Class D surrounds airports with an operating control tower. A Part 107 pilot needs ATC authorization before flying in it, so you have to be able to spot it on the chart.
Only with prior ATC authorization. Class D generally extends from the surface to 2,500 feet above the airport elevation around an airport with an operating control tower, and 14 CFR 107.41 has no altitude exception for a small drone. On a sectional it is outlined by a dashed blue line.
The AIM says each Class D area is individually tailored and, when instrument procedures are published, is normally designed to contain them. A Class D surface area is either full-time or part-time, with the effective times in the Chart Supplement. Where it is part-time, the airspace may revert to a Class E surface area or to Class G when the tower is closed, and the airport listing states 'other times CLASS E' or 'other times CLASS G'. Arrival extensions of 2 miles or less stay part of the Class D; if any extension is longer than 2 miles, all extensions are Class E.
On the chart, Class D is a dashed blue line. The ceiling is printed in hundreds of feet MSL inside a dashed blue box, so a 28 means 2,800 feet MSL, and a minus sign in front of the figure means 'from the surface to, but not including' that altitude. A star after the airport's tower frequency means the tower is part-time, with its hours in the tower frequency tabulation on the chart.
The manned-aircraft rules in Part 91 add two-way radio contact with the tower before entry and a 200-knot limit at or below 2,500 feet AGL within 4 nautical miles of the primary airport; those are not Part 107 rules. For a drone the gate is the authorization described on our 14 CFR 107.41 page.
No person may operate a small unmanned aircraft in Class B, Class C, or Class D airspace or within the lateral boundaries of the surface area of Class E airspace designated for an airport unless that person has prior authorization from Air Traffic Control (ATC).
AIM 3-2-5, Class D Airspace
Generally, Class D airspace extends upward from the surface to 2,500 feet above the airport elevation (charted in MSL) surrounding those airports that have an operational control tower.
AIM 3-2-5, Class D Airspace
Where a Class D surface area is part-time, the airspace may revert to either a Class E surface area (see paragraph 3-2-6 e 1 ) or Class G airspace.
Chart Users' Guide, Controlled Airspace
Class D Airspace is identified with a blue dashed line.
Chart Users' Guide, Controlled Airspace
A minus in front of the figure is used to indicate "from surface to, but not including..."
Class D ceilings are in feet MSL, printed in hundreds: 28 means 2,800 feet MSL, not 2,800 feet AGL.
A star after the tower frequency means the tower is part-time. After hours the airspace can become a Class E surface area, where 14 CFR 107.41 still requires authorization, or Class G.
Class D is a dashed blue line and a Class E surface area is a dashed magenta line; both are named in 107.41.
The Class D surface area arrival extensions are Class D only if every extension is 2 miles or less; if any one is longer, all extensions are Class E.
Quick quiz: 3 questions
Similar to the FAA test, not the actual test questions. Each answer shows its FAA source.
Question 1 of 3
Refer to the chart excerpt. The number 28 inside the dashed blue square near FREDERICK MUNI (FDK) gives the ceiling of the Class D airspace. What does it mean?
Tap the figure to open it full size.
A The Class D extends from the surface up to 2,800 feet MSL.
B The Class D extends from the surface up to 2,800 feet AGL.
C The Class D extends from the surface up to 28,000 feet MSL.
Show the answer
Answer: A. The Class D extends from the surface up to 2,800 feet MSL.
Class D ceilings are printed in hundreds of feet MSL inside a dashed blue box, so 28 means 2,800 feet MSL. The Class D reaches from the surface up to that altitude (about 2,490 feet above the ground at FDK, whose elevation is 309 feet). A remote pilot needs prior ATC authorization under 14 CFR 107.41 to fly a small UA anywhere inside it.
Airspace at an airport with a part-time control tower is classified as Class D airspace only
A when the weather minimums are below basic VFR.
B when the associated control tower is in operation.
C when the associated Flight Service Station is in operation.
Show the answer
Answer: B. when the associated control tower is in operation.
(The airspace is class D when the tower is in operation but reverts to Class E when not. In some situations, the airspace can be a combination of E and G.)
Generally from the surface to 2,500 feet above the airport elevation. The chart prints the ceiling in hundreds of feet MSL inside the dashed blue boundary.
A part-time Class D surface area may revert to a Class E surface area or to Class G. The Chart Supplement airport entry says which, for example "other times CLASS E".
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