Sectional charts look like chaos at first and obvious once they click. This is the single most important skill on the Part 107 test — here's how to read one fast.
Blue airport = control tower; magenta = none. Border colors tell you the airspace: solid blue (Class B), solid magenta (C), dashed blue (D), dashed magenta (Class E to the surface — needs authorization). Stacked numbers are altitudes in MSL; your 400-ft limit is AGL. Obstacle heights show MSL on top, AGL in parentheses.
A sectional chart is the VFR aeronautical map — the same chart pilots have used for decades to see airspace, airports, terrain, and obstacles. For Part 107, you don't need to navigate with one; you need to read one. And as of October 27, 2026, that matters more than ever, because the FAA now embeds chart images directly inside the test questions. Memorizing "Figure 22" is dead — you have to read a chart you've never seen.
Start with the airport symbols, because their color tells you a lot before you read anything else. A blue airport symbol has an operating control tower; a magenta airport does not. Next to each airport sits a data block listing the field elevation, the longest runway length (in hundreds of feet), lighting, and frequencies.
Each class of airspace is drawn with its own line, and learning these five is half the battle:
That dashed-magenta surface ring is the one that catches people, so commit it to memory: dashed magenta means controlled airspace down to the ground, which means you need authorization (usually via LAANC).
Inside Class B, Class C, and their shelves you'll see a stacked pair of numbers in hundreds of feet MSL — the top number is the ceiling, the bottom is the floor. So "100" over "40" means a ceiling of 10,000 ft MSL and a floor of 4,000 ft MSL. If the bottom reads SFC, the airspace starts at the surface.
This one trips up more test-takers than any other. Airspace altitudes on the chart are MSL (above sea level). Your 400-ft Part 107 ceiling is AGL (above the ground). To compare them, add the ground elevation: at a field 1,200 ft MSL, your 400-ft AGL ceiling sits at 1,600 ft MSL. Mixing up MSL and AGL is the fastest way to get a chart question wrong.
Obstacles are marked with a symbol and two heights: the top, bold number is MSL and the number in parentheses is AGL (height above the ground at its base). A tower printed as 1,549 (1,200) stands 1,200 ft above the ground and tops out at 1,549 ft MSL. Taller obstacles use a larger symbol, and lit obstacles get a marking like radiating lines.
A bold "C" inside a magenta circle marks the CTAF — the Common Traffic Advisory Frequency pilots self-announce on at non-towered fields. Towered fields list the control tower frequency. You're not required to carry a radio for most Part 107 work, but you do need to read these.
Chart reading is a reps game — you get fast by seeing a lot of charts:
It marks Class E airspace that begins at the surface. Flying a drone there requires FAA authorization, usually through LAANC. It's the symbol that catches the most people.
MSL is height above sea level; AGL is height above the ground. Airspace altitudes on a sectional are MSL, while your 400-ft Part 107 limit is AGL. Convert by adding the ground elevation.
A blue airport symbol has an operating control tower; a magenta airport does not. The color tells you a lot about the surrounding airspace at a glance.
Use a free interactive viewer like SkyVector or VFRMap, the FAA Aeronautical Chart Users' Guide, and our free Sectional Chart Decoder, which lets you tap any symbol for a plain-English explanation.
The full app has embedded-chart practice built for the Oct 27 format, plus 800 explained questions, a 22-lesson course, and an AI coach. One-time $39.99, no subscription, 7-day money-back guarantee.