By Ed Downs

As is often the case, this month’s editorial thoughts were triggered by a press release.  In many instances, press releases and/or news announcements offer current information that requires further investigation or thought.  In this case, the press release was sent by one of In Flight USA’s premier advertisers, DuraCharts.  The details of this release are in this issue, but what caught my attention was the announcement that sectional chart subscriptions are no longer available from the FAA. 

Okay, not a big deal you may think?  After all, with modern electronic flight bags, cell phone apps and advanced aircraft technology, the old concept of messing around with a big piece of paper in the cockpit seems incredibly old fashioned.  But there is a “rest of the story” to be told about this announcement from the FAA.