This is a remote pilot study guide 2025, part 11 of 12. In this video, I'm going to give you all of the detailed information for sectional chart symbols. We'll be covering airspace classifications, airport data, altitude identification, navigational aid symbols, and much more. I'll be going deep to uncover the things that you need to know. So, get ready. This remote pilot study guide, part 11 of 12, starts now. The airmen knowledge testing supplement. This is what's going to be given to you when it's time to take the exam. What you need to pay attention to are the numbers on the very top right. Now, inside of the supplement, you will find on the first page what's called the legend. This is a very important area because this is what's going to allow you to identify all of those symbols and it will also give you a brief explanation of what those symbols actually mean. But it won't go into detail such as what I'm going to do on this video. Now, for those of you who do not have the testing supplement and you're not able to use the legend, you can follow along on this video. I will point everything out to you and I'll try to blow up the information so that way you'll be able to see everything clearly. You can also go in the video description and download the testing supplement if you'd like or you can purchase it with the Amazon link that I've provided for you. Now, you can see the airport data that I've zoomed into so that way I can show you the information. Notice that some of this is quite vague or it hasn't been discussed. You'll see FAR 93, FAR 91, no SVFR explained at the bottom, but not exactly in detail. And that's because there is an assumption that you already know this information. But you know that you don't and so do I. So, I'm going to explain all of these things in detail. Now, here's something to start off the video with an interesting twist. Look at the very bottom. Do you see the shaded blue line that says class E airspace with a floor of 1,200 ft or greater above? Now, here's a question for you. Have you ever seen a faded blue line around an airport or anywhere on a sectional chart? I bet you haven't. But just so you know, there are some faded blue lines on figure 26 of your testing supplement. These lines are very rare and you'll usually find them in remote areas or military restricted areas. What these lines represent is that class E airspace will begin with a floor at 1,200 ft AGL and below that class G airspace abrupts to that altitude at 1,199 ft AGL. So, if you're flying in that area and you are at 1,200 ft AGL, you are in class E airspace. But get this, just because it's in a remote area doesn't mean that you can break the rules. You still have to comply with Part 107 rules. And that means you can only fly up to 400 ft AGL unless there is a structure that allows you to fly to 1,200 ft. But get this, even at that altitude, you still have to get authorization from air traffic control because you are in class E airspace. And just keep in mind that this is a very rare symbol. You won't see this too many times on a sectional chart. Now, do you notice another symbol that's not mentioned too often? It's the one that has the 2,400 MSL and 4,500 MSL. And do you remember when I was showing you the faded blue lines on figure 26? Well, you didn't see the zippered line directly under it. This blue zipper symbol means that class E airspace will begin at the altitude that is designated next to it. Do you see 3,400 ft MSL? Well, there's a little arrow that's pointing inside of that blue zipper symbol telling you that class E airspace begins at 3,400 ft MSL rather than beginning at the usual either 700 ft AGL or 1,200 ft AGL. It's telling you that the normal rules for class E airspace do not apply here. You have to go by the designated altitude, which is 3,400 ft MSL. So, let me ask you a question. What is below that altitude of 3,400 ft MSL? Hm. I just paused. And you know why? It's because I know you're thinking. And you're thinking about this because you don't know the answer. And the answer is that what is directly below 3,400 ft MSL class E airspace is class G airspace. And what's so compelling here is that the ceiling of class G airspace will go up to 3,399 ft MSL. And all this time, you thought that you can only measure class G airspace in AGL, right? Well, it's from the surface up to 3,399 ft MSL. So, here's the crazy question. You're in class G airspace. It's uncontrolled airspace. Do you need authorization to be able to fly up to 3,399 ft MSL? I'm pausing again because I know you're thinking, I got to keep you on your toes. Listen, I'm going to give you the four rules. 400 ft AGL is the max you can go in class G airspace. Visual line of sight, VOS, you must keep your drone in line of sight. You can't fly over people unless you have permission. And number four, you cannot go into controlled airspace unless you have authorization. If you remember those four things, you'll be right as rain. Okay, so let's continue with the legend and break these things down. As you can see, they're not really broken down to a point where you can understand exactly what it is that they mean here. So, that's what I'm here for, to break these things down, so that way you have a full understanding of what exactly they're talking about with these brief descriptions. Now, the first thing to pay attention to is the fact that we are under airport symbols. So, anything that I'm pointing to right now in this section is going to relate to airports. And on a quick tip, if there's something that I'm pointing to that you don't know, then just be honest with yourself and say, "I don't know." Because that's going to make the difference between you passing or failing the part 107 exam. So, with that said, do you know the meaning of the two symbols that I'm pointing to right now? The brief description says, "Other than hard surfaced runways." So the underlying question really is what surfaces do they have that are other than hard surface runways? Well, there are runways with grass. There are runways with gravel. There are some runways with dirt. There are some runways with turf. These are runways with anything other than asphalt or concrete. Now remember, we're talking about airports here. These circles that you're seeing, the magenta circle and the blue circle are airports. But there's something very important to pay attention to, and that is that they're both different colors. One is a magenta and the other is blue. And what does that mean? From your previous lessons, you know that a magenta airport does not have a control tower. And a blue airport will have a control tower. But what I want you to understand and pay attention to is this. You will see a small airport with a small magenta circle in your sectional charts, but you will not see an airport with a small blue circle in your sectional charts. Why is that? And I know that you all love when I dig deep and ask these questions because it makes you think. Go ahead, don't take my word for it. Look in your sectional charts and find a little blue circle for one of the airports in one of the charts. You'll find a whole bunch of magenta ones, but you won't find a blue one. And if you do, I'll fly to wherever you are and I'll take you out to lunch. Here's why you probably won't find it. That little blue circle indicates that the airport has a tower. Technically, blue symbols indicating a towered airport. Those airports almost always have a hard runway paved with lines and numbers. So, in most cases, soft runway airports will only use magenta since they are typically nontowwered. Do you see why this is so important when you're getting ready to take the part 107 exam? And so far, I'm three for three, giving you information that you probably didn't know. So, let's go four for four on this symbol. This is a C plane base symbol. You will find this symbol in figure 22. And as you notice as I'm scrolling through, look, there's one of those soft runway airports right there, McGee. And it has a Victor Airway running directly over it. We'll have to get back to that one. Let's look for the anchor symbol. And these are going to be real easy to find because it's got to have a large body of water somewhere near it, right? It's a sea plane base. And you can see the anchor symbol on the water. And notice my arrow is pointing to 150. If I add two more zeros, that means that this runway is 15,000 ft long. And guess what? It's not a runway on dirt or concrete. It's a runway on the water. And you know something? This is FAA approved as a public use SE plane base which qualifies as an airport under FAA definitions. So the next time you see one of these anchor symbols, you'll know exactly what that's all about. And if the anchor symbol has tick marks around it, that means that fuel services will be available from Monday through Friday, usually 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. local time. Now, turn your pages to figure 59. Let's see what kind of symbols we can find on this chart. Now a very important symbol which we should all have proficient knowledge of will be the faded magenta line. You see that here I'm going to be pointing to this line and notice one thing that that faded magenta line is around many airports not just one. And what may be a little confusing is that the airport in the center is class C airspace as indicated by the solid magenta lines. And the color for that airport as represented on this chart is blue which means that it has a control tower. And again inside of this large faded magenta area there are other smaller airports. So what does this all mean? And when I ask you that question what I'm referring to is airspace and altitude. We're going to be going over this right now because there are a lot of things happening in this area. We've got multiple airports. We have multiple airspaces. Victor Airways are running crazy all over this place. There are helports, obstacles, wind turbines, lighted obstacles. We have quite a few things happening in this area. So, it's a good idea to have an understanding about this one area. So, that way there's no confusion when you're ready to take the part 107 exam. So, let's talk about the class C airspace around the airport. You see, it starts at the surface and goes up to 4,700 ft MSL. If we move out a little bit, you'll see that it starts at 2,000 ft MSL and goes up to 4,700 ft MSL. Now, everything inside of this large faded magenta area, that means it's going to be class E airspace starting and beginning at 700 ft AGL. And how high can it go from there? Well, it can go all the way up to 17,999 ft MSL. And the next will be 18,000 ft in class A airspace. Isn't that right? So that's the limit. The ceiling is 17,999 ft MSL. So this means for all of the other airports that you're seeing within this faded magenta line, they're all class E airspace and all of them begin at 700 ft AGL. The reason I brought this to your attention is because sometimes when your eyes are zoomed in to the chart, you don't really see what's on the outside of these airports and then you have the wrong answer in regards to what the correct altitude will be for the exam. And speaking of zoomed in, let's pull closer to see another symbol. This is a VR DME station. Let me tell you what this is. And you'll find this symbol in your legend under radio aids to navigation. This VORDME station is used to help pilots determine their position. So that way they'll be able to stay on course. And sometimes it's good to have a visual impression to see exactly what these symbols look like in real life. You can see that there's one big antenna and a whole bunch of other disc array antennas in a circular pattern. But in regard to the symbol on a sectional chart, it will be a hexagon symbol with a dot in the middle. And I know you already noticed the reference line is going up to 0 degrees north. Now, this will not be true north. This will be magnetic north because remember pilots navigate on magnetic headings, not true headings. And you also know from my previous videos that that dial that is going around the VOD DME station is called a compass rose. Now, another symbol that we can look at that's not discussed too often is that white line that's running across the top, sort of like a border, and inside of it, it says TAC. Have you ever wondered what that is? This white line is a boundary marker for pilots. TAC stands for terminal area chart boundary. It's a marker that's used around major airports, and it provides detailed information to pilots in regard to airspace layers, VFR flyaways, VFR corridors, landmarks, congested areas, and much more. If they're flying in class B, class C airspace, for example, there will be a TAC or TAC in that specific area. Now, to make this very clear, the TAC or the TAC is not a broadcast. It's not a frequency. It is a specific chart that provides more detail to pilots. And when they are within that TAC area, that boundary zone, all of the detailed information on the TAC chart will be applied to specifically what's inside of the boundary area, the TAC. Let's look at another symbol on this chart. Do you see the dashed magenta line? That's a straight line running from north to south almost. Do you see it's going straight up? I'm pointing to it. This is called an isogonic line. And the purpose of this symbol or this marking is so that way pilots can adjust their course accurately. You see, pilots navigate by using magnetic headings. And unfortunately, magnetic headings are not fixed. They move and they shift and they deviate from time to time. The north pole is a physical and fixed location. So therefore, that heading is a true heading. But magnetic headings will shift and deviate. So the pilots will need something to compensate for the shift in regard to the deviation of headings. And that is why these sectional charts are marked with isogonic lines with degrees so the pilots can compensate in order to achieve the correct heading magnetically. Let's do some more. Do you see just a bunch of blue triangular symbols? Just a whole bunch of them with a little dot underneath them. And some of them are higher than the other. If you turn back to your legend, you will see that all of these are called obstructions. And obstructions can be anything from towers, buildings, wind turbines, uh large trees, cranes, antennas, uh buildings that are under construction. In fact, you will see some of these obstructions with the symbol U either next to them or below them. And what that means is that that obstruction is under construction. So, the height or elevation of this obstacle that's under construction may not be accurate because they haven't completed the building yet. They're still working on building it up. Pilots need to exercise caution whenever it is that they see a UC on a sectional chart because that elevation or the altitude of that or the height of that obstacle may not be accurate. And just as a reminder, the top number for that obstacle will always be in MSL and the bottom number that you see in brackets there in parenthesis will always be in AGL. You'll see some of the obstructions have lightning bolts at the top to indicate that there are high intensity lights. The legend says that certain obstructions are 1,000 ft AGL or higher and then others are below 1,000 ft AGL. And it's good to know that the symbols indicated in the legend are also providing information. So that way it makes it much easier for you to understand what's going on on the sectional charts. Now going back to figure 20, do you see how everything now is starting to become familiar to you? You're able to see the zippered line there, class E airspace, and that 1700 ft MSL. You see that there's an isogonic line symbol for magnetic variation. Over to the west of the airport, you see some obstructions that are over 1,000 ft AGL. There's a faded magenta area around all of these airports. And that means class E airspace is beginning at 700 ft AGL. We have blue airport symbols that indicate a tower and magenta airport symbols that indicates that there is no tower. Are you beginning to feel confident yet? Well, guess what? We have more symbols that we're going to be going over because you need to increase that level of confidence to pass this part 107 exam. So now let's move to figure 74 so we can become familiar with some of the symbols that you'll see on this sectional chart. And when you're first looking at this and you see symbols everywhere, you want to sort of just kind of sit back and become antiquated with whatever is going on here. So take a look around first. allow your eyes to move two-dimensionally and try to gain a three-dimensional perspective on exactly what's happening in this particular area. Now, let's move over all the way to the right where you see it says R2531. Now, what is that? The way it's situated, it kind of looks like an Egyptian burial site, doesn't it? But no, it is a restricted area. And if you refer to your legend, you'll see it. It's under airport traffic service and airspace information. They're blue hashed marks. And you'll see that some of them are slanted and the others are perpendicular. The one you're looking for are the perpendicular hashed blue marks. And those are for restricted areas or prohibited areas. Look closely. You'll see that the blue hash marks are perpendicular or at a 90° angle from the border. They are not slanted. So, this is a restricted area, but not necessarily off limits. Pilots need permission from the controlling agency before they can enter this active area. And to give you an idea of what this is and what it looks like, this is a laboratory for testing explosives. So, you might want to think about having your picnic somewhere else. Now, take a look at the notice just below the restricted area. It says, "For reasons of national security, pilots are requested to avoid flying at and below 800 ft AGL in this area." What are they referring to? You can't fly in the restricted area. But, boy, wait a minute. This is not about the restricted area. Do you see that they are pointing to another symbol which we have not mentioned yet? This is a nondirectional beacon. It's basically a radio transmitter and pilots will tune in to this signal and whatever direction they happen to be flying in, the instruments will always point back to this beacon. So remember that's a non-directional beacon, but pay attention to where those arrows are pointing when you see those notices. Okay, that's very important. Let's go find some more symbols. I feel like I'm hunting wild animal right now. Do you see what I'm pointing to right now? What is that? Don't look at the legend. Oh, go ahead. Look at the legend. They don't even give you enough information to understand what this is anyway. This is an abandoned airport. And here's the money question. If this airport is abandoned as indicated on this sectional chart, then why don't they just take it off of the sectional chart? Well, let me tell you what this is all about, and I'll answer that question. An abandoned airport means that the landing area is closed. It was once a functional airport, but now the landing strip and the airport are both closed. One of the reasons why it is still on the chart is because from the air when you're flying, you can still see the airport. Another reason is because the pilots need to know that this air strip is closed. The last thing you want to do is try to land an airplane at some closed airport and have somebody's trash can coming through the front window. Another reason is because it is not legal to land an airplane or an aircraft for that matter at a closed airport unless you have a major emergency that you need to land that plane. If the FAA determines that you landed that plane at a closed airport without a true emergency, you could face FAA violations under F, federal aviation regulations such as reckless operation under part 91.13. Bottom line, if the airport is closed and it's marked with an X on that sectional chart, then it is not authorized for regular landings and unless you have an emergency or you have explicit permission to land that aircraft, you risk a violation or even worse. Now, this is information that you will not find in the legend and no one else will tell you this. That's why I go into detail so you fully understand it. So, now let's bring this into your backyard. Can a remote pilot operating an SUAS land at an airport that is marked, closed, or abandoned? I hear crickets. The answer is yes and no. I'll give you the yes first. Yes, if it is not an active or restricted airspace, if you're flying under 400 ft AGL and if you are following part 107 rules and also if there are no trespassing signs on that property. Now for the no. No, you cannot. If the location is within controlled airspace, class B, C, or D, or even some E airspace, you cannot land that drone on that airport unless you have Lance or ATC authorization. Also, if it's an active restricted airspace or TFR, temporary flight restrictions, they'll get you in trouble. And remember, you can't fly over people because you'll be violating part 107.23. So, you see, I'm preparing you with knowledge. So, anytime you're asked a question about an abandoned airport or a closed airport, you have knowledge. And knowledge is power because that ability for you to answer a question on that part 107 exam will be a piece of cake. So, let's go after some more symbols. Do you notice that airport at the very top that has the letter U inside of the circle? Well, you can find this in the legend, but you don't even have to go there. I'll tell you what it says. One word, unverified. Now, what does that mean? An unverified airport means that the FAA has not been able to confirm any current information about that facility. There's no information about the condition of the airport's runway, the operational status. It is, as it says, unverified. So, the question, can you land at that airport? Well, if you're a pilot flying a manned aircraft, then you'll need to use extreme caution because you're assuming that it's suitable for landing or takeoff. You should be confirming information. Before you do that, check your FAA supplements or your local NOTMS. And for remote pilots operating an SUAS, well, you can still operate legally if you are within class G airspace and following part 107 rules and there are no trespassing signs. Now, regardless of whether you're a manned aircraft or an unmanned aircraft, if the airport is privately owned, then you might be putting yourself in trouble by not getting permission from the owner first. Do you see why there are so many things to consider when you're either a pilot or a remote pilot? Sometimes you can just use common sense. Let's take a look at some other symbols. Now, let's go to Victor Airways. Now, you'll know Victor Airways because they're light blue lines that they usually emanate from a VR station. Victor Airways are like highways in the sky. their lowaltitude airways that are used to facilitate navigation for aircrafts operating both under IFR instrument flight rules or VFR visual flight rules. It's simply a way that you can organize air traffic so that way when they're flying from one place to another that everything is efficient in regard to the way the traffic flows. Now, in regard to the altitude ranges, these Victor airways can extend from 1,200 ft above ground AGL all the way up to but not including 18,000 ft mean sea level MSL. What that means is that these Victor airways will go up to 17,999 ft MSO. Now, the other way that you can identify these Victor airways is that they will have a letter V inside of the little blue line. sometimes, for example, V12, V86, V91, V568, and there's no meaning behind the number after the V. It's just a designation just like you would on a freeway when you have highway 11 or Route 561. It's the same thing. And these designations, well, pilots will use these designations in the same way that if you're planning a trip from here to California and you want to write down what highways you're going to be taking, the pilots do the same thing. So when you see these Victor airways on a sectional chart, I want you to keep one thing in mind. These are VR to VR highways. They take the aircrafts from one VR station over to another VR station on a charted path. And pilots will tune into the VR frequency of that specific Victor Airway or that specific radio as they call it to stay on course. And there are so many of these highways in the skies, Victor Airways in the United States, it'll blow your mind. Okay, so now let's do a few more symbols on the notorious figure 25. You all know this one. I don't know if I picked the best figure to work on or the worst. This is a busy airport. We're talking about Dallas Fort Worth International, Fort Worth Alliance, Arlington Airport. I mean, there are so many symbols flying around this place in regard to airspace and altitudes and it's it's nuts. Let's go over some of the symbols that we see here and discuss them so we have a level of understanding about what's happening in this particular area. And you're really going to have to pay attention. Stay with me on this one because we're going to go deep into this. Okay, you ready? Let's go. First up, minus20 symbol. Minus20 symbol. What do those symbols actually mean? The legend says that any number with a box around it is considered as a ceiling of a class D airspace. And if that symbol has a minus next to the number, then it is up to but not including that value. Now, for those of you who are relatively new to learning this stuff, you probably don't even know what I'm talking about, do you? And I didn't at first also, but I do now. I get it. You see this number or this symbol that we're referring to minus20 has to do with the ceiling of class D airspace. We're looking at two that are split in half, so to speak. -20 on one airport, minus 20 on the other airport. And why are they giving us a minus 20 on both of these airports? Well, there's a reason for that. It's because there's an airspace directly above it, class B airspace from Dallas Fort Worth International. and there is a floor and a ceiling on that airspace that's directly above these two airports and they don't want an aircraft flying beyond a certain altitude range. So, did you already notice that the floor of the class B airspace directly above that airport is at 3,000 ft MSL? Could that be the reason for the minus 20 symbol you're looking at? And just so you know, the minus 20 symbol up to but not including means that those two class D airspaces can only go up to 1,999 ft MSL. The symbol is actually showing you 2,000 ft MSL with a minus figure in front of it. That's 1,999 ft MSL. But that's not the reason why they have those two symbols there. If you look a little north of those two class D airspaces, there is another class B shelf that is directly above that and that is at 2,000 ft MSL from Dallas Fort Worth International. So, the reason is clear why these two symbols exist at minus 20. So, that would put both of these class D airspaces at 1,999 ft MSL. I'm pointing to another class D airspace and it has a box with a 30 and a minus sign meaning that it will go up to 3,000 ft but not including that value. So therefore the ceiling of that class D airspace will be 2,999 ft MSL. And here is another class D airspace with that symbol number 32 in the center but no minus sign this time. So, the ceiling of that class D airspace is at 3,200 ft MSL. Let's do one more symbol and then we're going to call it a night. This symbol that I just zoomed in on is one of the most important symbols on the chart. And I never heard about this until recently. Do you know what I'm referring to? I'm pointing to it on screen right now. This ring is around the entire airport and it says mode C. What is that? And what is the 30 MN mean? I never even paid attention to this until recently. Open your testing supplement. Turn to figure 25. Look at the size of this thing. It's all around. Now, what does it stand for? Well, I'm going to tell you right now. This is called a mode C veil. It refers to a designated area around a class B airport. It is for all aircrafts, including aircrafts that are flying VFR visual flight rules. It means that all aircrafts are required to have and use a transponder with mode C altitude reporting. And the zone for this mode C veil typically extends 30 nautical miles from the center of the airport. Basically, what this mode C transponder does is that it makes all aircrafts within the vicinity of a class B airport become visible to radar. Now, that is the most important thing that I have heard so far since I've been doing this. And the reason that it's so important is because with the high volume of traffic that comes in and out of DFW, LAX, ATL, and there are a lot of aircrafts departing and arriving every hour. There has to be a way for air traffic control to see and track every single one of those aircrafts. And that's why this mode C transponder or mode C veil should I say exists around this entire airport. What do you think about that? Well, I'll tell you what I think. I think we're done with this video. Next video I'm having is 12 of 12. And you don't want to miss that one because that is the last video in this series finally. But following 12 of 12 will be another video and that I'm going to leave as a surprise for you just so you know that it's coming. I just wanted to let you know. If you have any questions or comments about this video, go ahead and post them and I will make sure I try to get back to you as best as I can. Been really busy here, but so far we're doing okay. Coming up on the last part of the series. So, all of you who are taking the part 107 exam, getting ready to take them, good luck with the exam. I know you're going to score well. I know you're going to score high. Pass that exam at flying colors. Let me know exactly how you did. And with that, I am going to now take a break. I will see you all on the next video.