Airspace for Paraglider and Hang Glider Pilots: An Overview
Control zones, airspace classes, restricted areas and altitudes in feet and flight levels — what paraglider and hang glider pilots need to know before flying cross-country.
If you only circle above your local hill, you rarely meet airspace. Go cross-country or climb high, and you will. This overview explains the basics — the binding rules are in the aeronautical charts, your country’s Aeronautical Information Publication (AIP) and your national association (e.g. ÖAeC or DHV).
Controlled and uncontrolled airspace
Airspace is divided into classes A to G. For paraglider and hang glider pilots, these matter most:
- Class G — uncontrolled, usually close to the ground. This is where we normally fly.
- Class E — controlled, but in many countries usable without clearance under visual flight rules (cloud separation, visibility). National rules set the details.
- Classes C and D — only with an air traffic control clearance. In practice off-limits for paragliders.
Typical areas on the map
- CTR (control zone) — around airports, extending up from the ground. Don’t enter.
- TMA — terminal area above and around a CTR, starting at a certain height. The lower limit is what matters here.
- Restricted and prohibited areas — e.g. over military sites. Entry forbidden or only allowed at certain times.
- Danger areas — firing ranges and similar; entry at your own risk or depending on activation status.
- Gliding and special sectors — opened temporarily for specific users.
Reading altitudes correctly
Airspace limits are given in feet, with three different references:
- ft GND / AGL — above ground. Follows the terrain: over a summit the limit is higher than over the valley.
- ft MSL / AMSL — above mean sea level, like the altitude on your GPS vario.
- FL (flight level) — pressure altitude in hundreds of feet at standard pressure (1013.25 hPa). FL 95 ≈ 9,500 ft ≈ 2,900 m — but only at standard pressure; with low air pressure the limit is actually lower.
Memory aid: 1,000 ft ≈ 305 m. Plan with a margin and never fly right along a limit.
Airspace on the thermal map
Switch on “Airspaces”. With “below” you show only airspaces whose lower limit is below a chosen height — the ones that actually affect you at your working height. By default they’re coloured by access. Hover over an airspace and the readout shows its name and limits.
Important: the display is a planning aid built from official data, but not a basis for navigation. For the flight, your instrument needs a current airspace database, and before launch you need to check the NOTAMs — temporary restrictions (military exercises, events, rescue operations) aren’t in any static map.