"Richard Russell" wrote in message
...


The magenta line doesn't indicate a boundary between E and G space.
The magenta indicates Class E with a floor of 700 feet. The outside
of this magenta area is Class E with a floor of 1200 feet. A blue
line indicates the border between Class E with a floor of 1200 feet
and Class G. No pure Class G where I am. I can only find that under
the other classes. Note: I am not a CFI and could easily be wrong
about this.
Rich Russell

He was talking about magenta circles, which indicates to me that he is
talking about class E airspace that goes to the surface. Either that, or he
is talking about class C airspace. Beyond that, I have a tough time figuring
out what he is talking about. The magenta shaded lines that indicate class E
to 700 feet are rarely circles, although I can think of a few airports in
eastern Washington that are like that. We do have some class G boundaries
around here, particularly over the Olympic Peninsula.

There are people who try to remain in class G airspace in order to stay VFR,
including those in the pattern, but I have found it to be impractical in
many respects. If it is that bad you spend too much time dodging clouds to
get any serious pattern work done. The terrain around here is very
mountainous, which severely restricts how far you can fly and stay VFR in
weather like that. In this area it seems mostly useful to seaplanes and
charter pilots flying around the San Juan Islands.

The only time I use the magenta circles is to let me know when I am
approaching the airport. Unfortunately, a lot of the airports around here
don't do a good job of maintaining the circles, and they can be hard to see
at night or in poor visibility. Although the trees on the circle were
generally logged off when the magenta was first applied, some of these areas
have not been maintained since and are completely reforested. It is very
difficult to pick out the remains of the magenta circle on the forest floor.
I prefer the lighted circles which you bring up with PCL. It feels good to
come home to a nice ring of magenta lights late at night after a long day's
flying. :-)