Definition
A series of aeronautical charts published at a scale of 1:1,000,000, designed for navigation by moderate-speed aircraft and aircraft operating at higher altitudes. WACs cover land areas at a standard size and scale for navigation, showing cities and towns, principal roads, railroads, distinctive landmarks, drainage, and relief, along with visual and radio aids to navigation, airports, airways, restricted areas, obstructions, and other aeronautical information.
Plain English
A medium-detail aviation map that covers a large area on a single sheet. Because each chart shows so much ground, the detail is less fine than on a sectional chart, which makes WACs better suited to faster aircraft that cover more ground per minute.
Context Anchor
Seen when selecting charts for cross-country planning or when reading about types of FAA aeronautical charts.
Derivation
The name describes its purpose: a single chart series designed to cover the world for aeronautical (flight) use, at a consistent scale.
Why Pilots Care
It lets pilots see the entire route, pick checkpoints, and avoid restricted airspace on longer visual flights.
Analogy
A WAC is like zooming out on a map app. You can see more of the trip at once, but you lose some street-level detail.
Intuition Check
Do not read WAC as just any aviation chart. In this context, it means a specific FAA chart type with a 1:1,000,000 scale.
Example Sentence 1
For the long cross-country in a fast aircraft, the pilot used a WAC because a single chart covered the entire route.
Example Sentence 2
While en route, she cross-checked her position against features shown on the WAC.