Class C airspace areas are designed to improve aviation safety by reducing the risk of mid-air collisions in the terminal area and enhance the management of air traffic operations therein.
[1] Class C airspace protects the approach and departure paths from aircraft not under air traffic control.
All aircraft inside Class C airspace are subject to air traffic control.
The airspace is similar to Class B's "upside-down wedding cake", but much smaller and simpler.
The innermost ring with a radius of 5 nautical miles (9 km) typically extends from the surface area around the airport to 4,000 feet (1,220 m) AGL (above ground level; charted in MSL), and an outer ring, with a radius of 10 nautical miles (19 km) that typically surrounds the inner ring and extends from a floor at 1,200 feet (370 m) AGL, (also charted in MSL), to the ceiling at 4,000 feet (1,220 m) AGL, (again charted in MSL).