How to Read a VFR Sectional Chart Around New York City for Drone Operators (2026)

A VFR sectional chart is the standard aeronautical map manned pilots use to navigate under visual flight rules. The New York Sectional covers the metropolitan area, and learning to read it helps a drone operator understand the airspace they are flying beneath. But it is important to know up front what the chart does and does not do: it gives you context, while the FAA UAS Facility Map sets your actual LAANC ceiling.

Two Independent Layers of Authorization

Flying a drone in New York City is legal but requires authorization at two independent levels, and satisfying one does not satisfy the other. At the federal level, the FAA controls the airspace: because all five boroughs sit within the Class B airspace of JFK, LaGuardia, and Newark, every flight needs prior FAA airspace authorization through LAANC or, where LAANC is unavailable, a manual authorization through FAA DroneZone (14 CFR § 91.131; 14 CFR § 107.41). At the municipal level, New York City Administrative Code § 10-126(b) and (c) make it unlawful to take off or land an unmanned aircraft anywhere in the city without an NYPD Unmanned Aircraft permit issued under 38 RCNY Chapter 24. You must hold both before you fly — FAA authorization never substitutes for the NYPD permit, and the NYPD permit never substitutes for FAA authorization.

What the New York Sectional Shows

Around New York City, the dominant feature is the Class B airspace generated by three major airports — JFK (KJFK), LaGuardia (KLGA), and Newark Liberty (KEWR). On the chart you will see:

• Class B boundaries drawn as solid blue lines, forming the rings of the inverted "wedding cake."
• Altitude fractions within each ring — a number over a number (for example a ceiling over a floor in hundreds of feet MSL) telling you where that layer of Class B begins and ends.
• Airport symbols for JFK, LGA, EWR, and smaller fields, with their identifiers and frequencies.
• Special use and charted areas, including references to the Hudson River and East River Special Flight Rules Area under 14 CFR Part 93 Subpart W.

Class B Structure on the Chart

Class B airspace is the most controlled category in the U.S. system. It is configured as an inverted wedding cake: narrowest at the surface directly over the airport and widening outward with altitude. Inner rings typically extend 5 to 10 NM from the primary airport, and outer rings reach roughly 20 to 30 NM. The combined Class B of JFK, LGA, and EWR blankets virtually all five boroughs at the surface, which is why every NYC drone flight needs FAA authorization (14 CFR § 91.131).

Why the Chart Is Not Your LAANC Ceiling

This is the single most important point for drone operators. A sectional chart shows the structure of Class B airspace for manned aviation. Your drone's automated authorization, however, is governed by the FAA's LAANC grid, which divides controlled airspace into cells, each with its own ceiling in feet AGL. Those ceilings are published in the FAA UAS Facility Map and surfaced through FAA-approved apps such as B4UFLY and Aloft — not on the paper sectional. Across most of Manhattan, for example, the LAANC ceiling is 0 ft AGL, meaning no automated authorization is available at any altitude regardless of what the Class B floor on the chart appears to allow.

How to Use the Chart Correctly

1. Use the New York Sectional to understand the airspace structure and where airports and special areas lie.
2. Always verify your actual LAANC ceiling for your exact grid cell in the FAA UAS Facility Map and an FAA-approved app before flying.
3. Check for any active TFRs in B4UFLY and the FAA NOTAM Search.
4. Confirm your NYPD permit before takeoff.