Part 107 Airspace Classification: Class B, C, D, E, and G, Fast
Quick answer
What are the airspace classes on the Part 107 knowledge test?
A Part 107 remote pilot flies under five airspace classes. Class B, C, D, and Class E that reaches the surface all require prior authorization (LAANC or manual) before every flight. Class E at its 700 or 1,200 foot floor and Class G need no authorization for operations at or below 400 feet AGL. The class is identified from boundary-line color and pattern on a sectional chart.
Airspace classification is tested as part of Task Area 2, Airspace Classification and Operating Requirements, and candidates searching specifically for “airspace classification” are usually after one thing: a fast, direct answer on what each class is and whether it needs authorization, without wading through the flight-restriction material (TFRs, Special Use Airspace, NOTAMs) that the full task area guide also covers. This page is that fast answer, with links out to the deeper material where it belongs.
The five classes, at a glance
| Class | What it is | Authorization needed for Part 107? |
|---|---|---|
| B | Busiest major-hub airports, wedding-cake shape | Yes, always |
| C | Medium-traffic towered airports with radar approach | Yes, always |
| D | Smaller towered airports, no radar approach | Yes, always |
| E (surface) | Controlled airspace reaching the ground near some airports | Yes, treated like Class D |
| E (700/1,200 ft floor) | Controlled airspace starting above 400 ft AGL | No, floor is above where Part 107 flies |
| G | Uncontrolled airspace, the default everywhere else | No |
The pattern the test wants you to internalize: B, C, D, and surface-level E all need authorization because they reach the ground where a drone operates; the two higher-floor E variants and Class G do not, because a Part 107 flight capped at 400 feet above ground level (AGL) never reaches into them on the authorization-relevant basis.
How you tell them apart on a chart
Each class is drawn with a specific boundary-line color and pattern on a sectional chart: solid blue for Class B, solid magenta for Class C, dashed blue for Class D, and a dashed magenta line or soft magenta shading for the two Class E variants. Class G carries no boundary line of its own; it is the airspace left over once every other class has been drawn. Recognizing these lines under time pressure is a skill built through repetition against many charts, not by reading a legend once, which is why this site built the sectional chart drill as a standalone, drill-first practice tool rather than one paragraph inside a course.
Getting authorization once you know the class
Identifying the class only answers half the question; the other half is how you actually get cleared to fly in one that requires it. The Low Altitude Authorization and Notification Capability (LAANC) grants near-instant authorization in most controlled-airspace grids at or below a pre-approved altitude through an FAA-approved app, and it has replaced manual requests in the large majority of controlled-airspace locations. Some grids still require a manual request with a longer turnaround. The full walkthrough lives at LAANC airspace authorization.
Where the deeper material lives
This page intentionally stays narrow. Two more thorough resources go further:
- Task Area 2: Airspace Classification and Operating Requirements covers the flight-restriction layer on top of airspace class: Temporary Flight Restrictions (TFRs), Special Use Airspace, and NOTAMs, plus how the test structures chart-excerpt questions.
- Airspace classes for Part 107 pilots is the full class-by-class reference, with a diagram of how the classes stack around a real airport and the specific boundary-line conventions for each.
How this gets tested
Airspace-classification questions typically show a marked point on a chart excerpt and ask which class it falls in, or whether authorization is required to fly there. A smaller share ask the authorization question directly, without a chart, testing whether you know the B/C/D/E-surface versus E-shelf/G split even without visual chart-reading. Practice both formats: the sectional chart drill for the chart-reading skill, and the free practice bank for the mixed-format recall questions.