5.2 Class D, E, and G Airspace and VFR Weather Minimums
Key Takeaways
- Class D generally extends from the surface to 2,500 feet above airport elevation, charted in MSL; 91.129 requires established two-way communications before entry, and VFR weather is 3 SM with 500/1,000/2,000 cloud clearance.
- Class E floors are commonly the surface (dashed magenta), 700 feet AGL (magenta vignette), 1,200 feet AGL (blue vignette), or 14,500 feet MSL; below 10,000 MSL the airplane VFR minimum is 3 SM and 152, and at or above 10,000 MSL it is 5 SM and 111.
- Airplane Class G at or below 1,200 feet AGL is 1 SM and clear of clouds by day, and 3 SM with 500/1,000/2,000 at night unless the narrow 91.155(b) traffic-pattern exception applies.
- 91.155(c) prohibits basic VFR beneath a ceiling of less than 1,000 feet inside the lateral boundaries of controlled airspace designated to the surface for an airport, except under special VFR.
- Airplane special VFR (91.157) needs an ATC clearance, 1 SM flight visibility, and clear of clouds; at night the pilot must meet instrument-flight requirements under part 61 and the airplane must meet 91.205(d).
Once you leave the Mode C and clearance world of A/B/C, PAR still expects the entire 91.155 airplane table, the Class D communications rule, the different Class E floors, and the special VFR exception in 91.157. ACS PA.I.E.K4 is explicit: weather minimums and SVFR are knowledge, not “look it up later.” Helicopter-only exceptions exist in 91.155(b)(1) and 91.157; this airplane (PAR) section teaches the airplane table and mentions helicopters only where the regulation carves them out.
Complete basic VFR weather minimums — airplane (14 CFR 91.155)
Except as provided in 91.155(b) and 91.157, no person may operate under VFR when flight visibility or cloud distance is less than the table. Statute miles are statute miles. “152” means 500 feet below, 1,000 feet above, and 2,000 feet horizontal. “111” means 1,000 feet below, 1,000 feet above, and 1 statute mile horizontal.
| Airspace | Flight visibility | Distance from clouds |
|---|---|---|
| Class A | Not applicable | Not applicable |
| Class B | 3 statute miles | Clear of clouds |
| Class C | 3 statute miles | 500 below, 1,000 above, 2,000 horizontal |
| Class D | 3 statute miles | 500 below, 1,000 above, 2,000 horizontal |
| Class E less than 10,000 feet MSL | 3 statute miles | 500 below, 1,000 above, 2,000 horizontal |
| Class E at or above 10,000 feet MSL | 5 statute miles | 1,000 below, 1,000 above, 1 SM horizontal |
| Class G 1,200 feet AGL or less — day | 1 statute mile | Clear of clouds |
| Class G 1,200 feet AGL or less — night | 3 statute miles | 500 below, 1,000 above, 2,000 horizontal |
| Class G more than 1,200 feet AGL and less than 10,000 feet MSL — day | 1 statute mile | 500 below, 1,000 above, 2,000 horizontal |
| Class G more than 1,200 feet AGL and less than 10,000 feet MSL — night | 3 statute miles | 500 below, 1,000 above, 2,000 horizontal |
| Class G more than 1,200 feet AGL and at or above 10,000 feet MSL | 5 statute miles | 1,000 below, 1,000 above, 1 SM horizontal |
Two table-reading traps. First, the Class G “1,200 feet or less above the surface” row applies regardless of MSL altitude — a 7,500-foot MSL airport still uses the 1 SM day / clear-of-clouds airplane numbers when you are within 1,200 feet of that surface. Second, 91.155(e) says an aircraft operating at the base altitude of a Class E area is considered to be in the airspace directly below that area, so the more restrictive overlying-E numbers do not automatically apply right on the floor.
91.155(b)(2) is a narrow night exception, not the basic night minimum: if night visibility in Class G below 1,200 feet AGL is less than 3 SM but at least 1 SM, an airplane (or powered parachute or weight-shift-control aircraft) may operate clear of clouds in an airport traffic pattern within 1/2 mile of the runway. Do not rewrite the basic night row as 1 SM.
Class D — towered, communications, 3 SM and 152
AIM 3-2-5: Class D generally extends from the surface to 2,500 feet above airport elevation, and the ceiling is charted in MSL. A 600-foot field elevation with a standard 2,500 AGL ceiling prints as 31 (3,100 MSL). Blue segmented lines depict it. Each area is tailored; arrival extensions of 2 NM or less usually stay Class D, while a longer extension is usually Class E.
91.129 uses the same communications test as Class C: establish two-way radio communications before entry, then maintain them. “[Callsign] standby” is established; “Aircraft calling [tower], standby” is not. If the tower is too busy, you will be told to remain outside. Equipment is an operable two-way radio unless ATC authorizes otherwise. Mode C and ADS-B Out are not Class D entry equipment — they become required if you are also in a Mode C veil, above 10,000 MSL in the 48 states (with the 2,500 AGL exclusion), or in other 91.215 / 91.225 airspace.
Part-time towers revert. The Chart Supplement “Airspace” line says “other times CLASS E” or “other times CLASS G.” When the tower closes, the dashed-blue surface area is no longer Class D. Speed in 91.117(b) still matters while the D is in effect: 200 KIAS at or below 2,500 AGL within 4 NM of the primary airport unless ATC authorizes or requires otherwise.
Class E — many floors, one weather split
Class E is controlled airspace that is not A, B, C, or D. AIM 3-2-6 lists the usual designations:
- Surface area for an airport (dashed magenta), including some part-time C/D airports after the tower closes.
- Extensions to B/C/D/E surface areas, starting at the surface, to contain instrument procedures without imposing a VFR communications requirement.
- Transition areas from 700 feet AGL (magenta vignette) or 1,200 feet AGL (blue vignette).
- Federal airways and low-altitude RNAV T-routes, generally 1,200 feet AGL up to but not including 18,000 MSL.
- The continental layer from 14,500 feet MSL up to but not including 18,000 MSL (with listed exclusions).
- Everything above FL 600.
There is no VFR clearance or communications requirement merely because you are in Class E. Weather is the 10,000 MSL split: 3 SM and 152 below 10,000; 5 SM and 111 at or above 10,000. Transponder and ADS-B Out are required in the 48 contiguous states and the District of Columbia at and above 10,000 MSL, excluding the airspace at and below 2,500 feet AGL (91.215 / 91.225).
Class G and the ceiling / pattern rules
Class G is everything that is not A–E. Near the surface by day, an airplane may legally fly with 1 SM and clear of clouds. That is why a nontowered sod strip at dawn can be legal when the same visibility would be illegal 200 feet higher in the magenta 700-foot Class E. At night the airplane numbers jump to 3 SM and 152 unless you are in that 91.155(b)(2) half-mile pattern exception.
91.155(c) is not a “stay 2,500 feet from clouds below 10,000” rule — that sentence is invented. The actual (c) rule: except under 91.157, no person may operate beneath the ceiling under VFR within the lateral boundaries of controlled airspace designated to the surface for an airport when the ceiling is less than 1,000 feet. 91.155(d) adds the takeoff, landing, and traffic-pattern piece: inside B/C/D/E surface areas, you need 3 SM ground visibility (or 3 SM flight visibility if ground visibility is not reported) unless you have SVFR.
Special VFR — 91.157
SVFR is available below 10,000 feet MSL within the upward extension of the lateral boundaries of controlled airspace designated to the surface for an airport — not in random Class E at 3,000 MSL over the plains. It is not authorized at the primary airports listed in part 91 appendix D section 3 (except helicopters).
Airplane SVFR requires all of the following: an ATC clearance; remain clear of clouds; flight visibility at least 1 statute mile; and, for takeoff or landing, ground visibility at least 1 SM (or 1 SM flight visibility if ground visibility is not reported). Between sunrise and sunset that is the whole weather package. At night, an airplane SVFR clearance is legal only if the person granted the clearance meets the applicable instrument-flight requirements of part 61 and the airplane is equipped as required by 91.205(d). A non-instrument-rated private pilot may not accept night airplane SVFR. Helicopters are carved out of the 1 SM and night-instrument limits; PAR still tests the airplane rule.
PAR scenario: your towered Class D airport is reporting 2 SM and an 800-foot overcast at 10 a.m. Basic VFR is dead on two independent counts: 91.155(c) (ceiling under 1,000 inside a surface area) and 91.155(d) (ground visibility under 3 SM). If the airport is not an appendix D section 3 no-SVFR primary, you may request special VFR, stay clear of clouds, and depart with 1 SM. The same weather at 10 p.m. is a no-go unless you are instrument rated and the trainer meets 91.205(d).
What are the basic VFR minimums in 14 CFR 91.155 for an airplane in Class G airspace 800 feet AGL during the day?
A non-instrument-rated private pilot in a day-VFR-only trainer wants special VFR at a Class D airport at 9 p.m. local. The reported weather is 2 SM and clear of clouds. What does 91.157 require?
A Class D surface area is reporting a 700-foot overcast and 4 statute miles visibility at noon. No special VFR clearance has been issued. May a private pilot operate VFR beneath that ceiling inside the surface area?