AERONAUTICAL CHARTS

STATUTE AND NAUTICAL MILES.

A statute mile is 5,280 feet (1,609 meters) in length.
A nautical mile is 6,076.115... feet (1,852 meters) in length.

To convert from statute to nautical miles a factor of .87 is generally used, even though it is
not precise.

To convert from nautical to statute miles: The factor 1.15 may be used, but again, it is not
precise.

For a less precise answer "Chapmans Piloting and Small Boat Handling" suggests:

Statute miles x .87 = Nautical miles.

Nautical miles x 1.15 = Statute miles.
AERONAUTICAL CHARTS
An aeronautical chart is a map designed to assist in navigation of aircraft, much
as nautical charts do for watercraft, or a roadmap for drivers. Using these charts and other
tools, pilots are able to determine their position, safe altitude, best route to a destination,
navigation aids along the way, alternative landing areas in case of an in-flight emergency,
and other useful information such as radio frequencies and airspace boundaries. There are
charts for all land masses on Earth, and long-distance charts for trans-oceanic travel.
A BRIEF HISTORY OF AERONAUTICAL
CHARTING
Shortly after the Wright brothers made their historic first flights, the skies began to fill with
aircraft. Visibility was the key navigational tool at that time. Aircraft were limited to short flights
in clear weather and used transportation routes to navigate by, flying low to the railroads during
reduced visibility.

In the 1930s, radio technology made it possible for pilots to navigate farther distances through
unfamiliar surroundings in reduced visibility. In 1941, the first instrument approach and landing
charts were developed, serving pilots with the need to land in low visibility.
TYPES OF AERONAUTICAL CHARTS
Sectional Chart
The scale of a "sectional" is 1/500,000 so one inch is about seven nautical miles. It usually gives
enough detail to fly by ground reference or pilotage. A sectional shows highways and
railroads, power transmission lines and television and radio towers. It shows lakes, quarries,
race tracks and other landmarks. Sectionals also show information you cannot see on the
ground such as Prohibited, Restricted, Warning, and Alert Areas that have their own special
flight rules.

http://virtualskies.arc.nasa.gov/navigation/8.html
World Aeronautical Chart (WAC)
WAC charts scale is 1/1,000,000 making one inch about fourteen miles. Since WAC charts
cover a larger area not as much detail is shown. WAC charts are used for flights of long
distances.

VFR Terminal Area Chart

If you plan to fly in or near a large metropolitan area a VFR Terminal Area Chart may be
available. A VFR terminal Area Chart has everything a sectional chart has but in greater
detail. The scale is 1/250,000. Open circles with points at the top, bottom and both sides
show VFR way points. Flags indicate a visual checkpoint. An air traffic controller may tell a
VFR pilot to report over the golf course for instance.
IFR Charts
If the flight will be flown under instrument meteorological conditions, there are two types of instrument
charts. Pilots also have to file an IFR Flight Plan to fly in IMC conditions.

En Route High Altitude Charts portray Jet routes, distances, time zones, special use airspace, radar jet advisory
areas, and other data. IFR flight plans are necessary for all flights above 18,000 feet.
SCALE (MAP)
The scale of a map is the ratio of a distance on the map to the corresponding distance on
the ground. This simple concept is complicated by the curvature of the Earth's surface, which
forces scale to vary across a map. Because of this variation, the concept of scale becomes
meaningful in two distinct ways. The first way is the ratio of the size of the generating globe to
the size of the Earth. The generating globe is a conceptual model to which the Earth is shrunk
and from which the map is projected.

Map Scales may be expressed in words (a lexical scale), as a ratio, or as a fraction. Examples
are:

One centimetre to one hundred metres or 1:10,000 or 1/10,000

One inch to one mile or 1:63,360 or 1/63,360
One centimeter to one thousand kilometres or 1:100,000,000 or 1/100,000,000. (The ratio
would usually be abbreviated to 1:100M).