Sectional chart reference
Class E starting 700 ft AGL
Faded/soft magenta shading (outer edge).
What you are looking at
A FUZZY MAGENTA band (soft, not a crisp line) = a Class E FLOOR sitting up at 700 ft AGL, wrapped around a non-towered instrument airport. Warm magenta = the LOW floor.
Class E protects IFR planes. Near an airport with instrument approaches, planes descend through cloud toward the ground, so the FAA pulls the floor down to 700 ft AGL to keep them protected longer as they descend.
Reading the numbers
The 'number' is the floor: 700 ft AGL, already AGL, so compare it straight to your 400 ft, no math. Below 700 ft is Class G.
Where people get this wrong
Fuzz = floor, NOT a boundary. It's the same magenta as the dashed E-to-surface ring, but the fuzz means the floor is up at 700, so at 400 ft you're in Class G below it.
How it is tested
At 400 ft AGL under a faded magenta band, what class are you in?
- Class G: the E floor is up at 700 ft AGL
- Class E
- Class C
Show the answer
Class G: the E floor is up at 700 ft AGL
The fuzzy band is a floor at 700 AGL; below it is uncontrolled Class G, so no authorization at 400 ft.
Find one near you
Reading about a symbol is not the same as finding it. Open the live chart, put in your own address, and see what is actually there.
Open the live chart