Study guide
Reading airspace is widely considered the hardest section of the Part 107 test because it asks you to translate chart symbols and colors — described here in words, since no chart image substitutes for practice with an actual sectional — into real operating decisions. This chapter covers each airspace class, how to recognize it on a VFR sectional chart without a picture in front of you, and the authorization workflow required before flying in controlled airspace.
The Five Airspace Classes and Their Shapes
Class B airspace surrounds the nation's busiest airports and is often visualized as an inverted wedding cake: multiple stacked rings, each wider and higher than the one below, commonly extending from the surface near the primary airport up to 10,000 feet MSL. On a sectional chart, Class B boundaries are drawn as solid blue lines, and the floor and ceiling of each ring are printed as numbers in a stack (ceiling over floor, in hundreds of feet MSL) inside that ring. Class C airspace, found around medium-to-busy airports, typically has a surface area with roughly a 5-nautical-mile radius topped by a shelf extending to about 10 nautical miles, and is drawn with solid magenta lines. Class D airspace surrounds smaller towered airports, usually extends from the surface up to about 2,500 feet AGL, and appears as a dashed blue line encircling the airport, with the ceiling shown as a number inside a small box near the boundary. Class E is controlled airspace that does not fit B, C, or D; where Class E begins at the surface around an airport it is enclosed by a dashed magenta line; where the Class E floor begins at 700 feet AGL it is shown as a faded magenta vignette (a soft magenta gradient ring), and where the floor begins at 1,200 feet AGL the boundary is shown as a faded blue vignette. Class G is uncontrolled airspace, the default airspace close to the ground where no other class has been designated, and it is simply the absence of the other boundary symbols on the chart.
Reading the Rest of the Sectional
Beyond airspace boundaries, a VFR sectional carries dense information the exam tests directly. Airports appear as distinct symbols: a circle with extensions for a towered airport with hard-surfaced runways, and other symbol variations for soft-surface or seaplane facilities; airport data boxes list identifiers, elevation, and the common traffic advisory frequency (CTAF). Obstacles such as towers and tall buildings are shown with a small tower symbol and two altitude figures — one is height above ground level (AGL) and one is height above mean sea level (MSL); the exam expects you to know which figure is which and to use MSL figures when comparing to your own altitude reading, since your 400-foot AGL limit is measured from the ground directly below you, not from sea level. Military Operations Areas (MOAs) are outlined in magenta hashed or segmented lines and indicate airspace where military training activity may occur; flight is not prohibited but warrants caution and coordination. Restricted areas, labeled with an R and a number (for example R-2508), involve hazards such as artillery firing or aerial gunnery, and entry generally requires permission from the controlling agency. Prohibited areas, labeled with a P and a number (for example P-56 around the White House), bar aircraft entirely for security reasons. The sectional's scale bar and contour lines/color shading show terrain and distance, which matters for judging how far 3 statute miles of visibility actually is on the ground.
Authorization Workflow: LAANC and DroneZone
Section 107.41 prohibits operating in controlled airspace — Class B, C, D, and the surface area of Class E — without air traffic control authorization. Most of that authorization is obtained through the Low Altitude Authorization and Notification Capability (LAANC), an automated system, accessed through FAA-approved apps, that grants near-real-time authorization to fly at or below pre-approved altitudes within specific grid cells around participating airports. If a planned flight needs an altitude above the pre-approved LAANC ceiling for that grid, or the location is not LAANC-supported, the pilot instead applies through FAA DroneZone for a manual airspace authorization, which can take longer to process, so plan ahead of a hard deadline. Neither LAANC nor a DroneZone authorization overrides the operating rules of Part 107 — the pilot still must maintain VLOS, altitude, and weather minimums; it only grants permission to be in that airspace. Class G airspace, being uncontrolled, does not require this air traffic authorization, though all other Part 107 operating rules still apply there. A useful mental model: authorization answers whether the pilot may be in that airspace, while the rest of Part 107 answers whether the flight may be conducted that way.
Flying Near Airports Without a Control Tower
Many airports have no operating control tower at all, or the tower operates only part-time. At these fields, pilots self-announce position and intentions on a common traffic advisory frequency (CTAF), and a remote pilot flying nearby should be alert to the flow of manned traffic even without a tower to call. There is no blanket Part 107 requirement to monitor CTAF, but doing so — with a handheld aviation radio, covered further in Chapter 4 — is a strong risk-mitigation practice near an active non-towered field, since manned aircraft may be entering a traffic pattern at low altitude exactly where a small UAS might also be operating. Because Class G and the non-surface portion of Class E do not require air traffic authorization, it is easy to legally fly near a busy non-towered airport while still creating real collision risk; the rule requiring yielding right-of-way to manned aircraft (107.37) and maintaining VLOS exist precisely to manage that risk.
Special Use Airspace, TFRs, and No-Drone Zones
Beyond MOAs, restricted, and prohibited areas, temporary flight restrictions (TFRs) create short-term no-fly or limited-fly zones that appear in FAA notices rather than as permanent chart features, so a pilot must check current notices before every flight, not just consult a chart. Stadium TFRs restrict flight within a 3-nautical-mile radius up to 3,000 feet AGL around major stadiums seating 30,000 or more people during and around certain sporting events. Wildfire and disaster TFRs are issued to protect firefighting aircraft and rescue operations and are strictly enforced because a drone incursion can ground an entire aerial firefighting effort. National security TFRs protect areas such as the airspace around the President's location, and permanent no-drone zones exist over sensitive sites such as many military installations and certain national landmarks, independent of any temporary notice. Because TFRs change day to day, the safe habit — not itself a memorized fact for the exam, but the practical takeaway — is to check current NOTAMs and the FAA's UAS-specific resources immediately before flight, since flying legally under Part 107's standing rules does not protect a pilot who busts an active TFR.
Key terms
- Class B airspace
- — Controlled airspace around the busiest airports, shaped like stacked rings, shown on sectionals with solid blue lines; requires ATC authorization to enter.
- Class C airspace
- — Controlled airspace around medium-to-busy airports, typically a 5 NM surface core with a 10 NM shelf, shown with solid magenta lines.
- Class D airspace
- — Controlled airspace around smaller towered airports, shown as a dashed blue line with the ceiling printed in a small box.
- Class E airspace
- — Controlled airspace not classified as B, C, or D; surface areas show as a dashed magenta line; a 700-foot AGL floor shows as a faded magenta vignette and a 1,200-foot AGL floor as a faded blue vignette.
- Class G airspace
- — Uncontrolled airspace near the ground where no ATC authorization is required, though Part 107 operating rules still apply.
- LAANC
- — Low Altitude Authorization and Notification Capability, an automated system providing near-real-time airspace authorization in supported grid areas.
- FAA DroneZone
- — The FAA's online portal for registration, safety-event reporting, waiver applications, and manual airspace authorization requests.
- Military Operations Area (MOA)
- — Airspace, shown with magenta segmented lines, where military training activity occurs; entry is not prohibited but requires caution.
- Restricted area (R-)
- — Special use airspace involving hazards to aircraft, such as artillery fire, that generally requires permission from the controlling agency to enter.
- Prohibited area (P-)
- — Special use airspace, such as P-56, where aircraft flight is barred entirely for national security or safety reasons.
- Temporary flight restriction (TFR)
- — A short-term restriction on flight in a defined area, issued for events, disasters, firefighting, or security needs, published outside the sectional chart.
- CTAF
- — Common traffic advisory frequency, the radio frequency pilots use to self-announce position and intentions at airports without an operating control tower.
Exam tips
- Pair each airspace class with its line style in words: Class B solid blue, Class C solid magenta, Class D dashed blue with a boxed ceiling, Class E surface dashed magenta, Class E 700-foot floor faded magenta vignette, Class E 1,200-foot floor faded blue vignette.
- When a chart question gives you two altitude numbers near an obstacle, identify which is AGL and which is MSL before doing any math with your 400-foot limit.
- LAANC covers most controlled-airspace requests instantly; when altitude exceeds the grid ceiling or LAANC isn't available, the fallback is a DroneZone manual request, which takes longer.
- Class G requires no ATC authorization, but that does not remove the duty to yield to manned aircraft or maintain VLOS near a non-towered airport.
- TFRs are time-sensitive and not shown on a standard sectional — always assume the chart alone may be out of date and check current notices before flight.