Use Jeppesen charts in a flight simulator: match navdata, load SIDs, STARs and approaches, brief minima, and solve MSFS chart mismatches.
To use Jeppesen charts in a flight simulator, obtain authorised, current charts; match the airport, runway, procedure and transition to the simulator’s navigation database; brief every restriction, minimum and missed approach; then monitor the aircraft against the chart. Displaying a chart does not install its procedures or update simulator navdata.
This applies to general flight simulation in Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020 and 2024, X-Plane, Prepar3D and FSX. Jeppesen charts are reference documents rather than scenery or navigation databases, and simulator charts must never be used for real-world flight.
Jeppesen charts for flight simulator: what do you need?
You need legal chart access, compatible navigation data, reasonably matching airport scenery and a practical way to keep the charts visible while flying.
- Authorised charts: use a licensed Jeppesen service or an integrated provider permitted to display Jeppesen material. Unofficial PDF collections may be expired, incomplete or unlawfully distributed. Our comparison of authorised Jeppesen access and alternative chart sources explains the main choices.
- Matching navdata: check the AIRAC identifier used by the aircraft’s FMS or GPS. An add-on aircraft may have its own database, separate from the simulator’s world map, flight planner and built-in ATC.
- Matching scenery: navdata can contain a new runway or taxiway while the installed airport scenery still represents an older layout. Updating one does not automatically update the other.
- A chart display: use a second monitor, tablet, supported in-simulator panel or aircraft electronic flight bag. Avoid covering flight instruments with a large chart window during high-workload phases.
Charts have revision and effective information, while an avionics database normally shows an AIRAC cycle. These are related but not interchangeable labels. Using material from the same period is safest, but you should still compare the actual fixes, restrictions and runway details because database coding and scenery can differ.
Are Jeppesen charts, Navigraph Charts and navdata the same thing?
No: the chart, chart-viewing application, aircraft navigation database and airport scenery perform different jobs.
| Component | What it provides | What it does not do |
|---|---|---|
| Jeppesen chart | Published airport, departure, arrival, en-route or approach information | Install procedures into an FMS or change airport scenery |
| Chart viewer | Displays, organises and sometimes geo-references charts | Guarantee that simulator navdata matches the chart |
| Navdata | FMS fixes, airways, procedures, frequencies and coded legs | Redraw runways, taxiways or terminal buildings |
| Airport scenery | The visible and physical airport layout | Necessarily update the aircraft’s navigation database |
Navigraph Charts is a simulator-focused application that displays licensed Jeppesen chart content and can provide features such as flight-plan overlays and simulated aircraft position. The chart content may therefore be Jeppesen while the application, account and simulator connector are Navigraph. Installing or opening Navigraph Charts alone does not update an aircraft database; chart display and navdata installation remain separate functions.
For setup, moving-map behaviour and cycle-mismatch checks, use our practical instructions for connecting Navigraph Charts to a simulator.
Which Jeppesen charts should you open?
For a typical IFR flight, open the charts in the order you expect to use them and include an alternative approach or airport where appropriate.
| Chart type | Purpose | Details to verify |
|---|---|---|
| Airport chart | Parking, taxiing and runway layout | Runway identifiers, taxiway names, holding points, elevations and hotspots |
| SID | Connects the departure runway to the en-route structure | Runway, transition, climb gradient, initial heading, altitude and speed restrictions |
| En-route chart | Shows airways, fixes, navigation aids and route altitudes | Airway direction, courses, distances, minimum altitudes and connections |
| STAR | Connects the en-route structure to the terminal area | Entry transition, runway applicability, restrictions and vector segments |
| Approach chart | Defines the instrument approach, minima and missed approach | Approach suffix, equipment, course, frequency, fixes, altitudes, minima and missed instructions |
A route loaded in the FMS does not replace these charts. It may omit taxi information, procedural notes, climb-gradient requirements, approach lighting details and the text of the missed approach.
How do you use Jeppesen charts step by step?
- Confirm the airport and chart status. Match the ICAO identifier and runway layout, then check the chart’s revision or effective information. Similar airport names and nearby fields are a common source of avoidable errors.
- Select the exact procedure. In the FMS, GPS or flight planner, choose the published SID, STAR or approach name, runway and transition. Include suffixes such as X, Y or Z where shown. A Jeppesen chart index number is a document reference, not the procedure name to enter into the avionics.
- Compare the route leg by leg. Check every fix, course and altitude against the loaded sequence. Do not assume that matching procedure names mean matching revisions.
- Inspect discontinuities before deleting them. A route break may indicate radar vectors, a manual leg or a course-to-intercept segment. Removing it blindly can create a direct shortcut that is not part of the procedure.
- Check equipment and coding limits. Confirm that the simulated aircraft can fly the required navigation specification and leg types. Some avionics do not reproduce radius-to-fix turns, holds or unusual intercepts correctly, even when they draw a plausible magenta line.
- Brief the critical actions. Record the initial heading, altitude and speed constraints, expected navigation modes, approach course, frequencies, minima and first missed-approach instruction. Set bugs and navigation sources before workload rises.
- Fly and monitor the chart. At each fix, compare position, track, altitude and speed with the published values. Loading a procedure does not make the autopilot follow it; the correct lateral and vertical modes must still be armed or selected.
- Be ready to go missed. Know the first heading or fix, climb altitude and holding instructions before reaching the final approach fix. Do not wait until the aircraft reaches DA or MDA to read the missed approach.
If selecting SIDs, STARs and transitions is the difficult part, our guide to matching airport procedures to runways and simulator databases covers that decision in more detail.
How do I read and brief Jeppesen approach charts?
Read a Jeppesen approach chart in this order: briefing strip, plan view, profile view, landing minima and missed-approach instructions.
- Briefing strip: confirm the approach type, identifier, frequency where applicable, final approach course, airport elevation and procedural notes.
- Plan view: identify the initial and intermediate fixes, tracks, distances, holding patterns and any segments marked for vectors or manual navigation.
- Profile view: follow the crossing altitudes, glidepath or descent profile, final approach fix and missed-approach point. Check whether restrictions are minimum, maximum, mandatory or within a published window.
- Minima: select the correct DA, MDA or other published value for the approach, aircraft category, equipment and simulated conditions. Do not choose an aircraft category from physical size alone.
- Missed approach: read both the initial instruction and the complete route. The first action may be a climb on heading before turning towards a fix.
Read all chart notes rather than assuming familiar units or equipment. Some procedures have special altimeter, temperature, RNP, lighting or climb requirements. A detailed section-by-section explanation of Jeppesen approach plates covers the symbols, altitude markings, minima and profile information.
Why does the Jeppesen chart not match the simulator?
A chart mismatch usually comes from different data cycles, the wrong runway or transition, a separately managed aircraft database, or airport scenery representing another revision.
| Symptom | Likely cause | Practical fix |
|---|---|---|
| SID, STAR or approach is missing | The chart and aircraft navdata differ, or the wrong airport database is being checked | Check the FMS AIRAC cycle and use a procedure present in both sources |
| The route contains different fixes | Wrong transition, revised procedure, missing X/Y/Z suffix or coding difference | Reload the exact runway and transition, then compare each leg |
| World map and aircraft FMS disagree | They use separate navigation databases | Build and verify the operational route in the database the aircraft will actually fly |
| Runway or taxiway names differ | Airport scenery is older or newer than the chart | Use matching scenery where possible; do not taxi across missing pavement because the chart shows a taxiway |
| ILS frequency or course differs | Outdated facility data, scenery-defined navaid information or magnetic variation differences | Resolve the data conflict before departure and confirm which source the simulated receiver uses |
| The aircraft skips a fix or restriction | Wrong autopilot mode, unresolved discontinuity or unsupported leg coding | Check the active modes and sequence; fly the affected segment manually if the avionics cannot reproduce it |
Do not create a hybrid procedure by taking convenient parts from two revisions. If an exact match is unavailable, choose a procedure represented coherently by the aircraft database and scenery, or update the conflicting component before flying.
What if built-in ATC gives a different route?
Use one coherent clearance and procedure rather than following ATC, the magenta line and a different chart revision at the same time. Built-in ATC may draw from another database or issue vectors that deliberately take the aircraft away from the published route.
If you accept vectors, monitor the assigned heading and prepare to intercept or resequence the approach. If simulator ATC repeatedly conflicts with the procedure, it is better in an offline flight to stop using that ATC session than to make unpredictable turns between incompatible instructions.
Can JeppView or JeppViewer import charts into MSFS?
No Jeppesen chart viewer can import a chart into Microsoft Flight Simulator as a flyable procedure merely by opening or copying the chart file.
If by JeppViewer you mean JeppView or another licensed Jeppesen viewing application, it can be used alongside MSFS 2020 or MSFS 2024 as a reference display. Direct aircraft-position tracking requires the viewer to support a simulator position feed or connector. A normal chart PDF has no such connection, and placing chart files in the MSFS Community folder does nothing.
On PC, a viewer may run on the same computer, another monitor or a networked device. On Xbox, and on the PlayStation 5 edition of MSFS 2024, a Windows chart viewer or desktop connector cannot be installed on the console; use a separate device or an integration explicitly supported by the chart service and aircraft.
Which chart setup should you choose?
Choose according to the level of simulator integration you actually need.
- Choose a licensed Jeppesen viewer when you already have authorised access and are content to brief charts manually on a second screen or device.
- Choose Navigraph Charts when simulator connectivity, flight-plan overlays, chart organisation and moving-aircraft position are priorities. Confirm support for your simulator, platform and aircraft before relying on an in-cockpit display.
- Choose authorised non-Jeppesen charts when cost or regional coverage matters more than Jeppesen formatting and you are comfortable learning another chart style.
- Use an older chart set only for historical simulation when the chart, navdata and scenery intentionally represent the same period. Keep that material clearly separated from current charts and never use it for actual navigation.
Whichever setup you choose, the dependable workflow is the same: verify the data, select the exact procedure, brief the chart before the busy phase of flight and monitor what the aircraft actually does rather than trusting the loaded route blindly.