Updated October 2026
Class E airspace is controlled airspace that is not Class A, B, C or D. Its floor is the surface, 700 feet above the ground, 1,200 feet above the ground or 14,500 feet MSL, and it runs up to but not including 18,000 feet MSL. VFR pilots need no clearance and no radio call in it; below 10,000 feet MSL you need 3 miles visibility and 500 feet below, 1,000 above and 2,000 horizontal from clouds.
Class E is the airspace you spend the most time in and think about the least. Leave the Van Nuys Class D on a training flight, stay clear of the Burbank Class C and under the Los Angeles Class B, and the sky around you is almost always Class E. Below we cover where it begins, how the sectional chart shows it, the weather rules inside it and the night it reaches the runway at Van Nuys. For the whole system on one page, start with airspace classes explained.
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What Class E Airspace Is
The FAA's Pilot's Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge defines Class E as the controlled airspace not classified as Class A, B, C or D. AIM 3-2-6 adds that it is designated "to serve a variety of terminal or en route purposes". It is the leftover controlled airspace, and there is a great deal of it.
"Controlled" is the word that confuses students. It does not mean a controller is controlling you. It means ATC can provide service to IFR flights there, and an IFR pilot needs a flight plan and a clearance to be in it (14 CFR 91.173). A VFR pilot in Class E needs neither. You can cross the Valley and the mountains beyond it in Class E without saying a word to anyone. The weather has to meet the VFR minimums, and you have to stay out of the B, C and D airspace on the way.
That freedom is why Class E is where most VFR flying happens and where most of the weather-minimum questions on the knowledge test come from. The airspace itself asks very little of you. The weather rules inside it ask a lot.
Where It Starts: Surface, 700 AGL, 1,200 AGL, 14,500 MSL
Section 71.71 of the federal airspace rules lists what Class E is made of, and AIM 3-2-6 names the types. The floor depends on what the airspace is there to protect.
| Type | Floor | Why It Exists |
|---|---|---|
| Surface area | The surface | Airports with instrument procedures but no operating tower, and part-time Class C or D airports when the tower is closed |
| Extension | The surface | Protects an instrument approach that runs beyond a surface area |
| Transition area | 700 feet AGL, or 1,200 feet AGL | Keeps IFR traffic in controlled airspace between the airport and the en route system |
| Federal airways | Generally 1,200 feet AGL | The Victor airways and low-altitude RNAV routes |
| The general layer | 14,500 feet MSL | Covers the 48 states and 12 nautical miles offshore where nothing lower is designated |
| Above Class A | Above FL600 | Everything above the top of Class A |
The top is simple. Class E stops just below 18,000 feet MSL, where Class A begins, or at the floor of any Class B, C or D airspace above it. Over the Los Angeles basin that usually means a Class B shelf caps the Class E long before 18,000 feet. Our Class A airspace guide covers what lies above.
The 14,500-foot layer has an exception worth knowing for the test: 14 CFR 71.71(a) excludes the airspace less than 1,500 feet above the surface. Over a mountain range that pokes above 13,000 feet, the Class E steps up with the terrain. The Pilot's Handbook puts the rule of thumb plainly. In most of the country Class E begins at 1,200 feet AGL, and in many other places at 700 feet or the surface. Where the chart shows no Class E floor at all, it begins at 14,500 feet MSL.
One more detail from 14 CFR 91.155(e): an aircraft flying exactly at the base altitude of a Class E area is treated as being in the airspace below. At 700 feet AGL under a 700-foot floor, the weather rules for Class G apply to you, not Class E.
Sectional Chart Depiction (Magenta Vignette, Dashed Magenta)
Class E is the only class drawn mostly in soft shading rather than hard lines. Sectional and terminal charts show every Class E area with a floor below 14,500 feet MSL; above that it is not charted, because it is everywhere.
- Dashed magenta line. A Class E surface area: controlled airspace all the way down to the runway. You see it around non-towered airports with instrument approaches, and at a part-time tower field for the hours the tower is closed.
- Soft magenta band. AIM 3-2-6 says a 700-foot AGL transition area is shown in magenta. Inside it, Class E starts 700 feet above the ground.
- Soft blue band. The 1,200-foot AGL floor, shown in blue where it borders Class G airspace that runs higher.
Students mix up the dashed magenta of a Class E surface area with the dashed blue of a Class D. The colors matter: blue dashed means a tower and a radio call, magenta dashed means controlled airspace with no tower to talk to. Where a floor is some other altitude, the chart prints it, and the legend on the edge of every sectional shows the exact symbol. Our guide to how to read a sectional chart walks through a real Los Angeles excerpt.
VFR Weather Minimums In Class E (Below And Above 10,000)
The minimums live in 14 CFR 91.155(a), and Class E has two rows. The split at 10,000 feet MSL exists because closing speeds are higher up: 250 knots is the speed limit below 10,000 feet under 91.117(a), and there is no such limit above it.
| Altitude | Flight Visibility | Distance From Clouds |
|---|---|---|
| Below 10,000 feet MSL | 3 statute miles | 500 feet below, 1,000 feet above, 2,000 feet horizontal |
| At or above 10,000 feet MSL | 5 statute miles | 1,000 feet below, 1,000 feet above, 1 statute mile horizontal |
Students learn the lower row as "three, one-five-two": 3 miles, 1,000 above, 500 below, 2,000 horizontal. The upper row is "five, one-one-one".
The Extra Rules In A Class E Surface Area
When Class E reaches the ground around an airport, two more rules from 91.155 apply. Under 91.155(c) you may not fly VFR beneath a ceiling of less than 1,000 feet inside the surface area. Under 91.155(d) you may not take off, land or enter the traffic pattern unless ground visibility is at least 3 statute miles. Below those numbers the only VFR option is a special VFR clearance under 91.157: clear of clouds, 1 statute mile visibility, below 10,000 feet MSL. At night it is open only to an instrument-rated pilot in an IFR-equipped airplane. A student pilot cannot use it in practice, because 14 CFR 61.89(a)(6) bars student flight in less than 3 miles of visibility by day.
In Los Angeles this matters every May and June, when the marine layer pushes in overnight and burns off through the morning. The rules for Class E are the same ones that decide whether a lesson launches from Van Nuys. Our what is VFR guide has the full table for every class.
Equipment And Communication Requirements
For VFR, Class E asks for almost nothing:
- A VFR flight may enter and cross Class E without a clearance or a radio call.
- Below 10,000 feet MSL there is no transponder rule for Class E itself. Around Los Angeles another rule applies anyway. Van Nuys sits inside the 30-nautical-mile Mode C veil around LAX, where 14 CFR 91.215(b)(2) and 91.225(d)(2) require a transponder with altitude reporting and ADS-B Out up to 10,000 feet.
- At or above 10,000 feet MSL, a Mode C transponder and ADS-B Out are required in Class E over the 48 states, except within 2,500 feet of the ground (91.215(b)(5)(i) and 91.225(d)(4)).
- The speed limit is 250 knots indicated below 10,000 feet MSL, under 91.117(a).
Two traffic rules come with a Class E airport. Under 14 CFR 91.127(a), anyone operating at an airport in a Class E area follows 91.126, which means left turns in the pattern unless the airport shows otherwise. And under 91.127(c), if that airport has a tower in operation, you must establish two-way radio contact before 4 nautical miles out, up to and including 2,500 feet AGL.
IFR is the other story. Every IFR flight in Class E needs a filed flight plan and an ATC clearance under 91.173, and controllers separate it from other IFR traffic. That is the whole purpose of making the airspace controlled. The instrument rating is what lets you use that side of it.
Class E Around Los Angeles: Van Nuys After Hours, Transition Areas And Extensions
The clearest local example happens every night. Van Nuys is Class D while the tower is open, 6:00 AM to 10:45 PM local. The rest of the time the Chart Supplement says it is Class E. The FAA's legal description, published in the Federal Register in November 2015, gives the Van Nuys Class E surface area the same shape as the Class D. That is a 4.3-mile radius around the airport, excluding the Burbank Class C and a 1.8-mile circle around Whiteman Airport.
What changes after 10:45 PM? No tower, so no clearance to land. Pilots self-announce on 119.3, and the Chart Supplement says runway 16L/34R is closed and unlighted. What does not change is the weather: it is still a surface area, so the 1,000-foot ceiling and 3-mile visibility rules still apply. Our flights run from 9:00 AM to 9:00 PM, so every lesson happens while the tower is open, but a pilot renting for a late return needs to know all of it.
The daytime example is the climb to the practice area. Leave the Class D boundary on a northwest departure and you spend most of the climb to the Simi Valley practice area in Class E, under whatever Class B or Burbank shelf sits above you. That is why the Class E minimums, not only the Class D ones, decide a lesson day.
Climbing Above 10,000 Feet On A Mountain Trip
A trip over the San Gabriels to Big Bear, about 81 nautical miles east, is where the upper Class E row stops being theory. Fly home westbound at 10,500 feet, a legal VFR cruising altitude for that direction, and you are in Class E at or above 10,000 feet MSL. Now you need 5 miles visibility, 1,000 feet above and below clouds and a mile horizontal, plus a transponder and ADS-B Out. Our mountain flying checkout covers the terrain side.
Transition areas and extensions are easy to spot once you know the symbols. Look on the Los Angeles sectional for the magenta shading and the dashed magenta lines around fields with instrument approaches. Read the floor off the chart rather than from memory, because these areas are redrawn when procedures change.
Class E Vs Class G Vs Class D
| Item | Class E | Class G | Class D |
|---|---|---|---|
| Controlled? | Yes | No | Yes |
| VFR entry | No requirement | No requirement | Two-way radio contact with the tower |
| IFR | Flight plan and clearance | No clearance required | Flight plan and clearance |
| Visibility below 10,000 feet MSL | 3 statute miles | 1 statute mile by day, 3 at night | 3 statute miles |
| Clouds, low altitude, day | 500 below, 1,000 above, 2,000 horizontal | Clear of clouds at or below 1,200 feet AGL | 500 below, 1,000 above, 2,000 horizontal |
| On the sectional | Magenta or blue shading, dashed magenta | Whatever lies under the Class E floor | Dashed blue line, ceiling in brackets |
| Local example | Van Nuys after 10:45 PM; the climb to Simi Valley | The thin layer under a 700-foot floor | Van Nuys, 6:00 AM to 10:45 PM |
The pairing students get wrong on the test is E and G, because both let a VFR pilot fly without a word to anyone. The difference is the weather. Class G at low altitude lets you fly by day with 1 mile and clear of clouds; Class E never goes below 3 miles and the 500-1,000-2,000 cloud rule. Our Class G airspace page covers the uncontrolled side, Class C airspace covers Burbank, and Class D airspace covers the tower at home.
Related Reading
- Airspace classes explained: every class on one page, with the full minimums table.
- Class G airspace: what lies beneath the Class E floor.
- Class C airspace, using Burbank: the airspace east of Van Nuys.
- What is VFR: visual flight rules, minimums and cruising altitudes.
- Los Angeles airspace guide: the Class B shelves and corridors above the Class E.
Class E Airspace FAQ
What Is Class E Airspace?
Class E is controlled airspace that is not Class A, B, C or D. IFR flights in it need a flight plan and a clearance under 14 CFR 91.173, while VFR flights need no clearance and no radio contact. It covers most of the sky between the towered airports and 18,000 feet MSL.
What Are The VFR Weather Minimums In Class E Airspace?
Below 10,000 feet MSL, 3 statute miles visibility and 500 feet below, 1,000 feet above and 2,000 feet horizontal from clouds. At or above 10,000 feet MSL, 5 statute miles and 1,000 feet below, 1,000 feet above and 1 statute mile horizontal, under 14 CFR 91.155.
Do You Need To Talk To ATC In Class E Airspace?
Not under VFR. The exception is a Class E airport with an operating tower, where 14 CFR 91.127(c) requires two-way radio contact before 4 nautical miles out, up to and including 2,500 feet AGL. Flight following from approach is available on request but optional.
Where Does Class E Airspace Start And End?
It starts at the surface, at 700 or 1,200 feet above the ground, at a charted MSL altitude, or at 14,500 feet MSL where nothing lower is designated. It ends just below 18,000 feet MSL or at the floor of overlying Class B, C or D airspace, and it resumes above FL600.
What Does The Magenta Shading On A Sectional Chart Mean?
A soft magenta band marks an area where Class E begins 700 feet above the ground, usually around an airport with an instrument approach. A soft blue band marks a 1,200-foot floor next to Class G that runs higher. A dashed magenta line is a Class E surface area.
Is Van Nuys Ever Class E Airspace?
Yes. Van Nuys is Class D from 6:00 AM to 10:45 PM local and Class E at other times. The Class E surface area has the same 4.3-mile radius and exclusions as the Class D. After hours pilots self-announce on 119.3 and runway 16L/34R is closed and unlighted.
Do You Need A Transponder In Class E Airspace?
At or above 10,000 feet MSL over the 48 states, yes, except within 2,500 feet of the ground, and ADS-B Out too. Below 10,000 feet a transponder is needed only if another rule applies, such as the 30-nautical-mile Mode C veil around LAX that covers Van Nuys.
Fly Through Class E On Your First Lesson
You cross from Class D into Class E within minutes of every takeoff from Van Nuys. It makes more sense from the left seat than from a chart. A 60-minute discovery flight is $229 and logs as dual instruction. For a longer first session, the two-hour beginner flying lesson is $349 in a Cessna 162 or Piper Warrior. Our private pilot course starts at $10,400 with a plan from $2,500 down, and a free consultation with an instructor lays out the whole path.
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