Airspace Explorer
2D and 3D FAA airspace classes: lateral and vertical limits, controlled and uncontrolled airspace, requirements and aircraft movement relative to boundaries.
Loading the tool…
Move the airplane: drag it in the plan view, drag its marker up and down the column at the right, or set the altitude, bearing and distance. The readout names the airspace and its limits, then what a VFR pilot needs there: the entry requirement (an ATC clearance for Class B, two-way radio communications for C and D), the transponder and ADS-B Out rules, the pilot certificate, the basic VFR weather minimums of 14 CFR 91.155 for day or night, and the speed limit. Choose a student pilot or no transponder and the last line tells you where you may not go.
The column is the key to altitude and boundaries. It stacks the airspace over the airplane from the surface up, with each floor and ceiling in hundreds of feet MSL. Ceilings are "to and including" (Class B, C, D as described) or "up to but not including" (the Bowman Field Class D ends just below the 2,200-ft floor of the Class C shelf above it). At the base of a Class E area you are still in the airspace below it (91.155(e)). The airspace hierarchy decides overlaps: A over B over C over D over E over G (71.9).
The schematic airspace shows every class at the AIM's typical dimensions over ground 1,000 ft MSL - so the charted MSL numbers differ from the heights above ground: the Class C core to 4,000 ft above the airport is charted 50, its shelf from 1,200 ft above it is 22; the Class D to 2,500 ft above its airport is [35]. It also shows the Mode C veil (30 NM of the Class B primary airport, surface to 10,000 ft MSL), special use airspace and a temporary flight restriction. The Louisville airspace is a real one, transcribed from the FAA's airspace order: the Class C of Louisville Muhammad Ali International with its notch for Bowman Field's Class D.
The 3D view shows the same volumes in perspective - drag it to walk around, or set the direction; heights are exaggerated (×23 in the schematic, ×11 at Louisville). The quiz places the airplane and asks for the class, the VFR minimums, the transponder rule or the entry requirement.
Assumption and limits - the schematic airspace is not a real airspace and not for navigation: its dimensions are the AIM's "generally" and "usually" values (Class B tiers, radii and the special use airspace are illustrative), with the surface flat at 1,000 ft MSL and Class E from 1,200 ft AGL everywhere, as along Federal airways. The Louisville airspace is a TRAINING COPY — NOT CURRENT — NOT FOR NAVIGATION, transcribed from FAA Order JO 7400.11M (effective 15 September 2026) with the surface taken flat at 501 ft MSL (the airport's elevation); the Bowman Field Class D is part time (other times Class E), and the Federal airways and other Class E areas of the region are not transcribed, so above 1,200 ft AGL outside the transcribed areas the tool says so instead of guessing. Exactly at a floor other than Class E the tool counts you inside and says so - the regulations state the side of a floor only for Class E. Equipment rules are those for an aircraft with an engine-driven electrical system. Altitudes above 18,000 ft MSL are flight levels. Always check the current sectional chart, the Chart Supplement and NOTAMs.
The class at a point is the most restrictive airspace whose volume contains it (14 CFR 71.9; FAA Order JO 7400.11M 1003), Class G where no controlled airspace is designated (JO 7400.11M 1000 f). Volumes are lateral regions - circles, sectors between bearings measured clockwise, polygons, strips along a bearing, and their combinations - on a plane in nautical miles with true bearings (JO 7400.11M 1002), and vertical limits from the surface, an altitude MSL or a height above ground, to and including or up to but not including a ceiling. VFR weather minimums: the 91.155(a) table read cell by cell from the eCFR (current to 15 October 2026) and checked against the AIM's table (9 July 2026, 3-1-4), with 91.155(b) for Class G below 1,200 ft above the surface in the pattern, (c) and (d) in surface areas and (e) at the base of Class E. Transponder and ADS-B Out: 91.215(b) and 91.225 - Class A, B and C, the Mode C veil, above a Class B or C area up to 10,000 ft MSL, and at or above 10,000 ft MSL except within 2,500 ft of the surface (91.215 says "all airspace", 91.225 "Class E airspace"). Speed: 91.117. Entry and certification: 91.129, 91.130, 91.131 and 61.95, 91.135 and 61.3(e). Special use airspace: AIM 3-4 and 3-5-3, 91.133 and 91.137.
The Louisville training copy follows the descriptions of JO 7400.11M (dated 30 July 2026, effective 15 September 2026): Class C from the surface to and including 4,500 ft MSL within 5 NM of the airport, excluding the area east and north of the line from the 030° bearing on the 5-mile radius to 38°11'28"N 85°42'01"W and on to the 081° bearing on the 5-mile radius; from 2,200 ft MSL within 10 NM from the 269° bearing clockwise to the 081° bearing and from 1,700 ft MSL from the 081° bearing clockwise to the 269° bearing. Bowman Field Class D from the surface to but not including 2,200 ft MSL within 4 NM, with the Order's exclusions; Class E extensions along the 165° bearing; Class E from 700 ft above the surface within 7.5 NM of the airport and 6.5 NM of Bowman Field. Checked: every number parsed back from the Order's text; positions against great-circle bearings and distances and the airports against the FAA CIFP of cycle 2610. Recorded: the Class C description uses the airport's former name and 38°10'29"N, the Class D and E descriptions 38°10'27"N; as printed, the extensions from the two runway 35 localizers end inside the 5-mile radius, leaving only the strip along the 165° bearing from the airport (5.0 to 5.5 NM).
The 3D view is drawn in SVG by an orbit projection: the camera sits at the chosen bearing from the scene's centre, tilted down, and every volume is a translucent solid of wall panels and top faces drawn far to near, with heights multiplied (×23 schematic, ×11 Louisville) so that the layers can be told apart; the plan and the column use the same volumes and the same class at every point. Sectional styles in the site palette: Class B solid and Class D dashed in cyan (blue on the chart), Class C solid and Class E surface areas dashed in purple (magenta), the 700-ft Class E as a faded band, special use airspace in red.
- 14 CFR 91.155 Basic VFR weather minimums (eCFR, current to 15 October 2026): the (a) table, (b) Class G exceptions, (c) ceiling in surface areas, (d) visibility in surface areas, (e) the base of Class E; 91.157 special VFR
- 14 CFR 91.215 (b), (c) transponder and altitude reporting and 91.225 (a), (d), (f) ADS-B Out; 91.117 aircraft speed; 91.126, 91.127, 91.129, 91.130, 91.131, 91.133, 91.135, 91.137; 61.3(e) instrument rating; 61.95 student pilots in Class B (eCFR, current to 15 October 2026)
- 14 CFR 71.9 overlapping airspace designations, 71.33 Class A, 71.71 Class E; 71.1 incorporation of FAA Order JO 7400.11M (eCFR, current to 15 October 2026)
- FAA Order JO 7400.11M, Airspace Designations and Reporting Points (dated 30 July 2026, effective 15 September 2026): 1000 f, 1002, 1003, 2000, 6000, 6001; ASO KY C Louisville Standiford Field Airport, ASO KY D Louisville, ASO KY E2, E3 and E5 Louisville - training copy, not current, not for navigation
- FAA Coded Instrument Flight Procedures (CIFP), cycle 2610: Louisville Muhammad Ali Intl and Bowman Fld airport records (reference points, elevations)
- Aeronautical Information Manual (effective 9 July 2026): 3-1-3 hierarchy, 3-1-4 basic VFR weather minimums (TBL 3-1-4), 3-2-1 to 3-2-6 controlled airspace (Class A, B with the Mode C veil, C with its outer area, D, E), 3-3 Class G, 3-4-1 to 3-4-8 special use airspace, 3-5-3 temporary flight restrictions, 4-1-20 transponder and ADS-B Out operation
- Model choices of this tool (stated on the page): a schematic airspace at the AIM's typical dimensions with illustrative tiers, radii, positions and special use airspace over ground 1,000 ft MSL and Class E from 1,200 ft AGL; the Louisville surface flat at 501 ft MSL; the Louisville areas not transcribed (Federal airways, en route Class E) reported as such; floors other than Class E counted inside at the floor altitude; equipment rules for an aircraft with an engine-driven electrical system; the 3D view with heights exaggerated (x23, x11)