Class C is a class of airspace in the United States which follows International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) air space designation. Class C airspace areas are designed to improve aviation safety by reducing the risk of mid-air collisions in the terminal area and enhance the management of air traffic operations therein. [1] Aircraft operating in these airspace areas are subject to certain operating rules and equipment requirements. [1]
Class C airspace protects the approach and departure paths from aircraft not under air traffic control. All aircraft inside Class C airspace are subject to air traffic control. Traffic operating under VFR must be in communication with a controller before entering the airspace. The airspace is similar to Class B's "upside-down wedding cake", but much smaller and simpler. The innermost ring with a radius of 5 nautical miles (9 km) typically extends from the surface area around the airport to 4,000 feet (1,220 m) AGL (above ground level; charted in MSL), and an outer ring, with a radius of 10 nautical miles (19 km) that typically surrounds the inner ring and extends from a floor at 1,200 feet (370 m) AGL, (also charted in MSL), to the ceiling at 4,000 feet (1,220 m) AGL, (again charted in MSL). These dimensions are sometimes highly customized when deemed necessary to accommodate IFR traffic patterns and other surrounding airspace design issues such as the overlapping or close proximities to other classes of airspace.
As of January 2023, there are 122 Class C airports in the United States (counting NAS Whiting Field as 2 different airports). [2] [3] [4]
The following list of Class C airports is sorted by state/territory and IATA Airport Code/ICAO Airport Code. [2]
In aviation, visual flight rules (VFR) are a set of regulations under which a pilot operates an aircraft in weather conditions generally clear enough to allow the pilot to see where the aircraft is going. Specifically, the weather must be better than basic VFR weather minima, i.e. in visual meteorological conditions (VMC), as specified in the rules of the relevant aviation authority. The pilot must be able to operate the aircraft with visual reference to the ground, and by visually avoiding obstructions and other aircraft.
Airspace is the portion of the atmosphere controlled by a country above its territory, including its territorial waters or, more generally, any specific three-dimensional portion of the atmosphere. It is not the same as aerospace, which is the general term for Earth's atmosphere and the outer space in its vicinity.
In the United States, airways or air routes are defined by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in two ways:
In general aviation, scud running is a practice in which pilots lower their altitude to avoid clouds or instrument meteorological conditions (IMC). The goal of scud running is to stay clear of weather to continue flying with visual, rather than instrument, references. This practice is widely accepted to be dangerous, and has led to death in many cases from pilots flying into terrain or obstacles, such as masts and towers, normally referred to as controlled flight into terrain, or CFIT; however, even instrument-rated pilots sometimes elect to take the risk to avoid icing or embedded thunderstorms in cloud, or in situations where the minimum instrument altitudes are too high for their aircraft.
The world's navigable airspace is divided into three-dimensional segments, each of which is assigned to a specific class. Most nations adhere to the classification specified by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and described below, though they might use only some of the classes defined below, and significantly alter the exact rules and requirements. Similarly, individual nations may also designate special use airspace (SUA) with further rules for reasons of national security or safety.
Hillsboro Airport, also known as Portland–Hillsboro Airport, is a corporate, general aviation and flight-training airport serving the city of Hillsboro, in Washington County, Oregon, United States. It is one of three airports in the Portland, Oregon, metropolitan area owned and operated by the Port of Portland. Established in 1928, it is Oregon's second busiest airport at over 200,000 operations annually.
Provo Municipal Airport is a public-use airport two miles [3.2 km] west of Provo, in Utah County, Utah. It is a small regional airport with domestic flights mainly to destinations in the western United States.
West Bend Municipal Airport is a city-owned public-use airport located three nautical miles (6 km) east of the central business district of West Bend, a city in Washington County, Wisconsin, United States. It is included in the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2023–2027, in which it is categorized as a regional reliever airport facility.
In aviation, a terminal control area, is a designated area of controlled airspace surrounding a major airport where there is a high volume of traffic. TMA airspace is normally designed in a circular configuration centered on the airport, and differs from a control area in that it includes several levels of increasingly larger areas, creating an "upside-down wedding cake" shape.
Abrams Municipal Airport is a city-owned, public-use airport located two nautical miles (3.7 km) north of the central business district of Grand Ledge, a city in Eaton County, Michigan, United States. It is included in the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2017–2021, in which it is categorized as a local general aviation facility.
Mode C veil refers to a kind of airspace which currently surrounds all primary Class B airports within the United States. This airspace extends horizontally to a circle of 30 NM radius centered on the airport, and extends vertically from the surface up to 10,000 feet MSL. The name refers to the mode of transponder operation which is required within this airspace — that is, with very limited exceptions, all aircraft operating within this airspace must have an altitude-reporting Mode C transponder in operation.
The United States airspace system's classification scheme is intended to maximize pilot flexibility within acceptable levels of risk appropriate to the type of operation and traffic density within that class of airspace – in particular to provide separation and active control in areas of dense or high-speed flight operations.
The Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen) is an ongoing United States Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) project to modernize the National Airspace System (NAS). The FAA began work on NextGen improvements in 2007 and plans to finish the final implementation segment by 2030. The goals of the modernization include using new technologies and procedures to increase the safety, efficiency, capacity, access, flexibility, predictability, and resilience of the NAS while reducing the environmental impact of aviation.
The National Airspace System (NAS) is the airspace, navigation facilities and airports of the United States along with their associated information, services, rules, regulations, policies, procedures, personnel and equipment. It includes components shared jointly with the military. It is one of the most complex aviation systems in the world, and services air travel in the United States and over large portions of the world's oceans.
In the United States and Canada, Victor airways are low-altitude airways. They are defined in straight-line segments, each of which is based on a straight line between either two VHF omnidirectional range (VOR) stations, or a VOR and a VOR intersection, hence the beginning letter V.
Stevens Field is a public-use, general aviation airport located three miles northwest of the central business district of Pagosa Springs in Archuleta County, Colorado, United States. It is publicly owned by Archuleta County. It has no air traffic control tower or commercial passenger services, but it does have a fixed base operator (FBO), and it is popular among light sport and general aviation aircraft doing cross country flights, where the airport serves as an GA-friendly waypoint, refueling stop, and pilot rest/sleep opportunity. Its address is 61 Aviation Ct, Pagosa Springs, CO.
Aztec Municipal Airport is a public-use airport located two nautical miles northwest of the central business district of Aztec, in San Juan County, New Mexico, United States. It is a general aviation airport with no tower, fixed base operator (FBO), or commercial services, but which is popular among smaller light sport and general aviation aircraft doing cross country flights, where the airport serves as a GA-friendly waypoint, refueling stop, and overnight layover stop.