VFR Sectional Chart Cessna Chick

How To Read A VFR Sectional Chart

Disclaimer: I am not a Certified Flight Instructor, nor a Basic or Advance Ground Instructor.
Below is just to help myself to better gain knowledge about read sectional charts. This is what
I've used to refresh myself on sectional charts and has been a learning experience about reading a
chart more in depth. There may be errors; if they are pointed out I will fix them.

This is an overview of the main area I look at when going off my sectional chart. It has a bunch
of congested areas and different airspaces.
AIRSPACE

Class B

This is the markings of a Class B

airspace, specifically Boston Airport.
The blue lines show the different levels
and the blue text (pictured more
closely) definite the limits of each
  "shelf." The Bravo airspace is normally
described as an upside down wedding
cake (more than two layers)  
This is the circle around any Class B airspace that is 3o nautical miles. It is called the
Mode C Veil, which requires any aircraft flying within 30nm of a Class B to have a
Mode C altitude encoding transponder. ATC must be able to tell the altitude of your
aircraft even if they are not talking to you due to the volume of traffic in the area. If
you are required to have the right equipment to enter this space, yet you are not within
the Bravo airspace yet and do not need to be cleared into the Mode C Veil area.

VFR Sectional Chart Cessna Chick  

 VFR Sectional Chart Cessna Chick

Class C

This is the markings of a Class C airspace.

The magenta lines define the inner and
outer "shelf." Pictured more closely is the
magenta text that define the limits of each
area. This one defines the inner core from
the surface to 4100ft.

Class D

This is a Class D airport, it is the blue dashed

lines. It also has a VOR at the airport which is the
bigger blue solid line with radial marks for the
VOR. The Class D is not necessarily a perfect
circle, as you can see with this one. Above is the
limit of the Class D airspace since there is only
one area until like Class B/C airspaces so surface
to the number in the box is assumed. Class D is
typically Surface to 2,500ft MSL as it is at
Bridgeport but I’ve included examples where it is
higher due to terrain, they are all equivalent to
2,500ft AGL.

VFR Sectional Chart Cessna Chick  

 VFR Sectional Chart Cessna Chick

Class E

This airspace is a Class E - surface to 700ft AGL.

Unlike other airspaces, this class is always those
vertical limits. Do not get confused by the VOR near
this airport, it is blue but the dashed magenta circle is
the limits of the airspace. I know when I look quickly
you may see the blue and assume it is Class D
airspace, so always check the colors and the line is
dashed not hashed.

This is Class E airspace too, but now it starts at 700ft to

1200ft. Class E is the hardest airspace to read on the
sectional, since it has many denotations. This is mainly to
help IFR flights with ATC contact since they wouldn’t get
that in Class G airspace. Roundup airport is in Class G
airspace under the Class E. It is surround by Class E airspace
starting at 700ft to help IFR traffic approach the airport for
landing.

This is also Class E airspace, but it starts at 1,200ft. In the

Northeast, you won’t see this on sectional charts because it is
assumed. It is a very congested area with lots of air traffic all
airspace is at least Class E starting at 1,200ft. This symbol is
more common out west where these are less dense areas.

This is the last Class E marking you’ll find on a sectional. This blue
zipper line is when Class E is denoted, but it doesn’t have a standard
altitude. You can see on either side of this 1700MSL and 5500 MSL
it’s where the Class E starts on either side of the zipper line.

VFR Sectional Chart Cessna Chick  

 VFR Sectional Chart Cessna Chick

TRSA

Above is a TRSA airspace - Terminal Radar Service Area. It's an optional class C airspace - in a
way. You are highly encouraged to talk to approach, but you don't have to talk to them. The
inner ring (which you can see to the right) is a Class D airport - you have to talk to ATC. You
can see the blue dashes underneath the black line to define the D airspace.

VFR Sectional Chart Cessna Chick  

 VFR Sectional Chart Cessna Chick

Combination Airspace

This is a nice combo of airspace

markings. The airport is a class D (blue
dashed line) while the rectangle off of
it is Class E (surface to 700ft AGL)
because of the magenta dashed lines.
The magenta solid line is Class E
(700ft to 1200ft AGL). The reason for
this weird airspace combo: it's only a
part-time tower, so an IFR flight can
talk to a controller all the way to the
ground. The Class E is even lined up
with the runway. It's also important to
know the Class E takes over when the
Class D Tower is closed.

OBSTACLES
This is a group of obstacles (the M shape means more than one.) The
numbers besides is MSL. The AGL height is not always available. It is less
than 1000ft AGL.

This is a group of obstacles with its AGL height shown and the
symbol (lightening bolt shapes) above it means it is lighted at night
or in bad weather.

Another single obstacle with the MSL shown, but it is unlit. The AGL is in the
parentheses. If it is less than 1000ft AGL, the obstacle does not have AGL shown
on the sectional.

VFR Sectional Chart Cessna Chick  

 VFR Sectional Chart Cessna Chick

This is a group of obstacles that is higher than 1000ft AGL (notice

the different shape, the top of the M is skinnier and longer) and it is
lit at night or in bad weather (the lightening bolts) Up in the left hand
corner you'll see again the MSL height and (AGL in parentheses.)

A new symbol for me when updating this, it’s a windmill! Sorry, wind
turbine. MSL (AGL) and the UC stands for under construction. I think
we’ll see more of these popping up on the charts now.

PILOTAGE POINTS

I'm a city girl so had no idea what these looked like. They are power lines, these little
guys are all over my sectional. Good for check points, also good to know around
airports.

This is the symbol for a racetrack, no specific kind but they are pretty visible from the
sky no matter if they’re for cars, horses, dogs, whatever.

This is a stadium, another nice symbol to use for a checkpoint! Though definitely check
for TFRs if there is a game going on for a big team!

This is for mining. I’m assuming its more for a query than for an actual mine since
that’d be less visible from the sky.

Took me a google search for this one, a lookout tower! It has an elevation next to it too.

This is an expressway and great for planning your pilotage

checkpoints. They even give you the number, if you’re familiar
with the area.

AIRPORTS
This is the symbol for an abandoned airport. It is on the chart so you can use it as a
checkpoint or not to confuse it with an open airport near it.

This is a controlled airport because it is blue. The three squares at the East, South,
and West points of the circle mean it has fuel services available. The star signifies it
has a beacon from sunset to sunrise.

VFR Sectional Chart Cessna Chick  

 VFR Sectional Chart Cessna Chick

Restricted airport symbol. It is for emergency use or authorization from specific

person or agency.

This is the marking for a helipad. Helicopters can land at this airport, but planes
cannot. They won't have enough room for you to land, so don't land here!

This is a public use airport with no hard-surface runway longer than 1,500 feet. It has
limited or no attendance.

Uncontrolled airport without fuel services, it is just a circle. You can see that it only has
one runway by where the background of the sectional shows in the middle where the
runway is.
Uncontrolled airport with fuel services and a beacon from sunset to sunrise. It
has fuel due to three squares (it would be four without the beacon) and a star on
the top signifies an airport with a beacon.

This is a seaplane airport. The same symbols apply for this, as you can tell it has
fuel services.

Since this anchor doesn't have a circle around it, it is not a normal seaplane airport. It
is only used for seaplane emergencies.

You can see this airport is labeled as a private airport as told by

the (Pvt) above the name, Calverton Exec. You can tell it's an
uncontrolled airport due to the magenta color of the runway
outlines. The difference this airport just has the runways
outlined versus a circle around the entire airport. That means
one runway is greater than 1,500ft in length. If it is controlled
airport, the lines are blue. As you can also see, Calverton is
where they have skydivers!

This is just the information of an

uncontrolled airport (because it's written in
magenta, it is uncontrolled) You have the
name of the airport (followed by code in
parentheses). This airport has the
Automatic Weather Observing Station
(AWOS) and lists its frequency. Next line says the altitude of the airport - 108 ft. It is lighted,
which is denoted by the L, the star in front of it means the lighting operations are limited so
check the A/FD. 25 is telling you the length of the longest runway in hundreds of feet. Lastly, is
the CTAF frequency. The C is denoting it's the CTAF.

VFR Sectional Chart Cessna Chick  

 VFR Sectional Chart Cessna Chick

This is an uncontrolled airport information. You can also see

this uncontrolled airport doesn't have a beacon, does have
fuel services though.

This airport is a bit different than the

others you can see it has ASOS vs. an
ATIS or AWOS. Also the dotted circle
around the airport means it has an Non-
Directional Beacon at the airport which
you can use to navigate by doing an
Automatic Direction Finder (ADF).

This is information about Newark airport. It has a

control tower which you haven't seen in the
information before (CT stands for Control Tower)
and tells you the frequency. It also says NO SVFR.
You cannot take off in Special VFR conditions at
this airport.

LINES

On my sectional, I have this Air Defense Identification Zone. It is the end of US airspace before
going over International waters. You won't see this if you live in the middle of the US.

This is a latitude line (I still remember using "fatitude" from

grade school because it goes around the earth like a stomach.
You can see the one hash is longer than the rest for the ½
mark.

VFR Sectional Chart Cessna Chick  

 VFR Sectional Chart Cessna Chick

This is a longitude line on a sectional. You can see it marked at 73 degrees. The
biggest problem I had when taking my written to say where something was
located in degrees is that the half way mark would be 73'30" NOT 73'50" You
need to think of it as a clock. The hash marks are in seconds out of 60 NOT 100
and that's the biggest thing to remember when finding latitude and longitude.

This white line depicts the area that is in the Terminal Area Chart, which goes into
more detail than a sectional chart. If you want a closer view of this area see the
TAC.

This dashed magenta line define the magnetic variation for this area of the
sectional., not to be confused with Class E starting at the surface dashed
lined around airports. It is also called an isogonic line. This specific one is
15 degrees west. I like to use my E6B to confirm that west you add 15 to
the True Course, and east you subtract is from True Course.

This black dashed line is pretty simple. It is the state line depicted on
the chart. Here you can see the separation of Connecticut and New
York. This one is over the water, but in other sections it will be over
land.

This line shows a normal area

over water that would be
uncontrolled but controlled
airspace has been extended to
the line. It is used by my
airspace for vectoring by ATC
into JFK airport. It is
considered Class E airspace.

VFR Sectional Chart Cessna Chick  

 VFR Sectional Chart Cessna Chick

This is an international border, more specifically the Canada/United

States bored up near Maine. It’s magenta with a black dashed line
under it. Don’t go past it or you could get in some serious trouble!

NAVIGATION
I couldn't find it on a sectional, but this is just a VOR.
This is a VOR-DME, it's a more enhanced VOR and will also tell you the distance
you are away from it.

This is a VORTAC. It's a VOR and a TACAN together. TACAN is just used for
military so isn't important to civil pilots.

This is the information for any

VOR/DME/VORTAC. It has the name,
navigation frequency. The three letter
identifier and the Morse code to confirm
you have the right frequency. This also
has HIWAS denoted by the H in the
right corner.

This is a NDB pictured without an airport

(as above in the airport section). The
information is similar to the VOR's
information. I've never used a NDB, and
my plane does not have an ADF so can't
really go into the points of how to use this
information on your ADF.

The magenta flag symbolizes a VFR reporting point. In black letting is

the name of the reporting point. This one specifically I use when I call
Tower on my way back from the south practice area. It lets Tower know
where you are, especially if you don't know the exact mileage away you
are.
This is a stand alone VFR waypoint. They all have five letter identifiers
(If it starts with VP means it's for VFR.) It is to be used as a supplemental
navigation aid, not as a primary one. I've never used one as a checkpoint
yet.

VFR Sectional Chart Cessna Chick  

 VFR Sectional Chart Cessna Chick

AIRWAYS

Military VFR airway. The VR means it is VFR, and the light black line is the
airway.

This is also a military VFR airway, but it is for IFR traffic

as denoted by the IR before the numbers. Again, it is a
light black line that denotes the airway.

This is a Victor airway, this is used for civilian air

traffic. It also says the radial the airway is on (269).
It is important to know that these airways are 8
nautical miles wide - 4 nm on either side.

This symbol confused me at first. It is the intersection of airways, but sectionals

don't show all the airways, which is why you only see only light blue line. You
see only one airway when there are actually three intersecting here.

This is a Victor airway, but the box below with 51 in it. The 90 denotes the
mileage between NAVAIDS on direct airways.

IN-AIR HAZARDS

You've seen this symbol/airport before, it's Calverton. I'm not focusing
on that little parachute now. It means that there are people parachuting
frequently in this area. If you are talking to ATC they'll give you a
heads up, but be careful anyway.

This is to denote that there are gliders that operate in the area, another
thing to look out for. Remember they have the right of way, unless you're
in distress.

VFR Sectional Chart Cessna Chick  

 VFR Sectional Chart Cessna Chick

Similar to the glider symbol, but notice this has an "H" instead of a "G."
It is saying there are hang gliders in the area so watch out for them.

Again, very similar to the two above this one but this is for ultralight
aircraft denoted by the “U” so when you’re planning a flight it is important
to make sure you note which letter is used so you know what you’ll be
looking for!

TERRAIN
These numbers (well, not these specifically) are all over sectional charts. They
are telling you how high the highest obstacle is and the altitude you'll pass 300ft
over it safely. This area would be 4600MSL

This is marking a wilderness area on the sectional. Stay above

2,000ft AGL when flying over this area.

This is the marking of a wildlife refuge. You can see the name of the
refuge and the circle with the dots on the inside is the actual area of
the wildlife refuge, stay above 2,000ft AGL when flying over this
area.

This, specifically, are the Catskill Mountains. This is how mountain

ranges look on a sectional chart. You can notice the lines that tell
the shape of mountains and also the different colors, which signify
different levels of terrain. Be aware when flying over this area and
don't hit any mountains!

VFR Sectional Chart Cessna Chick  

 VFR Sectional Chart Cessna Chick

MILTARY/SPECIAL AIRSPACE

This is a prohibited airspace. It's the most

restricted airspace. No aircraft is allowed in it,
even with ATC clearance. The one pictured is
Camp David, so I'm sure some presidential
helicopters are allowed in there. You can see it
can also expand and it is important to check the
NOTAMs. It will be denoted by the blue marks and a "P"

This is a restricted airspace, and if you contact the controlling

agency a certain number of hours beforehand you may be
allowed into the airspace. The FAA restricts this airspace due to
"the existence of unusual, often invisible, hazards to aircraft such
as artillery firing, aerial gunnery, or guided missiles." Make sure
you get clearance or avoid this airspace for your own safety. It is
denoted with those blue hash marks and "R"

This is a warning area, denoted

with a "W" Warning areas are
over normally over domestic or
international waters. In this
area, it contains activity that
may be hazardous to
nonparticipating aircraft. This
marking is used to warn
nonparticipating pilots.

This is a Military Operations Area.

Military aircraft maybe operating within
excess of 250 knots below 10,000ft.
ATC will provide clearance or reroute
for IFR traffic in the area. VFR traffic
should call the nearest FSS within 100
miles for real time information about
what is happening in the area. VFR pilots should exercise extreme caution and should contact the
controlling agency for traffic advisories.
 

VFR Sectional Chart Cessna Chick  

 VFR Sectional Chart Cessna Chick

OTHER  
 
I  found  this  while  searching  around  on  the  
sectional.  Hazardous  Laser  Transmissions,  
surface  to  infinity.  Crazy  stuff!  I  never  saw  
it  before  so  always  get  an  updated  chart!    
 
 
 
 
 
This  is  different  from  a  MOA,  it  is  special  
military  activity  space.  I  found  it  up  near  
Maine.  It’s  grey  hatching  instead  of  
magenta  like  MOA.  Just  pay  close  
attention  to  the  color  and  find  if  there  is  
an  information  box  like  this  one  has.    

VFR Sectional Chart Cessna Chick