Page 2 - Tuskegee Airmen Drone License Preparatory Course Chp.2 Manual

Drone Pilot Ground School

Chapter 2, National Airspace System

• Introduction
o The Remote Pilot Certificate with an sUAS rating allows you to operate an sUAS
in the National Airspace System (NAS). There are two categories of airspace,
Controlled and Uncontrolled. Controlled Airspace is where ATC (Air Traffic
Control) provides separation for IFR (Instrument Flight Rules) aircrafts from other
aircrafts flying under VFR (Visual Flight rules)
▪ Controlled Airspace includes:
• Class A (Class Alpha)
• Class B (Class Bravo)
• Class C (Class Charlie)
• Class D and (Class Delta)
• Class E (Class Echo)
▪ Uncontrolled Airspace includes:
• Class G (Class Golf)
o You must become familiar with the NAS to safely operate with others sharing the
airspace. A remote pilot must have a thorough understanding of Aeronautical
Charts and Chart Supplement (formerly Airport Facility Directory or A/FD), to
determine what kind of airspace, air traffic control facility and traffic you can
expect near the airport closest to your operation. See Fig. 31 (CT-8080-2H) for an
example of Chart Supplement.
o The aeronautical chart (or map) most commonly used by manned aircraft pilots
are the Sectional Aeronautical Charts and the Terminal Area Charts. Both charts
are designed for visual navigation and include information such as airports,
airways, special use airspace, populated areas, roads, railroads, tall buildings,
towers other obstructions and more. Terminal Area Charts are exploded or
zoomed-in version of the sectional chart around a major airport.
o NOTAMs
▪ The FAA uses Notices to Airmen or NOTAMs to inform pilots about
abnormal and/or time critical conditions at an airport or within the
airspace system for example runway closure or VOR outages etc.
▪ There are two types of NOTAMs
• FDC (or Flight Data Center) NOTAMs which inform pilots about
regulatory changes e.g. changes to aeronautical charts, TFR’s
(Temporary Flight Restrictions) etc. TFRs are issued to protect
VIP’s or over forest fires, major ball parks during games etc.

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