Sectional chart symbols a remote pilot must know

A. 1,041 ft AGL, with its top at 1,049 ft MSL

On a sectional the upper number is the top of the obstruction in feet MSL and the number in parentheses is its height above ground. So the structure is 1,041 ft AGL with its top at 1,049 ft MSL. Swapping the two numbers is a common misreading, and the 8 ft difference is the ground elevation at its base, not its height.

Source: FAA-CT-8080-2H, Figure 20; Legend 1; 14 CFR 107.51

B. Field elevation 1,424 ft MSL, runway lighting with limitations, and a longest runway of 3,500 ft

The data block gives the elevation in feet MSL, then L for lighting, where the asterisk means limitations exist (check the Chart Supplement), then the longest runway in hundreds of feet. Elevations are always MSL, and 35 is a length, not a runway number. 1424 is not a pair of runway numbers.

Source: FAA-CT-8080-2H, Figure 26; Chart Users' Guide

B. It is a private use airport, so manned aircraft may still take off and land there

Pvt means a private use airport, shown with an R in a circle; it is not open to the public but still has manned traffic, so the remote pilot must yield right of way. The data shows elevation 1,555 ft MSL and a 2,700 ft runway with no lighting. Heliports use an H symbol, and abandoned airports carry a different marking.

Source: FAA-CT-8080-2H, Figure 26; Chart Users' Guide; 14 CFR 107.37

A. 123.0

The C in a circle after 123.0 in the Jamestown data block marks the CTAF. 118.425 is the ASOS weather broadcast. 114.5 is the frequency of the Jamestown VOR-DME, a navaid, not an airport traffic frequency.

Source: FAA-CT-8080-2H, Figure 26; Chart Users' Guide; 14 CFR 107.37

B. A structure under construction whose top is 1,912 ft MSL and 387 ft above the ground

UC means under construction or reported, and the figures follow the usual pattern: top in feet MSL, then height above ground in parentheses. 387 is the AGL height, not an MSL value. UC does not mean unlighted, and 1,912 is an MSL figure.

Source: FAA-CT-8080-2H, Figure 26; Chart Users' Guide; 14 CFR 107.51

C. 787 ft AGL

Part 107 allows flight above 400 ft AGL when the drone stays within a 400 ft radius of a structure and no higher than 400 ft above the structure's top, so 387 plus 400 gives 787 ft AGL. 400 ft AGL is the general limit that this exception relaxes. 2,312 ft adds 400 to the MSL top and treats it as AGL.

Source: FAA-CT-8080-2H, Figure 26; 14 CFR 107.51(b)

C. CTAF 122.9 and elevation 55 ft MSL

The Bishop data block reads 55 L 32 122.9 with a C, meaning elevation 55 ft MSL, a lighted 3,200 ft runway and CTAF 122.9. 32 is the runway length in hundreds of feet, not the elevation. 123.0 is the CTAF printed for Alice International, a different airport.

Source: FAA-CT-8080-2H, Figure 69; Chart Users' Guide; 14 CFR 107.37

B. 122.7

The McCampbell-Porter data block lists 122.7 with a C, marking the CTAF. 118.775 follows AWOS-3 and is the automated weather broadcast. 120.9 is the Corpus Christi Approach frequency printed in the contact box to the west.

Source: FAA-CT-8080-2H, Figure 69; Chart Users' Guide; 14 CFR 107.37