Sectional charts look overwhelming because they place airports, airspace, terrain, obstacles, frequencies and special-use areas on one page. The Part 107 knowledge test is not asking you to become a cartographer. It is asking whether you can look at a location, identify the airspace and hazards, and make a safe regulatory decision.
This visual guide breaks that process into plain language. Each example uses current FAA charting guidance. The FAA says the Chart User’s Guide is a learning aid and warns that its graphics are educational—not for navigation. Use these figures to study, then use current charts, NOTAMs, TFR information and FAA airspace tools when planning a real flight.
The five-step method for almost every chart question
- Locate the operation. Find the airport, landmark, coordinates or chart figure named in the question.
- Identify the airspace at the surface. Look for solid, dashed or shaded blue and magenta boundaries.
- Read the vertical limits. Determine the floor and ceiling at the proposed altitude.
- Notice airports and hazards. Check airport symbols, obstacle elevations and special-use areas.
- Make the Part 107 decision. Decide whether the operation needs airspace authorization or another check before flight.
That last step matters. A sectional chart is evidence, not permission. It does not by itself show every current TFR, NOTAM, facility-map altitude or temporary operational change.
1. Start with elevation: MSL and AGL are different reference points
What you’re looking at
Obstacle labels commonly show the elevation of the obstacle’s top in feet above mean sea level, or MSL. When space allows, the height of the structure above the nearby ground—AGL—appears in parentheses.
If a tower is labeled 1549 (499), read it as: the top is 1,549 feet MSL and the tower is 499 feet tall AGL. The surrounding ground would therefore be roughly 1,050 feet MSL.
What Part 107 is testing
The test wants to know whether you can keep altitude references straight. Drone operating limits are usually discussed in AGL, while many charted elevations and airspace limits are MSL. Never subtract or compare numbers until you know which reference each number uses.
Common wrong answer: Treating 1,549 as the tower’s height. It is the elevation of the top above sea level, not necessarily its height above the ground.
Practice: A tower is marked 2,049 (349). How tall is it above the ground? Answer: 349 feet AGL. The 2,049 figure is the top elevation MSL.
2. Maximum Elevation Figures help you scan a quadrant
A Maximum Elevation Figure, or MEF, is the large blue number inside a chart quadrant. The big digit represents thousands of feet MSL and the smaller raised digit represents hundreds. An MEF shown as a large 2 with a smaller 8 means 2,800 feet MSL.
The FAA calculates the MEF from the highest known terrain or obstacle in that quadrant and adds allowances before rounding upward. It is a quick terrain-and-obstacle awareness tool, not a drone altitude authorization.
What Part 107 is testing: Can you decode the number and recognize what it represents? Common wrong answer: Reading 2⁸ as 28,000 feet or 280 feet.
Practice: An MEF displays a large 3 and small 4. What value does it represent? Answer: 3,400 feet MSL.
3. Airport color is your first airspace clue
On a sectional, blue airport data generally indicates a towered airport; magenta airport data generally indicates a nontowered airport. That is a clue, not the whole answer. You still must inspect the surrounding boundary to identify whether the surface is Class B, C, D, E or G.
The airport symbol can also communicate runway layout, military use, seaplane operations or other characteristics. Nearby text may include the airport name, elevation, lighting information and communication frequencies.
What Part 107 is testing: Can you identify the airport environment and locate information relevant to situational awareness? For a drone pilot, a frequency is not permission to enter controlled airspace, and calling a tower does not replace the required FAA authorization process.
Common wrong answer: Assuming every blue airport automatically means Class D, or every magenta airport automatically means uncontrolled airspace.
Practice: An airport’s symbol and data are magenta. What can you conclude immediately? Answer: It is depicted as nontowered. You must still examine the airspace boundaries before deciding what class exists at the surface.
4. Class B: solid blue lines and stacked shelves
Class B airspace is charted with solid blue boundaries. Its shape often resembles an upside-down wedding cake because the controlled area widens at higher altitudes.
Pairs of numbers show vertical limits in hundreds of feet MSL, with the ceiling above the floor. A shelf labeled 100/40 extends from 4,000 feet MSL up to 10,000 feet MSL. A surface area may use SFC for the floor.
How to reason through it: First determine which blue boundary contains the proposed location. Then read that segment’s floor. Finally compare the proposed drone altitude—converted to MSL when necessary—with that floor.
Common wrong answer: Reversing the floor and ceiling, or assuming that being under a shelf always means the surface is uncontrolled. Another class may exist below it.
Practice: A Class B shelf is marked 100/30. What are its limits? Answer: The shelf begins at 3,000 feet MSL and extends to 10,000 feet MSL.
5. Class C and D: magenta versus blue
Class C uses solid magenta boundaries. Like Class B, it commonly has a surface core and a shelf. Read the stacked numbers as ceiling over floor, in hundreds of feet MSL.
Class D usually uses a dashed blue boundary around a towered airport. A boxed ceiling number such as [-25] means the Class D extends from the surface to, but not including, 2,500 feet MSL. The minus sign is easy to overlook.
What Part 107 is testing: Can you combine color, line style and altitude notation instead of guessing from the airport alone? Operations in Class B, C or D airspace generally require prior FAA authorization under Part 107.
Common wrong answer: Reading a Class D ceiling as AGL. The chart’s altitude notation is generally MSL unless the chart says otherwise.
Practice: A dashed blue boundary surrounds an airport and the ceiling is shown as [-32]. What does it mean? Answer: Class D begins at the surface and extends to, but does not include, 3,200 feet MSL.
6. Class E: dashed and shaded magenta are not the same
A dashed magenta boundary identifies Class E airspace beginning at the surface. That matters to a Part 107 pilot because operations in surface-area Class E designated for an airport require authorization.
A shaded or “fuzzy” magenta vignette normally marks where the Class E floor changes to 700 feet AGL on the vignette’s shaded side. A shaded blue vignette marks a transition associated with a 1,200-foot AGL floor on its shaded side. Always confirm the symbol against the current legend instead of relying on color memory alone.
What Part 107 is testing: Whether controlled airspace actually reaches the surface at the operation. Class E that begins at 700 or 1,200 feet AGL does not by itself make the surface Class E; the surface below is generally Class G until the Class E floor.
Common wrong answer: Treating every fuzzy magenta boundary as Class E at the surface.
Practice: Your location is on the shaded side of a fuzzy magenta boundary, with no surface-area boundary present. Where does Class E normally begin? Answer: 700 feet AGL; the airspace below is generally Class G.
7. Special-use airspace requires a second question: is it active?
Sectionals depict prohibited areas, restricted areas, warning areas, military operations areas and alert areas. They do not all impose the same rule.
- Prohibited area: Flight is prohibited without authorization from the controlling or using agency.
- Restricted area: Operations may be hazardous and entry is restricted when active unless authorized.
- Warning area: Similar hazardous activity may occur over domestic or international waters, but the area is not regulatory in the same way as a restricted area.
- MOA: Military training may occur. VFR aircraft are not automatically prohibited, but drone pilots need current activity information and a conservative risk decision.
- Alert area: High training activity or unusual operations may occur; all participants share responsibility for collision avoidance.
What Part 107 is testing: Can you identify the type of area and know that current status may require the Chart Supplement, controlling agency, NOTAMs or other operational sources?
Common wrong answer: Assuming every special-use boundary is always active—or assuming an MOA is harmless because it is not automatically prohibited.
Practice: A planned flight lies inside a charted MOA. Is the sectional alone enough to approve the mission? Answer: No. Determine current activity and assess the operational risk before flight.
8. Charted security and conservation areas are warnings to investigate
Charts can depict Special Flight Rules Areas, national-security-related notices and special conservation areas. These symbols tell you to stop and research. They do not replace the underlying rule, current NOTAM or operating instructions.
Temporary flight restrictions are especially important because many are temporary by definition and may not be represented by a static chart. Check the FAA’s current TFR information and NOTAM Search during real preflight planning.
Common wrong answer: “It is not printed on my sectional, so it does not exist.” A current chart is only one part of a complete preflight review.
Practice: Your sectional shows no TFR over the jobsite. May you assume none exists today? Answer: No. Check current TFR and NOTAM sources before operating.
A chart-reading checklist for Part 107 questions
- Circle the exact operation location before reading nearby labels.
- Name the line color and style: solid, dashed or shaded; blue or magenta.
- Identify the surface airspace before considering shelves above it.
- Read stacked limits as ceiling over floor, normally in hundreds of feet MSL.
- Convert between MSL and AGL only when the question provides enough elevation information.
- Read obstacle labels as top elevation MSL, with height AGL in parentheses when shown.
- Use airport color as a clue, then verify the surrounding airspace.
- Treat special-use, security and conservation symbols as prompts for additional research.
- Remember that airspace authorization, TFRs, NOTAMs and current operating conditions require sources beyond the static chart.
Short knowledge check
- A shelf marked 80/25 begins at what altitude? 2,500 feet MSL.
- A tower is labeled 1,782 (402). What is its height? 402 feet AGL.
- What does a dashed magenta boundary normally identify? Class E beginning at the surface.
- What does fuzzy magenta normally indicate on its shaded side? A Class E floor of 700 feet AGL.
- Can a sectional confirm that an MOA is inactive right now? No; consult current operational information.
The goal is a safe decision, not symbol trivia
The easiest way to improve at sectional-chart questions is to use the same sequence every time: locate, classify, read the vertical limits, identify hazards and decide what additional approval or information is required. With repetition, the chart stops looking like a wall of ink and starts behaving like a set of organized clues.
Continue with our guides to the essential Part 107 subjects and building a Part 107 study plan. You can also practice with the All About UAVs Part 107 training app.
Reviewed September 1, 2026. The chart figures in this article are FAA educational references and are not for navigation. Verify current charts, regulations, authorizations, NOTAMs, TFRs and site conditions before every operation.
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