Definition
The collection of official publications, charts, and services a pilot uses to gather the information required to plan an IFR flight. These sources include the Chart Supplement (formerly Airport/Facility Directory), Notices to Air Missions (NOTAMs), enroute and terminal charts, instrument approach procedure charts, the Aeronautical Information Manual (AIM), official weather products, and flight service briefings.
Plain English
The set of trusted documents and services a pilot checks before a flight to find out everything they need to know about the airports, routes, airspace, weather, and any temporary changes along the way.
Context Anchor
Seen during preflight planning for IFR flights, especially before choosing a route, checking weather, selecting alternates, and preparing to file a flight plan.
Why Pilots Care
An IFR flight cannot be safely or legally planned from memory. Each source provides a piece of the picture — runway lengths, approach minimums, closed taxiways, restricted airspace, weather, fuel availability — and missing any one of them can lead to surprises in the air. Knowing which source provides which piece of information is a core preflight skill.
Intuition Check
Do not think of this as one favorite website or app. In FAA use, it means the full set of reliable information sources a pilot checks to build a complete flight plan.
Example Sentence 1
Before filing the IFR flight plan, she worked through her sources of flight planning information, starting with the Chart Supplement and current NOTAMs for both airports.
Example Sentence 2
Knowing the sources of flight planning information helps avoid last-minute surprises during preflight.