Why the perfect air map does not exist. Air maps have been struggling for years to reach perfection; most of them fall far short of it for three main reasons:

(1) Maps are designed by highly skilled specialists who, however, do not generally know from first hand experience what the practical requirements are. They rely on hearing of these from practical airmen.

(2) The better the practical men are at map reading the less able they are to put into words how they set about it and what is required for the ideal air map.

(3) Map production is extremely expensive in time, work and materials with the result that map makers are loath to scrap a map once made, if it will ‘do,’ even though they realise it might be improved.