How do you find the limits of areas on a chart?

I see tons of restricted areas, MOAs, Class B, C, D, E airspace, and
the like on charts, but no clear indication of how to locate the
boundaries of these areas other than by pure guesstimate based on
looking at the chart. On rare occasions I see a radial noted as the
boundary of an area, or a radius, but in many cases there is nothing.
How in the world are you supposed to know when you are inside or
outside one of these areas, if you are not flying miles away from
them?

Yes, GPS units and some other devices may provide real-time display of
one's position with these areas superimposed, but such devices have
not always been available.

--
Transpose mxsmanic and gmail to reach me by e-mail.

Mxsmanic wrote in
:

I see tons of restricted areas, MOAs, Class B, C, D, E airspace, and
the like on charts, but no clear indication of how to locate the
boundaries of these areas other than by pure guesstimate based on
looking at the chart. On rare occasions I see a radial noted as the
boundary of an area, or a radius, but in many cases there is nothing.
How in the world are you supposed to know when you are inside or
outside one of these areas, if you are not flying miles away from
them?

Yes, GPS units and some other devices may provide real-time display of
one's position with these areas superimposed, but such devices have
not always been available.

The sectional depicts the borders very clearly, and it depicts the terrain
surrounding those borders as well as any nearby navigation aids.

To learn how to read a sectional, I would recommend Whitt's Flying site. It
has very useful and detailed lessons for a student who wants to learn how to
fly. And best of all, it's free.

http://www.whittsflying.com/

Recently, Mxsmanic posted:

I see tons of restricted areas, MOAs, Class B, C, D, E airspace, and
the like on charts, but no clear indication of how to locate the
boundaries of these areas other than by pure guesstimate based on
looking at the chart.

Reading a chart, like many other things, is a process that requires
knowledge. One gains this knowledge by studying. Once you have studied and
gained the necessaryt knowledge, you will know that there is no
"guesstimate" involved in knowing the boundaries of areas on a chart. You
have been given ample resources by many posters that would enable the
average person to research and answer this question on their own. Why not
give that a try?

Neil

In article ,
says...
I see tons of restricted areas, MOAs, Class B, C, D, E airspace, and
the like on charts, but no clear indication of how to locate the
boundaries of these areas other than by pure guesstimate based on
looking at the chart. On rare occasions I see a radial noted as the
boundary of an area, or a radius, but in many cases there is nothing.
How in the world are you supposed to know when you are inside or
outside one of these areas, if you are not flying miles away from
them?

Yes, GPS units and some other devices may provide real-time display of
one's position with these areas superimposed, but such devices have
not always been available.

You can use your instruments and you can use your eyes. You get
clearances (if required) *before* you enter an area. When climbing out
and under VFR you ensure you remain below TMA's by the same technique -
well *before* the area.

If IFR, you fly what you're told - if you think the controller's made a
mistake (because of what you can see on the charts), then asking for
clarification might be wise.

You might like to note the differences between IFR charts and plates vs
VFR charts (which, if you look, are really maps - topo maps).

--
Duncan

Neil Gould wrote:
You
have been given ample resources by many posters that would enable the
average person to research and answer this question on their own. Why not
give that a try?

I had a funny though,t that a person could write a learn to fly a
simulator book; comprised of cut and pasted poster's answers to all
these various questions. ??? Every aspect it seems if being covered.

Judah wrote:
Mxsmanic wrote in
:
The sectional depicts the borders very clearly, and it depicts the terrain
surrounding those borders as well as any nearby navigation aids.

To learn how to read a sectional, I would recommend Whitt's Flying site. It
has very useful and detailed lessons for a student who wants to learn how to
fly. And best of all, it's free.

Today most of us just hold the wing off the red line on the GPS. We can
thread some pretty tight areas with GPS today.

-Robert

In article ,
Mxsmanic wrote:

I see tons of restricted areas, MOAs, Class B, C, D, E airspace, and
the like on charts, but no clear indication of how to locate the
boundaries of these areas other than by pure guesstimate based on
looking at the chart.

Do you mean how do you find the boundary as depicted on the chart, or
how do you relate the depicted boundary to an actual physical location
out in the real world?

If the former, there's a legend printed on every chart.

If the latter, when all else fails, some pilots fall back on an advanced
technique that is all but forgotten in this age of GPS. It's called
"looking out the window for landmarks."

rg

Judah writes:

The sectional depicts the borders very clearly, and it depicts the terrain
surrounding those borders as well as any nearby navigation aids.

Yes, but it provides no directions or dimensions (with a few
exceptions). Am I expected to pull out a protractor and a ruler in
flight to check the chart and see if I really am clear of airspaces I
wish to avoid?

To learn how to read a sectional, I would recommend Whitt's Flying site. It
has very useful and detailed lessons for a student who wants to learn how to
fly. And best of all, it's free.

http://www.whittsflying.com/

I'll try it.

--
Transpose mxsmanic and gmail to reach me by e-mail.

The Visitor writes:

I had a funny though,t that a person could write a learn to fly a
simulator book; comprised of cut and pasted poster's answers to all
these various questions. ??? Every aspect it seems if being covered.

The ideal simulator can be flown by a real pilot with no special
instruction at all. That's why it's called a simulator.

--
Transpose mxsmanic and gmail to reach me by e-mail.

Dave Doe writes:

You might like to note the differences between IFR charts and plates vs
VFR charts (which, if you look, are really maps - topo maps).

I've been able to find sectional charts and terminal charts at
SkyVector, but where can I find IFR charts?

--
Transpose mxsmanic and gmail to reach me by e-mail.