Read your chart supplements (Part 107)

[jofus]

Make sure you pull up the chart supplements for the airports near your operating areas to learn more about them. You might be pleasantly surprised that the airspace changes when the airport is not in operation.

I was concerned about the airport (KHUA) with Class D airspace near me because it does reach out into a significant portion of the city that I live and do business in. See below:

I got the idea to pull up the chart supplement mainly just to see when their ATC was open. Luckily, I noticed that the airspace changes from Class D to Class G after 2130Z, or 4:30pm local time on Monday-Friday and during weekends and holidays. That's perfect for me, because I do work a full time day job and try to do my shoots during the weekend or late afternoons. Now I just need to keep an eye out for NOTAMs, fly when it's Class G, and I don't have to go through the process of requesting airspace authorization.

So those of you who are wondering about your nearby airports, doublecheck your chart supplements!

 

[GOHF]

That is fascinating. I've not heard anything previously that suggests that airspace classification varies (other than TFR's I suppose) by time of day or week. Thank you for sharing that.

 

[daveisim]

Yes, Class D airspace reverts to Class E or G when the Control Tower is closed. Many times it changes to Class E surface area. When it changes to G, then G typically goes up to only 700' AGL and then E takes over.