1. Read the airspace by color and line style
On a VFR sectional, controlled airspace is drawn with colored rings. The color and line tell you the class:
| Looks like | Airspace |
|---|---|
| Solid blue lines | Class B |
| Solid magenta lines | Class C |
| Dashed blue lines | Class D |
| Dashed magenta lines | Surface Class E |
| Faded/soft magenta | Class E starting at 700 ft AGL |
| Faded/soft blue | Class E starting at 1,200 ft AGL |
2. Read the floor and ceiling numbers
Each airspace ring is labeled with a fraction, in hundreds of feet MSL. The top number is the ceiling; the bottom is the floor. For example, 41/SFC means a ceiling of 4,100 ft MSL down to the surface. SFC always means "surface."
3. Check the Maximum Elevation Figure (MEF)
Each chart quadrant has a large blue number — the Maximum Elevation Figure — giving the highest terrain or obstacle in that area in thousands and hundreds of feet MSL. It's a quick obstacle-awareness check, even though Part 107 already caps you at 400 ft AGL.
4. Find where you need authorization
The whole reason a drone pilot reads a sectional is to answer one question: do I need authorization here? If your spot falls inside surface-level Class B, C, D, or surface Class E around an airport, yes — usually granted in seconds through LAANC. If it's Class G, no.
Keep going
Airspace classes explained
What each class is and where authorization applies.
What is LAANC?
How to get instant airspace authorization.
Practice questions
Test your chart-reading with cited answers.