Class G Airspace
Uncontrolled airspace — the fewest rules in the system, but the most complicated weather-minimums table.
Key Takeaways
- Class G is uncontrolled airspace — no clearance, radio, or transponder is required, and ATC provides no separation.
- It sits from the surface up to the floor of the overlying Class E (often 700 or 1,200 ft AGL, sometimes 14,500 ft MSL).
- Its VFR minimums are the most detailed: they change with day vs. night, height above the surface, and the 10,000 ft MSL line.
- By day at or below 1,200 ft AGL you need just 1 SM visibility and clear of clouds — the lowest minimums anywhere.
- At night, or higher up, the minimums rise toward the same 3-152 and 5-111 numbers used in controlled airspace.
What Is Class Golf?
Class G (“Golf”) is uncontrolled airspace — the airspace ATC does not manage. There is no clearance to get, no one to call, and no separation service. It is where a lot of low-altitude general-aviation flying happens: below the shelves of controlled airspace, out in rural areas, and around non-towered fields.
The catch is that Class G has the most complicated VFR weather-minimums table in the system, precisely because there is no ATC safety net. The numbers change based on three things at once: whether it is day or night, whether you are at or below 1,200 ft AGL, and whether you are at or above 10,000 ft MSL. Learn the table below — it is a checkride favorite.
Class Golf at a Glance
Class Golf VFR Weather Minimums
1 SM (day, low) up to 5 SM (at/above 10,000 ft MSL) — see the table
Clear of clouds (day, low) up to 1,000/1,000/1 SM — see the table
These come from 14 CFR 91.155. See how Class Golf compares to every other class in the full VFR weather minimums table.
See Class Golf on a live chart
FlightKit’s interactive sectional shows Class Golf boundaries, floors, and ceilings on the real chart — and the airspace module pairs the FAA diagram with quizzes so it sticks before your checkride.
The Other Airspace Classes
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the VFR weather minimums for Class G?
They vary. At or below 1,200 ft AGL: by day, 1 SM visibility and clear of clouds; by night, 3 SM and 500/1,000/2,000. Above 1,200 ft AGL but below 10,000 ft MSL: by day, 1 SM and 500/1,000/2,000; by night, 3 SM and 500/1,000/2,000. At or above 10,000 ft MSL: 5 SM and 1,000/1,000/1 SM ("5-111").
Is Class G controlled or uncontrolled?
Class G is uncontrolled airspace. ATC does not provide separation there, no clearance is required, and no radio or transponder is needed. You are responsible for see-and-avoid and for the applicable VFR weather minimums.
Why are Class G night minimums higher than day?
It is harder to see and avoid traffic and terrain in the dark, so Class G night minimums rise to 3 SM and 500/1,000/2,000 — the same as controlled airspace. There is a limited exception: within half a mile of a runway in the traffic pattern you may operate with 1 SM and clear of clouds at night.
How high does Class G go?
Class G extends from the surface up to the base of the overlying Class E airspace — commonly 700 ft AGL (shaded magenta) or 1,200 ft AGL (shaded blue), and in some remote areas up to 14,500 ft MSL. Above that floor you are in Class E.