Learning Airspace

Jaybird180

Jaybird180

Final Approach
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Jaybird180
Any recommended resouces for learning airspace? Like 'Airspace for Dummies' series.
 
As far as how it's depicted on the Sectionals and the visability requirements?

Flashcards. And lots of practice.

It's a required item during the oral exam and one that I really crashed and burned on by not studying enough.

Make up some flash cards with all the different types of questions (see a PTS for what is needed) having to do with airspaces.

Hand them to a partner and ask them to quiz you on various questions off of each card.

Also have your instructor draw a course line across the sectional going through the various airspaces. From the start to the end, as you encounter each space, be able to confidently state what airspace you're in and what you need to know about that space. This is a method the examiner might use to ensure you know the different depictions and what you need to know if you're in that space.
 
Flash cards also give you some portability to practice whenever you have some downtime (stuck in traffic going to/from work, lunchtime, waiting for your instructor to show up for the flight, etc).
 
My examiner, pointing to the Concord, NC (JQF) airport (a Class D underlying a Class Bravo ring), asked "if a rocket took off from this runway, what classes of airspace would it pass through on a verticle trajectory?" That's a fun way to think about the various airspace categories.
 
A good bit of the chart to practice with is Western Oklahoma. LOTS of things going on out there to challenge your brain and chart reading skills.

Speaking of challenge 10,000 "whose line is it anyway" points to whomever can correctly identify the airspace around Aldus AFB. (What do the dark grey lines mean. This was a favorite "trip you up" election of my DPE).

Also check out the little airport in the lower right! (KFDR)

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The FAA teaches this backwards. If you look at chapter 14 of the pilots handbook of aeronautical knowledge they start with class A and work their way down. I start with G and work my way up. Let me explain:

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth and the airspace was uncontrolled. This is class G - God's airspace, but God is not an idiot and she said. "Fly with enough visibility not to get killed" and she made a few simple rules.

I work my way up from there, and while I've been teaching the airspace like this for 30+ years, the AOPA also uses a similar technique which I like to think they stole from me, but know they did not, as explained in the link in Greg's post.

One other thing to keep clear on is the dual purpose airspace designations serve. One purpose is to define the minimum weather needed to fly VFR. The other is to define operating rules.

Just keep in mind that this all makes sense in the context of keeping airplanes from running into each other. Class E airspace is all about keeping IFR traffic from hitting VFR traffic by ensuring that the VFR folks are only flying around in the airspace if the weather is half way decent and the IFR folks can rely on "see and avoid" rather than ATC radar. Class D, C, B impose successively greater operating restrictions but note that Class B, because everyone in it must be on an ATC clearance drops the VFR mins to 3 miles and clear of clouds, and Class A eliminates all VFR which is a pretty good way to keep IFR traffic separated from VFR traffic.
 
AggieMike88 said:
A good bit of the chart to practice with is Western Oklahoma. LOTS of things going on out there to challenge your brain and chart reading skills.

Speaking of challenge 10,000 "whose line is it anyway" points to whomever can correctly identify the airspace around Aldus AFB. (What do the dark grey lines mean. This was a favorite "trip you up" election of my DPE).
Click to expand...


You mean the TRSA?
 
Ah, Arnold, you scooped me... and it says Altus TRSA just above the northeast edge of the margin just inside the Hobart VOR ring also.

In a couple of weeks I'll be covering airspace w/ my ground school students - I have the usual table matrix of requirements/wx mins and also I'll use Rod Machado's triangle split into 4 triangles for the folks who are picture oriented. Frankly whatever way you go about it I'm afraid it's just a matter of making it make sense in your head and remembering it.
I laughed out loud, Arnold at your Gods airspace comments - I might steal it ... I know another person who refers to it as the airspace for gutsy pilots
 
A - Airliners and Altitude - What you find here, and what you need to be here. FL180 up to FL600 and you need to be IFR to be in it.
B - Big and Busy Towered Field, Airline hubs. Airspace looks like upside down Picasso wedding cake. B eon your toes.
C - Average Towered Field - kinda busy. Airspace generally only up to 4,000 agl and 10 miles.
D - Below Average Towered Field. 2500' agl and 4 miles from airport.
E - Everthing Else is here. It's all the airports and airspace that's not the above except for...
G - Ground up to 1200' (except out west an in the U.P.)

Once we got this down, Then we go ever the magenta dashed lines and TRSAs.

C, D, E all have the same visibility and cloud requirement below 10,000.
 
AggieMike88 said:
This was a favorite "trip you up" election of my DPE).
Click to expand...

Not a trip you up around here. MBS, AZO, MKG are all TRSA. My favorite trip you up, is what is a double open magenta circle?
 
Yep, they just aren't very common.
 
Arnold said:
The FAA teaches this backwards. If you look at chapter 14 of the pilots handbook of aeronautical knowledge they start with class A and work their way down. I start with G and work my way up. Let me explain:
Click to expand...

I agree with this. When I first came across the AOPA article posted above, I had a much better understanding of the airspace. It's more logical to incrementally add the airspace restrictions from the bottom up.
 
AggieMike88 said:
A good bit of the chart to practice with is Western Oklahoma. LOTS of things going on out there to challenge your brain and chart reading skills.

Speaking of challenge 10,000 "whose line is it anyway" points to whomever can correctly identify the airspace around Aldus AFB. (What do the dark grey lines mean. This was a favorite "trip you up" election of my DPE).

Also check out the little airport in the lower right! (KFDR)
Click to expand...

Oddly enough the current A/FD doesn't list LTS as having TRSA service, even though it's depicted on the sectional and AirNav indicates Stage III communications, but it does identify the following airports as having TRSA service

AGS, AVP, AZO, BAK, BGM, BPT, CXY, DWU, ELM, ERI, FAI, FAR, FSM, GGG, GPT, GRF, GTF, I41, ILM, LCH, MBS, MCN, MDT, MGM, MKG, MLU, PSP, RFD, TRI, WRB, YNG

not all of which are class D airports.

...consistently inconsistent...
 
Steve said:
Oddly enough the current A/FD doesn't list LTS as having TRSA service, even though it's depicted on the sectional and AirNav indicates Stage III communications, but it does identify the following airports as having TRSA service

AGS, AVP, AZO, BAK, BGM, BPT, CXY, DWU, ELM, ERI, FAI, FAR, FSM, GGG, GPT, GRF, GTF, I41, ILM, LCH, MBS, MCN, MDT, MGM, MKG, MLU, PSP, RFD, TRI, WRB, YNG

not all of which are class D airports.

...consistently inconsistent...
Click to expand...

Where does it identify that? I see it "TRSA svc ctc APP CON" for HTS, as an example, but not in the entry for I41.
 
Jeanie said:
I laughed out loud, Arnold at your Gods airspace comments - I might steal it ... I know another person who refers to it as the airspace for gutsy pilots
Click to expand...

It would hardly be wise to attempt to claim a copyright in the concept of monotheistic omnipotence. Feel free to with God and work your way towards the Flight Levels.
 
I had to really study airspace since it's pure memorization.

Here's how I remember the basic airspace classes:
A - Above
B - Big Cities
C - Cities
D - Dashed line
E - Everywhere Else
G - Ground

This site has a good picture showing airspace examples:
http://macklow.com/airspace/

My DPE asked me this question:
Q: "Why do visibility requirements increase above 10,000?"
A: Because speed restrictions increase
 
MadseasoN said:
I had to really study airspace since it's pure memorization.

Here's how I remember the basic airspace classes:
A - Above
B - Big Cities
C - Cities
D - Dashed line
E - Everywhere Else
G - Ground

This site has a good picture showing airspace examples:
http://macklow.com/airspace/

My DPE asked me this question:
Q: "Why do visibility requirements increase above 10,000?"
A: Because speed restrictions increase
Click to expand...

The restrictions actually decrease, allowing for higher speeds.
 
EdFred said:
The restrictions actually decrease, allowing for higher speeds.
Click to expand...


so what you're saying is 400kts is a decrease from 250 kts? lol

it's like when is next weekend (this weekend or the next weekend)

or a higher vacuum

or inflammable
 
Steve said:
so what you're saying is 400kts is a decrease from 250 kts? lol

it's like when is next weekend (this weekend or the next weekend)

or a higher vacuum

or inflammable
Click to expand...

The number of restrictions decreased above 10,000 so you can go faster.
 
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