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Sectional Chart Basics for Beginners: Start Here for Part 107

New to charts? Where to get a free FAA sectional, how to check it is current, read the legend and colors, and turn MSL into AGL for the Part 107 test.

  • Part 107
  • 8 min read
  • Updated
On this page12 sections

A sectional chart is the FAA’s map for pilots who fly by sight. It is free to download from the FAA’s VFR charts page, drawn at a scale of 1:500,000, and updated every 56 days (Aeronautical Chart Users’ Guide, July 9, 2026 edition, pp. 10 and 23). If you have never looked at one before, start with four habits: get the current chart for your area, check its dates, keep the legend open beside it, and remember that chart heights are above sea level, not above the ground.

This guide is for people starting from zero. You do not need any flying experience. Once these basics feel easy, our full walk-through, How to Read a Sectional Chart for the Part 107 Test, takes you through airspace, airport data, obstacles and special use airspace on real chart extracts.

Why drone pilots need charts at all

Before you fly, Part 107 requires you to assess the local airspace and any flight restrictions where you plan to operate (14 CFR 107.49(a)(2)). Some airspace needs prior authorization from Air Traffic Control (14 CFR 107.41), and the sectional is where that airspace is drawn.

Charts are also on the test. The Remote Pilot ACS lists airspace classes (UA.II.A.K1), special use airspace (UA.II.A.K2) and charts as a source of airport data (UA.V.B.K6a) among the things you must know (Remote Pilot ACS, FAA-S-ACS-10B, pp. 9 and 15). Beginning October 26, 2026, the Part 107 test (Unmanned Aircraft General - Small, UAG) also includes image-based questions taken from the latest sectional charts, not just the printed testing supplement (FAA Airman Testing Community Advisory, September 2026, p. 6). More on that in Part 107 test changes on October 26, 2026.

The sectional in one table

Fact What it means for you Source
Scale 1:500,000 1 inch on the chart is about 6.86 nautical miles (about 8 statute miles) PHAK, p. 16-2
Named after a major city Find the chart named after the big city near you (for example, Seattle) Chart Users’ Guide, p. 10
Updated every 56 days Old charts go out of date fast. Always check the dates Chart Users’ Guide, p. 23
Altitudes in feet MSL Heights are above mean sea level unless the chart says otherwise Chart Users’ Guide, p. 6
Miles in nautical miles Distances are nautical miles unless the chart says otherwise Chart Users’ Guide, p. 6
Legend on the chart The key to every symbol is printed on the chart itself PHAK, p. 16-2

PHAK here is the FAA’s Pilot’s Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge, FAA-H-8083-25C. It still says sectionals are revised twice a year (p. 16-2). The newer Chart Users’ Guide (July 2026) says every 56 days, so go by that.

Step 1: Get a free, current sectional

The FAA publishes its VFR charts, sectionals included, as free digital files on its VFR charts page. Pick the sectional named after the major city nearest to where you live or plan to fly (Chart Users’ Guide, p. 10). The file is large, so a laptop or tablet makes it easier to zoom around than a phone.

Many flight and drone apps also display sectionals. That is handy later, but for learning, the FAA file is all you need, and the FAA says the new test images come from its latest sectional charts (Airman Testing Community Advisory, September 2026, p. 6).

Step 2: Check the dates

Aeronautical information changes quickly, so the FAA tells pilots to check the effective dates on every chart, use the current edition and throw out old ones. To confirm a chart is current, look at the next scheduled edition date printed on it (Chart Users’ Guide, p. 6). Pilots should also check NOTAMs for updates between chart editions, so a current chart is a starting point, not the full picture (p. 6).

For the test, this matters in a small way: the new image-based questions come from the latest charts, and the FAA’s sample questions label each image with its chart and dates, such as “Sectional: Las Vegas, dated 12 Jun 2025 to 7 Aug 2025” (Airman Testing Community Advisory, September 2026, p. 10).

Step 3: Learn the legend, one group at a time

The legend is the chart’s key. By using it, you can interpret most of what is on the chart (PHAK, p. 16-2). Nobody memorizes it in one sitting. Learn it in this order, because it matches what Part 107 questions ask about most:

  1. Airports. Airports with a control tower, and their data, are printed in blue. All other airports and their data are magenta (Chart Users’ Guide, p. 15).
  2. Airspace. The colored lines, shaded bands and stacked numbers that mark controlled airspace (Chart Users’ Guide, pp. 16-17). This is the biggest group, so our airspace guide covers it on its own.
  3. Obstacles. Towers, wind turbines and other man-made features. Sectionals typically show obstacles taller than 200 feet above the ground (Chart Users’ Guide, p. 11).
  4. Terrain and water. The background colors and lines (next section).

The full FAA symbol tables for sectionals are in the Chart Users’ Guide, pages 23 to 42 (airports p. 23, airspace pp. 26-31, obstacles and other features after that). On the test, the testing supplement includes a sectional chart legend (Airman Knowledge Testing Supplement, FAA-CT-8080-2H, Legend 1), so the goal is to recognize symbols quickly, not to recite them.

Step 4: Read the background (terrain and water)

The background tells you what the ground is like, and that matters when you work out heights.

  • Color tints show bands of elevation, from light green for the lowest ground to dark brown for the highest (Chart Users’ Guide, p. 11).
  • Contour lines join points of the same elevation. Basic contours on sectionals are 500 feet apart. Lines close together mean steep ground, lines far apart mean gentle slopes (p. 10).
  • Shaded relief shows how hills look from the air, as if lit from the northwest (p. 10).
  • Water comes in two blues: the lighter tone for oceans, bays and very large lakes, the darker tone for other inland water (p. 10).
  • Maximum Elevation Figures (MEFs) are the large numbers placed in each quadrant. Each one is the highest point in its area, terrain or obstacle, rounded up to the next 100 feet with the last two digits left off. So an MEF of 28 means 2,800 feet MSL (p. 12).

Step 5: MSL versus AGL (the one subtraction you will use most)

This is the idea that unlocks most chart questions.

  • MSL (mean sea level) is height above the sea. Unless a chart says otherwise, its altitudes are MSL (Chart Users’ Guide, p. 6).
  • AGL (above ground level) is height above the ground under you. Your drone’s limits are AGL: no higher than 400 feet above ground level, unless you are within 400 feet of a structure (14 CFR 107.51(b)).

To turn one into the other: AGL = MSL minus the ground elevation.

Obstacles show both. The top of the obstacle in feet MSL is printed first, and its height AGL is in parentheses below it, when known (Chart Users’ Guide, p. 11). Airport ground elevation is in each airport’s data block, which our full sectional walk-through explain.

Step 6: Find your place with latitude and longitude

The thin black grid on a sectional is latitude and longitude.

  • Latitude lines run east and west and count degrees north of the equator. The lower 48 states sit between 25° and 49° north (PHAK, p. 16-3).
  • Longitude lines run from pole to pole and count degrees east or west of the Prime Meridian in England. The lower 48 states sit between 67° and 125° west (PHAK, p. 16-3).

Any point can be described by the two numbers. Washington, D.C. is about 39° N, 77° W (PHAK, p. 16-3). In the US, west longitude numbers get bigger as you go west, which trips up a lot of beginners. Sectionals also tick the grid every 30 minutes of latitude and longitude, and each box between those ticks gets one MEF (Chart Users’ Guide, p. 12).

Try it: an original example

Not a real test question. The numbers are made up for practice.

You find an antenna on a chart labeled 1650 with (450) in parentheses below it. The ground around it is not labeled. How high is the ground there, and could you legally fly your drone right up to the top of the antenna?

Answer: The top is 1,650 feet MSL and the antenna is 450 feet tall AGL (Chart Users’ Guide, p. 11). Ground elevation = 1,650 minus 450 = 1,200 feet MSL. Normally you are capped at 400 feet AGL, but within a 400-foot radius of a structure you may fly up to 400 feet above its top (14 CFR 107.51(b)). So near the antenna you could go as high as 850 feet AGL (450 + 400), which is 2,050 feet MSL. You would still need to check the airspace at that spot, because the extra height could take you into controlled airspace.

A first-week practice routine

You do not need anything but the free chart and 15 to 20 minutes a day.

  1. Day 1: Download your local sectional. Find your home, then check the chart’s dates.
  2. Day 2: Find the three nearest airports. Note which are blue (towered) and which are magenta.
  3. Day 3: Find the tallest obstacle near you. Read its MSL and AGL figures and work out the ground elevation.
  4. Day 4: Find the nearest MEF and say it out loud in full feet (“28 means 2,800 feet MSL”).
  5. Day 5: Read the latitude and longitude of your home, to the nearest degree.
  6. Day 6 and 7: Move on to the airspace guide, then try a few questions from airspace and charts.

Common mistakes

  • Using an old chart. Sectionals change every 56 days (Chart Users’ Guide, p. 23).
  • Treating chart heights as AGL. They are MSL unless marked otherwise (p. 6).
  • Reading an MEF as an airspace limit. It is the highest terrain or obstacle in that box (p. 12).
  • Mixing up the two parts of an obstacle label. The top figure is MSL, the one in parentheses is AGL (p. 11).
  • Reading west longitude backwards. The numbers grow as you go west.

Common questions

Is there an app for sectional charts?

You do not need one to study. The FAA’s sectionals are free to download from its VFR charts page, and the FAA says the new test images come from its latest sectional charts (Airman Testing Community Advisory, September 2026, p. 6). Many flight apps show sectionals too, which is useful once you start planning real flights.

Can I learn to read charts with no aviation background?

Yes. The FAA describes its Chart Users’ Guide as a learning aid for new pilots (Chart Users’ Guide, p. 6), and the legend covers most of what is on the chart (PHAK, p. 16-2). Learn one symbol group at a time and practice on your own local chart.

Do I have to memorize the legend?

No. The testing supplement includes a sectional chart legend (FAA-CT-8080-2H, Legend 1), and as of October 2026 the printed supplement stays at test centers until the FAA announces a removal date (Airman Testing Community Advisory, September 2026, p. 5). Knowing the common symbols on sight still saves you a lot of time.

The full sectional walk-through goes through every chart topic the test asks about, using real extracts from a current sectional.

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