Definition
The former FAA office responsible for producing and maintaining the official civil aeronautical charts and instrument flight procedure publications used in U.S. airspace, including sectional charts, terminal procedures (approach plates), and en route charts. Its charting functions were absorbed into the FAA's Aeronautical Information Services (AIS), and current FAA charts are now produced under that organization. The acronym NACO still appears in older handbooks, publications, and references.
Plain English
NACO was the FAA office that used to make the official paper and digital charts pilots use to fly, including approach plates and en route charts. Its work is now done by another FAA group, but you'll still see the name NACO in older books and references.
Context Anchor
Seen in older FAA handbooks, instrument procedure references, and chart-related discussions.
Derivation
"Aeronautical" comes from the Greek aēr (air) and nautikos (relating to ships or sailing) — literally "sailing through the air." "Charting" is the act of producing navigation charts. So the name simply means "the national office that makes air-navigation charts."
Why Pilots Care
When you see "NACO chart" in older material, it means an official FAA chart — equivalent to today's FAA AIS charts. Recognizing the name avoids confusion when reading legacy documents or comparing chart sources (FAA vs. commercial publishers like Jeppesen).
Intuition Check
Do not read NACO as cockpit equipment or a navigation signal. In this context, it means the FAA office connected with official aviation charts.
Example Sentence 1
The instructor mentioned that the approach plates we used were originally produced by NACO before the office was reorganized into FAA Aeronautical Information Services.
Example Sentence 2
Older editions of the instrument procedures handbook list NACO as the source for chart updates.