Find and Overlay Aeronautical Charts in Google Earth: Step-by-Step Guide

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Use VFR charts for flight planning in Google Earth Pro

Written by Nicole Levine, MFA

Last Updated: July 13, 2025 Fact Checked

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Finding Free Aeronautical Charts

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Overlaying a Sectional Chart

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Tips

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Warnings

Google Earth can be a valuable tool for pilots to get a feel for a route they intend to fly. Follow these instructions to download an overlay of sectional charts for the United States and other world locations on Google Earth.

Quick Steps

Download an aeronautical chart as a KML or TIF file.
Open Google Earth and go to File > Import….
Select "All files" as the file type.
Select your chart and click Open.
Toggle the overlay on and off in the Places menu.

Section 1 of 2:

Where to Download Free World Aeronautical Charts

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If you haven't already, you'll need to download a sectional chart. A popular website called Chartbundle used to make it easy for pilots to find free world aeronautical charts, but as many have noticed, the site no longer exists. You can still find some websites that host archives of the Chartbundle KML files, or you can download sectional aeronautical raster charts in a georeferenced raster format like Geo-TIFF format (.tif or .tiff) from the FAA. A few places to find free usable aeronautical chart data for use in Google Earth:
- FAA VFR raster charts (Geo-TIFF)
- FAA US Sectional Charts (KML)]
  - (scroll to the bottom, click Generate KML, and download the generated file)
- Chartbundle world aviation charts (KML)
- You can also view sectional aeronautical charts in SkyVector, export a flight plan in the FPL format, and use this FPL to KML converter to create a KML file you can overlay in Google Earth.^{[1]
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Section 2 of 2:

How to Overlay Sectional Aeronautical Charts

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You will need to be using the desktop version of Google Earth, Google Earth Pro, to overlay aeronautical charts. Download it free from https://www.google.com/earth/about/versions/.
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Open Google Earth and import the chart data. If the sectional chart you downloaded is in a ZIP file, you will need to unzip it first.
- Click the File menu and select Import…
- Select All files from the file type menu, or choose the type of file you downloaded (e.g., Geo-TIFF for a .tif or .tiff file).
- Select the downloaded chart and click Open.^{[2]
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Unless you have the hardware to support such a high-resolution file, you'll typically see a warning that says, "The imported image is larger than the maximum size supported by the hardware." Click Create Super Overlay, select a location for your data (a new folder is recommended), and then click Select folder.^{[3]
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Use the overlay. You can toggle the overlay on and off in the "Places" section of Google Earth, right under "Temporary Places," and zoom in and out as needed.
- The maps will load in increasingly higher resolution as you zoom in. When you stop moving the view, give it a few seconds to download the higher-resolution tiles.
- There are thousands of tiles altogether that make up the maps. The faster your internet connection, the faster the tiles will load.

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Tips

You can also download other aeronautical charts, including low altitude and high altitude enroute charts, and terminal area charts, from the FAA's digital VFR Charts website.^{[4]
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Federal Aviation Administration
U.S. government agency responsible for monitoring and setting guidelines for civilian aviation

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Warnings

Aeronautical information changes very often, so don't rely on these charts for actual flight planning.^{[5]
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Trustworthy Source

Federal Aviation Administration
U.S. government agency responsible for monitoring and setting guidelines for civilian aviation

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