Departure procedures

Choose the procedure that fits the runway and clearance

A departure procedure connects the runway environment to the en route structure with specified obstacle protection. An ODP provides an obstacle-clearance route, published as text or a graphic; graphic titles include “(OBSTACLE).” A SID is a charted ATC departure procedure that also serves traffic-system needs. Either can be conventional or RNAV. The procedure's actual route, equipment, altitudes and climb requirements matter more than the label.

A SID requires an ATC clearance to fly it. AIM recommends ODPs for obstruction clearance; an ODP can be flown without a separate ATC clearance unless ATC has specifically assigned a different departure procedure, such as a SID or radar vector. Coordinate the intended ODP with ATC so the departure and issued route are understood. Do not insert a contradictory ODP route into an assigned SID or vector clearance.

Where a runway passes a diverse departure assessment, no ODP is needed for obstacle clearance within the assessed area under its assumptions. A DVA permits ATC vectors during an uninterrupted climb under its published design conditions; it can have a required gradient. DVA availability is not a license to invent headings. Receive the assigned headings and comply with the applicable conditions.

Visual Climb Over Airport (VCOA) is a specific published option, not an improvised visual orbit. It requires the charted ceiling/visibility, visual climbing turns within the distance prescribed by the published visibility minimum, and reaching the stated at-or-above altitude before proceeding as the procedure directs. Notify ATC of the intent before departure. Remain clear of low, close-in obstacles; if the conditions or aircraft capability cannot support the charted option, use another workable departure or delay.

No ODP on a casual chart search is not proof that every runway at every airport has been assessed or that all directions are safe. Check current TPP takeoff/ODP information, SID pages, NOTAMs and the actual runway. Confirm how obstacle protection continues until the route's minimum IFR altitude.

AIM 5-2-9(a)–(d), (e)(7), (f)(3): ODP, SID, DVA, diverse assessment and published VCOA · IPH Chapter 1: departure types and obstacle clearance · §91.123: assigned-clearance compliance

Separate civil Part 91 applicability from a safe departure

For an ordinary Part 91 civil-airport flight, §91.175(f)'s civil takeoff-weather minimums apply to the listed Part 121/125/129/135 operations rather than supplying a universal visibility minimum for this lesson's operation. That legal distinction does not remove terrain, performance, airworthiness, aircraft-limit or clearance responsibilities. Military-airport IFR takeoff/landing minima have a separate §91.175(g) provision.

Read published takeoff minima and obstacle notes even when the ordinary civil takeoff-weather rule does not impose them. A triangle-T on the approach chart alerts you to the takeoff/ODP information; it is not the complete procedure. Some notes provide higher weather minima as a visual avoidance option instead of a greater gradient. If using that option, the actual ceiling/visibility must let you see and avoid the specified obstacles and meet the published conditions.

Low, close-in obstacles can be critical before the airplane establishes the normal climb. Later gradient compliance does not prove clearance of a tree near the runway end. Review its location/height and the aircraft's takeoff distance, liftoff point, initial climb and drift. If visual acquisition or demonstrated performance cannot support clearance, choose a suitable different runway/procedure or delay.

Set personal departure weather limits with an instructor, considering loss of visual reference just after liftoff, initial workload and a return or diversion if the airplane cannot continue. Taking off below conditions permitting a safe return demands a credible alternative; the absence of one published visibility prohibition cannot create that alternative.

§91.175(f)–(g): applicable civil and military airport takeoff minima · AIM 5-2-9(e)–(f): takeoff/close-in obstacles and visual avoidance options · IFH 1-16: triangle-T and TPP departure lookup

Follow the route and its vertical starting conditions

Unless a procedure specifies otherwise, departure obstacle-clearance design assumes crossing the departure end of runway (DER) at least 35 feet above its elevation, climbing to 400 feet above DER elevation before the initial turn, and maintaining at least 200 feet/NM until minimum IFR altitude, subject to published/assigned restrictions. These references are not automatically height above the highest terrain nearby.

The actual chart can require a greater DER crossing height, higher initial-turn altitude, a turn at a named fix, or a greater gradient to an altitude/fix. Read those values individually. A turn-at-fix instruction does not become a turn at 400 feet merely because that is a common assumption. Some legacy early-turn instructions have special conditions; the published instruction controls.

Obstacle protection requires both the lateral route and vertical performance. A pilot who climbs adequately but turns the wrong direction can leave it. A pilot on the drawn line who cannot meet the gradient can pass below it. A greater gradient may terminate at a specified altitude/fix, after which the normal gradient continues until the required minimum IFR altitude unless the chart/clearance requires otherwise.

ODP/SID/DVA design assumes normal performance with all engines operating. It is not an emergency escape guarantee. For a single-engine airplane, discuss actual takeoff/engine-failure options, terrain and aircraft emergency procedures with an instructor; neither this drawing nor a multiengine engine-out analysis supplies a universal turnback height.

AIM 5-2-9(e)(1)–(3), (e)(6) and (f): DER, turn, gradient, assessment limits and all-engine assumptions · IPH Chapter 1: departure design assumptions and pilot performance responsibility

Convert gradient to a rate, then compare with the POH

Gradient is height gained per ground distance, in feet/NM. Climb rate is height gained per time, in feet/minute. Convert with required ft/min = gradient × groundspeed ÷ 60. Use expected groundspeed during the climb segment, including wind, rather than substituting indicated airspeed.

For a study requirement of 300 feet/NM at 90 knots groundspeed, the airplane must climb at 450 feet/minute. At 120 knots groundspeed the same gradient needs 600 feet/minute. A tailwind can make a given climb rate yield a shallower gradient. Conversely, an aircraft achieving500 feet/minute at 100 knots produces300 feet/NM:500 ÷ 100 × 60.

Compare the requirement with actual AFM/POH climb performance at loaded weight, pressure altitude, temperature, configuration and required power/speeds. Check the entire constrained climb as performance changes with altitude, including any turns, icing exposure or required equipment use under the manual. A sea-level initial rate or an average over the whole climb does not establish every segment's capability. Allow meaningful margin for actual conditions and uncertainty.

A study prediction of 430 feet/minute cannot support the 450 feet/minute requirement, even though the shortfall looks small. Request a workable departure/runway, reduce load when lawful and effective, wait for better conditions, or change the flight. Selecting a slower speed solely to improve the arithmetic must remain within the actual aircraft procedure and controllability/performance limits.

IPH Chapter 1: climb-gradient calculations and TPP rate-of-climb table · AIM 5-2-9(e)(5)–(6), (h)(5): gradient termination and capability checks · ACS V.B.K1 and I.C.K3a: procedure gradients and climb calculations

Read climb via and assigned-altitude clearances separately

Climb via SID authorizes the cleared lateral path and climb while meeting the published/assigned altitude and speed restrictions, to the SID's top altitude. “Climb via SID except maintain 5,000” changes the top limit to 5,000; other applicable restrictions remain. Stop there until further authorized. Do not substitute the filed cruise altitude for the top limit.

A SID route clearance with “climb and maintain 5,000” authorizes an unrestricted climb to 5,000 under that vertical instruction; published speed restrictions remain applicable. It is different from “climb via,” which preserves the applicable published crossing altitudes. Clarify conflicting instructions, and retain the obstacle-clearance performance assumptions rather than reading an altitude amendment as permission to stop climbing below safe terrain clearance.

A routing-only SID instruction does not authorize climbing beyond the current assigned altitude. Published speed restrictions apply independently of climb via authority unless modified by ATC. Read any exact, minimum, maximum or window restriction and its fix rather than treating every charted number as “at or above.”

If ATC vectors or clears the aircraft off the SID after establishment, consider it canceled unless instructed to expect resumption; applicable published restrictions are canceled and ATC supplies altitude and any needed speed. On rejoining, obtain the applicable reissued restrictions or climb via/resume-speed authority. ATC assumes obstacle-clearance responsibility when it interrupts the relevant published path, but still assumes the minimum200 feet/NM climb. Advise immediately if unable. ODP crossing altitudes and speed restrictions cannot be canceled or amended by ATC. Do not apply the SID amendment rules to individual ODP restrictions. If ATC vectors off an ODP or assigns an altitude lower than a published ODP altitude, the ODP itself is canceled under the stated AIM rule and ATC assumes terrain/obstacle responsibility; clarify any conflict before accepting. Initial contact after a climb via clearance includes altitude leaving and any assigned unpublished restriction.

AIM 5-2-9(h)(3)–(11): interruption, climb via, top altitude and initial contact · AIM 4-4-7: clearance interpretation and readback responsibility

Brief the runway, route and cockpit setup before takeoff

Identify the runway's actual departure description, takeoff/obstacle notes, initial course or heading, turn location/altitude, fixes, restrictions, gradient endpoint and transition to the en route clearance. Read the procedure's text and all relevant pages; a map outline alone can omit a restriction. Check NOTAMs and current publications against the loaded procedure.

For RNAV, verify the actual navigation approval and required sensors/functions, retrieve the assigned procedure by name from an appropriate current database, and compare route, runway and transition with the chart. Do not construct a substitute departure by manually entering a list of fixes. Use the actual avionics supplement to set source/modes and monitor the first leg; verify any vector segment rather than allowing an unintended direct-to shortcut.

Set and identify conventional navigation aids as required, prepare the departure frequency and transponder under the clearance, and use the actual phase checklist. State who/what will monitor attitude, airspeed, altitude, route, engine performance and automation modes. Complete setup on the ground while retaining taxi/runway awareness. A release window is a reason to coordinate readiness, not to omit the briefing.

If the runway or departure changes, revise the performance and procedure checks before accepting. An easier tailwind alignment for the traffic system can still be unsuitable for takeoff performance. State inability promptly and ask for an alternative that the aircraft can actually fly.

AIM 5-2-8 and 5-2-9(h)–(i): initial route, pilot actions and RNAV requirements · AIM 5-5-16: navigation-database and published procedure responsibilities · IPH Chapter 1: departure briefing, publications and preparation

Prepare a departure for supervised practice

With an instructor and the actual aircraft data, select a current runway/ODP or assigned SID and explain every lateral/vertical restriction. Convert its gradient at more than one realistic groundspeed and compare with corrected POH performance across the required climb. Identify low, close-in obstacles, weather/visual-option conditions and what would require delaying or changing the plan.

On the ground or in a suitable training setup, select/identify the appropriate communication and navigation facilities, verify the chart/database, apply the phase checklist, rehearse contact/readback and plan timely course/radial/bearing interception. Explain which indications confirm charted compliance and how an amendment changes the setup.

Review the ACS V.B.S7 standards—airspeed ± 10 knots, altitude ± 100 feet, selected heading ± 10°, and course deviation no more than ¾-scale CDI—and the cross-check needed to support them. Plan SRM/CRM so control and flightpath monitoring continue during setup and communications. This is ground preparation for V.B.S1–S7/S10; actual departure execution and performance require instructor-supervised practice and assessment.

ACS V.B.S1–S7/S10: facilities, checklist, publications, communications, intercept, compliance, performance and resource-management preparation

FLIGHT SCENARIO

What would change your plan?