Lesson 12: Special use airspace and longitude and latitude 

Welcome back, future pilot! Congratulations for learning about the Classes of Airspace. 

You learned what airplane pilots use every day! That’s no small thing. Today, we’re going to continue the conversation of airspace, and talk about one special kind of airspace that’s really dangerous to fly in – even for manned aircraft.  It’s Special Use Airspace! But, before we dive into all that danger, let’s do a quick review of Sectional Charts, because we’ll be using them so much. 

What are sectional charts?

A Sectional Chart is a map of the sky that shows obstacles, airspace boundaries, and other important information. It’s also called a VFR Sectional Chart.

Why do I need to know how to read Sectional Charts?

If you plan on flying your drone near airports or plan on leaving Class G airspace, or avoid flying in dangerous areas, you’ll need to be able to read a Sectional Chart to understand the surrounding landscape, airspace details, and possible communications channels.

Where Can I Find Sectional Charts?

• SkyVector

• VFR Map

And, one more tip! Remember The Legend? That thing is our cheat sheet to remember what all these lines mean.  Reading Sectional Charts can be tricky, but with practice, you’ll do great!

Special Use Airspace

Now, let’s talk about places where it’s really dangerous for a drone pilot to fly in, or places drone pilots can’t fly at all. In the aviation world, we call these places ‘Special Use Airspace.’ 

Special use airspace is like a special zone in the sky where only certain planes can fly. 

It’s a safe area for practicing risky activities, like flying practice, testing new aircraft, or for the military to train. Bombs ahead! Other planes need to stay out to keep everyone safe, even commercial airplanes! There are 5 kinds of Special Use Airspace! And you can find them listed in a special way on a Sectional Chart. 

What is Special Use Airspace? 

Special Use Airspace are areas with specific rules for certain, usually risky activities that have to be confined. They’re marked in a specific way! Special Use Airspace is parts of the sky that are dangerous for other aircraft. Flight rules are different, because these areas might be used for risky stuff, like military activities, national security, or other important operations. These areas can have restrictions that affect how and when you can fly there. Basically, Special Use Airspace are areas with specific rules for certain, usually risky activities that have to be confined. These kinds of airspace limit flight operations for safety, security, to help manage air traffic, and to make sure that both military and civilian flights operate safely and don’t run into
each other.

Today, we’ll explore the 5 different kinds of Special Use Airspace! Each one is specially marked on a Sectional Chart. Nice! You can find the information about the type of Special Use Airspace on the border of the Sectional Chart. 

To help you remember all of them, we’ve come up with a handy acronym called PRAWM.

PRAWM

For the first letter, you can never fly there. For the second, you need permission. The last three are fair game, but dangerous places! So fly at your own risk. Great! Now that we know what Special Use Airspace is, let’s explore the five kinds of them. Let’s enter the Danger Zone! 

P is Prohibited! You can never ever fly a drone here – unless you want to leave in handcuffs. Prohibited areas are top-secret places that need to be kept safe for national security reasons, like The White House, military bases (Area 51), George Bush’s ranch, and Camp David (where the president hangs out.) Prohibited Areas are “no-fly zones” and they’re strictly off-limits to all unauthorized aircraft. Pilots must steer clear! You’re never allowed to fly here, no exceptions! On a sectional chart, these areas are marked by a “P” and a number (like P-40) and circled with blue hash marks. Prohibited Airspace is the only one that’s super forbidden, that you can never ever enter. It’s Prohibited! Awesome. So P is always Prohibited. Let’s move on to Restricted Airspace. 

R is Restricted, and you need a special waiver to fly there. Restricted Areas are often found over military training grounds or live-fire ranges. Flying can be dangerous because of military activity. These hazards can be unusual or invisible, like missiles. Drone pilots can fly in these areas, but you need to contact the controlling agency for permission. And if you fly there, it's like navigating a maze with potential hazards like rockets or artillery fire! So, not recommended. 

Next up are Warning, Alert, and Military Operations Areas, where you don’t need permission to fly, but it’s super dangerous. 

Warning Areas are spots over the ocean where there’s a lot of military activity, like training or missile testing. These activities are dangerous if you’re not participating in them, so pilots who fly nearby need to be extra careful. The difference between Restricted areas and Warning areas is that the U.S. government doesn’t have full control over Warning areas. You don't need special permission to fly in warning areas, but it's important to be very cautious. The military might be conducting exercises or tests, so staying informed and checking for active times is crucial for safety.

Alert Areas are where pilots are informed of high volumes of pilot training or unusual aerial activity. In Alert Areas, pilots are warned to be on their best behavior. Here, there's a lot of training activities, with student pilots and instructors zipping around, so it’s important for everyone to keep their eyes open and communication clear. You can fly in Alert Areas, but you should be extra cautious and stay informed! You are the only one who is responsible for avoiding crashes. 

Military Operation Areas (MOAs) are parts of airspace designated for military training activities. MOAs areas are established to separate military training activities from regular air traffic.In Military Operation Areas (MOAs), military jets practice their high-speed training exercises, and fighter jets zoom by! It’s rare for military operations to go below 1,500 feet above ground level.They are marked as MOA and outlined by magenta hashed lines on a Sectional Chart. Check the border of the Sectional Chart to see if the MOA is active (or “hot”). Technically, you are allowed to fly in MOAs. But only you are responsible for collision avoidance, so you have to be extra cautious.

Heads up! Those symbols are a lot to remember. Luckily, we can find them on The Legend. And another cool thing – you get to use The Legend when you take the remote pilot exam! 

In general, we’d recommend avoiding flying in these risky areas, and you’re responsible for avoiding collisions. But here’s a handy recap of the 5 kinds of Special Use Airspace. 

• Prohibited: Areas where no one can fly due to national security and safety concerns. 

• Restricted: Dangerous military training areas where you have a special waiver to fly in.

• Alert: Areas where pilots train. You can fly there, but be extra careful!

• Warning: Dangerous military training areas by the ocean. You can fly there, but be careful!

• Military Operations Areas (MOAs): Areas where there’s military aircraft training that’s
  really high up. You can fly here, but you should be extra careful! 

Don’t forget PRAWM! 

So far, we learned how to read sectional charts, classes of airspace, special use airspace, and use the legend on a sectional chart. Legendary! 

Latitude and Longitude

Now, we’re going to be talking about something that’s really important. Longitude and Latitude! Strap in, it’s going to be a brain workout. Has anyone ever heard of Longitude and Latitude before? Latitude and longitude are like Earth's address system — they’re imaginary lines that help us pinpoint locations anywhere on the planet. Understanding them is important for navigation, from finding your way on a map to guiding ships and planes across oceans. Latitude and longitude are the keys to exploring and navigating our world! Latitude is the imaginary lines drawn around the Earth, parallel to the equator. The equator is at 0 degrees latitude and divides the Earth into the Northern and Southern hemispheres. Think of Latitude as Flat lines that measure up and down! In the United States, the 48 continental states are between 25 degrees and 49 degrees N latitude.Longitude is the imaginary lines that go vertically from the North to the South pole. The Prime Meridian is at 0 degrees longitude and divides the Earth into the Eastern and Western hemispheres. Think of Longitude as long lines that measure where you are horizontally.  In the United States, the 48 continental states are between 67 degrees and 125 degrees longitude. As you move North (up), away from the equator, the latitudinal degree numbers go up. As you move West (left), away from the prime meridian, the longitudinal degree numbers go up. 

Latitude and longitude are used to pinpoint locations on Earth. They are measured in degrees (°) and minutes ('). Those are the official symbols for them! Degrees:    °  Minutes:      '

Degrees are the main unit for measuring latitude and longitude.

And here’s what they look like on a Sectional Chart! The ‘notches’ (or those lines) represent minutes of a degree and also nautical miles. Each degree is made up of 60 minutes. Minutes in latitude and longitude are smaller units used to measure locations more precisely than degrees. So, if you see 45° 30', it means 45 degrees and 30 minutes! Minutes help pinpoint locations within a degree. Each degree of latitude and longitude is made up of 60 units called “minutes” and is marked as a ‘.

Curveball from the FAA

Sometimes, you might get a question on the test that mentions seconds as well as minutes. There are 60 seconds in a minute. 1 degree = 60 minutes 1 minute = 60 seconds The lines on a Sectional Chart are half a degree (30 minutes) apart.

Converting Decimals to Degrees 

Don’t worry, you can use a calculator on the test!

You would take the number after the decimal points and multiply it by 60, and then round that number to the nearest whole number! 

Let’s practice. Let’s say you have to translate 46.93°N into degrees and minutes. Take 0.93 (just what’s after the decimal point) and multiply by 60. 0.93 x 60 = 56 minutes (we round to the nearest whole number.) So, you would get 46 degrees, 56 minutes.

 Let’s try another example! Convert 98.02°W into degrees and minutes. Take 0.02 (just what’s after the decimal point) and multiple by 60. 0.02 x 60 = 1 (we round to the nearest whole number.) So, you would get 98 degrees, 1 minute!

Now, let’s take a look at a typical Sectional Chart question that deals with latitude and longitude.

Which airport is located about approximately
47 degrees, 40 minutes N latitude, and 101 degrees 26 minutes W longitude?

All right, when solving a question like this, the first thing to do is to check which lines of latitude and longitude we can clearly see. The lines of latitude and longitude we can clearly see are:

Any guesses? 

48°N and 101°W!

• Step 1: Find the degrees of latitude & longitude that are labeled on the chart. Now, let’s calculate the latitude first. Start at line 48 (degree) of latitude. To get closer to 47 (degrees), we’d have to move down. Remember, the latitude numbers get lower the closer you move to the equator, which is 0 degrees latitude. 47 degrees 40 minutes is 20 minutes less than 48 degrees, since there’s 60 minutes in a degree.

• Step 2: To calculate the latitude, determine if you’d need to count up or down. If the number is closer to 0, count going down. So, you need to count down 20 notches. Each notch is a minute. You can also count down two of the larger notches. You can see them every ten notches. But, if you’re in doubt, just count the small notches. Okay, now let’s get the longitude! Start at line 101 longitude. The 26 minutes means we need to count to the left. We’re going west, towards the increasing numbers away from the Prime Meridian. Let’s count 26 notches to the left.

• Step 3: To find the longitude, figure out if you’d need to count right or left. If you’re going away from zero, away from the Prime Meridian, you’d want to count left. So, which airport is located at about 47 degrees 40 minutes N latitude and 101 degrees 26 minutes W longitude? At the intersection of those coordinates, you’ll find Garrison Airport!

You also might run into questions where you have to “reverse-engineer” an airport’s coordinates

Let’s go through one together.

For this next question, refer to area 3 of this Sectional Chart. 

What’s the approximate latitude and longitude of Shoshone County Airport?

• Step 1: Find the obvious longitude and latitude numbers! So we can see where we count from. Our references! Can you find it? Before we can zoom in on area 3, let’s see which lines of latitude and longitude are shown on this chart. Here are the most obvious longitude and latitude numbers! We don’t see them anywhere else.

• Step 2: “Refer to area 3” means the ‘3’ with the red circle. Can you find it? Okay! Now, we can zoom in on the correct area while still keeping the latitude and longitude coordinates visible, to help us out. 

• Step 3: After finding the red circle, now find the airport we need information on. It’s easier to find latitude first because it’s listed first. Now, let’s find this Shoshone County Airport.

• Step 4: Starting from 48 degrees latitude, let’s count down until we’re at the level of this airport. For this next question, refer to area 3 of this Sectional Chart. Let’s find the latitude of this airport first. Start from 48 degrees, the latitude number you see. Go down until you’re at the level of Shoshone County Airport. This should land you at 47 degrees 33 minutes. You can also count from the latitude line below, which is at 47 degrees 30 minutes (latitude lines are 30 minutes apart). In that case, you’ll go up three notches to arrive at the answer. But, if you’re in doubt, count from the line that is clearly labeled! Now, let’s find the longitude! 

• Step 5: Let’s start at 116 degrees. Count 11 notches to the left to get to the same level as this airport.Numbers are going up, since we’re going west – away from away from the prime meridian! And that’s how we get to this answer. Those numbers are going up since we’re moving west. 

Now, before we head out, we want to talk about a few more important things too, since we’re talking about latitude and longitude.

What’s North?

True North vs. Magnetic North 

Imagine you have a map that points straight to the North Pole. This direction is called True North. True North never changes. It points “up” on maps! Now, let's talk about compasses. Have you ever used a compass? When you hold a compass, the needle always points in one direction. But guess what? It's not pointing to True North. It's pointing to Magnetic North. Magnetic North is… a bit tricky. It's the direction where Earth's magnetic forces pull the compass needle. Unlike True North, Magnetic North can move around a little bit because of changes in Earth's magnetic field. True North is the direction to the North Pole. It stays the same. Magnetic North is where your compass points. It can move around a bit. True north is the direction that points straight up to the North Pole on a map. Always. Same spot. Magnetic north is where a compass needle points because of Earth's magnetic field. They aren't exactly the same spot; magnetic north moves around a bit, while true north stays the same. True North is a fixed point on the globe. Magnetic North is the direction that a compass needle points to as it aligns with the Earth's magnetic field. Sectional Charts are configured to True North! Unlike True North, Magnetic North can move around a little bit! That’s because of changes in Earth's magnetic field.

Now that we know the difference between true and magnetic north, we can cover something called isogonic lines.

Isogonic Lines

Isogonic lines are imaginary lines on maps that show how magnetic north is different from true north. They help pilots adjust their compasses so they can fly in the right direction. On some Sectional Charts, you can see a magenta dashed line labeled with degrees and a direction (W for West, E for East). If you see one that’s labeled W or West, you add that number to whatever your compass is reading. If you see an isogonic line that is labeled E or East, you subtract the number. On a Sectional Chart, isogonic lines show the difference between true north and magnetic north. Don’t confuse isogonic lines with Class E airspace, even though they can look kind of similar! Remember, Class E airspace will form a closed shape, while isogonic lines are a straight line.

Great work! I see you’re all a few steps closer to becoming a certified drone pilot.