the chart a little easier to read, and they are said to be (I have not tested) water resistant. It is a clearly superior product and I hope they build a successful business printing and selling them.
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Whoa! And they're really only $3 a pop?! I truly thought they'd cost more than a regular sectional - being "dura" and all.

Shoot ... I might as well replace my current paper subscription. (Yeah, I'm old fashioned - still keep a current paper version of my home sectional on hand. :rolleyes: )
 
And they're really only $3 a pop?!
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Regular price $8. AOPA price, which seems to be available to anyone who clicks the link $6. Example FAA chart price, http://www.mypilotstore.com, $7.50.

DuraCharts also offers paper charts for $3 but as I understand it these are similar to (or maybe even are) the NACO charts. I have not seen them.

But even if the DuraCharts were two or three bucks more (2-3 minutes of fuel at cruise) I would say they are worth it if you use your charts at all. I use mine sometimes and sometimes not. As never-used backups in the flight bag, maybe the ruggedness is not worth paying for tho.

(I have no interest in or knowledge about the company beyond being a happy customer.)

Idle speculation unhampered by possession of any facts: The parent appears to be Techna-Graphics Inc. in Washington DC. TG advertises that they "print millions of maps for all sectors of the industry. We have 60” sheet fed presses - 2 color, 4 color and 6 color with aqueous coating and map folding machines the largest 44”x60”." I wonder if there is any chance that they have the FAA sectional printing contract and, because the charts are public domain, can also print and sell them on their own.

I looked around on the TG web site a couple of days ago but today Google and Firefox are both giving malware warnings. So today is probably not a good day to visit.
 
airdale said:
Regular price $8. AOPA price, which seems to be available to anyone who clicks the link $6. Example FAA chart price, http://www.mypilotstore.com, $7.50.

DuraCharts also offers paper charts for $3 but as I understand it these are similar to (or maybe even are) the NACO charts. I have not seen them.

But even if the DuraCharts were two or three bucks more (2-3 minutes of fuel at cruise) I would say they are worth it if you use your charts at all. I use mine sometimes and sometimes not. As never-used backups in the flight bag, maybe the ruggedness is not worth paying for tho.

(I have no interest in or knowledge about the company beyond being a happy customer.)

Idle speculation unhampered by possession of any facts: The parent appears to be Techna-Graphics Inc. in Washington DC. TG advertises that they "print millions of maps for all sectors of the industry. We have 60” sheet fed presses - 2 color, 4 color and 6 color with aqueous coating and map folding machines the largest 44”x60”." I wonder if there is any chance that they have the FAA sectional printing contract and, because the charts are public domain, can also print and sell them on their own.

I looked around on the TG web site a couple of days ago but today Google and Firefox are both giving malware warnings. So today is probably not a good day to visit.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the info!
Seems the mobile version of the DuraChart site (which I looked at first) is a bit different from the full version - missing some key info.

I've switched my subscription to them - total cost, delivered, is $7.57. Only 7 cents more than my previous subscription. :)
Silly, but I'm looking forward to April! :rolleyes2:
 
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