Airports and radio
Tower status, services, beacons, airport data, CTAF, and traffic clues.
33 CORE SYMBOLSPart 107 chart key
Find the mark. Read what it changes.
Search by name, filter by chart family, and inspect the exact meaning, drone implication, memory cue, and exam trap for each symbol.
Read by family
A sectional is five systems drawn on top of each other.
Airspace boundaries
Class B, C, D, and E lines, vignettes, floors, ceilings, and equipment veils.
Navigation and position
Latitude, longitude, isogonic lines, VFR waypoints, and chart orientation.
Terrain and obstructions
Towers, lighting, groups, wind turbines, spot elevations, and MEF.
Activities and special use
MOAs, restricted areas, parachute jumps, gliders, wildlife, and alert areas.
Interactive chart key
Select a symbol before reading the answer.
Start with appearance. Say what you think the mark means, then compare the FAA meaning, drone-specific read, and exam trap.
FAA source-backed symbol desk
33 core marks with exam traps and drone-specific reads
Airports & radio
Towered airport
Blue airport or runway symbol.
- What it means
- The airport has an operating control tower during published hours. The runway layout may be drawn inside the symbol.
- Drone read
- Expect concentrated manned traffic. Check the airspace class, authorization path, airport frequencies, and traffic pattern before operating nearby.
- Exam trap
- Blue describes the airport symbol, not every airspace boundary around it. Read the surrounding lines separately.
- Memory line
- Blue airport = tower.
FAA raster reference. This image comes from the 2018 FAA testing-supplement legend. Its native proportions are preserved; scale, color, and surrounding detail vary by chart edition and display. Source: FAA Chart Users' Guide, VFR airport symbols
Built from FAA source material
Source-backed marks, with context preserved
This desk combines FAA raster details from the 2018 FAA-CT-8080-2H testing supplement with clean instructional renderings for symbols that lose meaning when cropped from context or have changed in current chart guidance. Raster proportions are preserved. Scale, print color, and some symbology vary by chart edition, so use the full test figures for exam practice and the current Chart User's Guide and chart for flight planning.
Frequently asked questions
- What does a blue airport symbol mean on a sectional chart?
- A blue airport symbol depicts an airport with an operating control tower during published hours. Read the surrounding airspace boundary separately because the airport color does not by itself identify the airspace class.
- What does a magenta airport symbol mean?
- A magenta airport symbol depicts an airport without an operating control tower. It can still have active traffic and may sit inside controlled airspace, so non-towered does not mean empty or automatically Class G.
- What is the flag symbol on a sectional chart?
- A flag marks a visual checkpoint used for VFR position reporting or navigation. It is not a state boundary, wind indicator, or special-use airspace symbol.
- How do you read obstruction numbers such as 1549 (612)?
- The first number is the elevation at the top of the obstruction in feet MSL. The number in parentheses is the obstruction height in feet AGL. In this example the top is 1,549 feet MSL and the structure is 612 feet AGL.
- What does the large blue number with a small superscript mean?
- It is a Maximum Elevation Figure for the quadrangle, expressed in thousands and hundreds of feet MSL. It is a conservative charted terrain and obstruction value, not a drone altitude authorization.
Leave the clean key
Find the same clues on real FAA figures.
The full lab combines symbols with coordinates, airspace, frequencies, terrain, and testing supplement figures 20 through 26.