Departure Procedures

The tolerances are:

• Airspeed: ±10 knots
• Heading: ±10°
• Altitude: ±100 feet

These apply while accurately tracking a course, radial, or bearing (AA.VI.B.S8). Intercepts must be timely (S6), all charted procedures complied with (S7), and the departure flown until the evaluator judges the transition to the en route environment complete (S9). Note the contrast with this Area's approach tasks: the ±5-knot, ¼-scale world starts on final — the departure standard is the familiar instrument-rating envelope, flown with a jet's momentum.

You must be able to say yes to all of it (IPH ch. 1):

• The ability to comply with the required performance — if you cannot meet the climb gradient in the SID, do not accept the clearance, and do not accept the procedure if ATC assigns it
• The ability to navigate to the required accuracy
• Possession of the charted procedure
• Personal understanding of the SID in its entirety

The ACS makes gradient compliance a named risk (AA.VI.B.R1). And remember what TERPS assumes: departure design considers obstacle protection only — it assumes all engines operating and does not consider your airplane's performance. Engine-out procedures are the operator's responsibility (IPH ch. 1).

"Climb via" is an abbreviated clearance requiring compliance with the procedure's lateral path and the associated speed and altitude restrictions along the cleared route (IPH ch. 1). It's the departure twin of "descend via" on a STAR. In an FMS airplane this is an automation-management item (AA.VI.B.R3): the charted restrictions must be in the box and verified against the chart — programming the FMS prior to departure and setting the flight director and autopilot controls for the departure is a graded skill (AA.VI.B.S2), and the database must be current and appropriate (S4).

Design assumes crossing the DER at least 35 feet up, climbing to 400 feet above DER elevation before the first turn, and a minimum climb gradient of 200 ft/NM unless a higher gradient is published (IPH ch. 1). Convert with groundspeed: the IPH example — a required gradient of 297 ft/NM at 180 knots groundspeed requires about 892 fpm (IPH ch. 1, rate-of-climb table). Every TPP booklet carries the table. The airline-scale trap: gradients are easy at V2 and harder as the airplane accelerates — groundspeed, not airspeed, sets the required rate.

A departure option for an IFR aircraft, operating in VMC at or above the specified ceiling and visibility, to conduct visual climbing turns over the airport to the published "climb-to" altitude, then proceed on the instrument portion of the departure. A VCOA is developed when obstacles farther than 3 SM from the airport require a climb gradient of more than 200 ft/NM — you trade the gradient for circling climbs in visual conditions. It's published in the Takeoff Minimums and (Obstacle) DP section of the TPP, and pilots are required to notify ATC when executing one (IPH ch. 1).

A DVA lets ATC issue random radar vectors to departing traffic below the MVA or minimum IFR altitude — the area has been assessed to diverse-departure TERPS criteria for obstacle and terrain avoidance. Its existence is noted in the Takeoff Minimums and ODP section of the TPP.

Cautions from the IPH:

• A DVA may require a climb gradient greater than the standard 200 ft/NM (stated in the DVA text)
• The assessment covers departures that remain within the specified area
• Obstacle clearance is not provided by ATC until the controller begins providing navigational guidance (IPH ch. 1)

91.185. If you encounter VFR conditions, continue VFR and land as soon as practicable (91.185(b)). Otherwise fly:

Route: assigned; if being vectored, direct to the fix, route, or airway specified in the vector clearance; then expected; then filed (91.185(c)(1)).

Altitude: the highest, for each route segment, of last assigned, the minimum IFR altitude, or the altitude ATC advised to expect (91.185(c)(2)).

The vector case is the departure-specific edge: on a radar SID, the "fix specified in the vector clearance" is your lifeline. Know the first fix and the top altitude before brake release — that's part of understanding the SID in its entirety (IPH ch. 1).

Obstacles within 1 NM of the DER that penetrate the 40:1 obstacle clearance surface — published in the TPP (IPH ch. 1). They're too close for a gradient to fix; the note tells you what and where they are so you can see and avoid, or plan the runway differently. For a jet with a long takeoff roll and screen-height crossing near 35 feet, the margin over a close-in obstacle can be thinner than the chart's tidy gradient suggests — this feeds the runway-selection and performance judgment the departure briefing has to carry.

• Load, don't build: select the procedure and transition from the current navigation database (S4) and compare the FMS legs — fixes, courses, altitude and speed restrictions — against the charted procedure
• Set the flight director and autopilot controls for the initial clearance: heading or nav mode, altitude preselect to the first limit, speed target per the profile (S2)
• Confirm the navigation source the guidance will follow, and identify ground-based facilities as necessary (S1)
• Brief the automation plan out loud: what mode flies the runway heading segment, where nav engages, what the first level-off is

The graded failure mode isn't a dead box — it's a clean-looking departure flown in the wrong mode. State mode changes, confirm captures, and keep raw data in the scan.

Reprogram, verify, rebrief — in that order, and before the takeoff if workload allows. The pilot not flying makes the FMS change; both pilots compare the new route against the amended clearance; the parts of the briefing that changed get rebriefed (ACS Appendix 3 allows briefing only the changes after the first satisfactory briefing). The task's communications skill wraps this: establish two-way communications, use proper phraseology, and comply in a timely manner with all ATC instructions and airspace restrictions (AA.VI.B.S5). A rushed runway change is exactly where a wrong-transition departure gets loaded and flown.

When you accept a SID or radar vectors, ATC is responsible for traffic separation — but you're expected to remain vigilant scanning for traffic when departing in visual conditions, and to notify ATC if a clearance would endanger safety (IPH ch. 1). The risk element pairs that with the limitations of traffic-avoidance equipment: your traffic display supplements see-and-avoid, it doesn't replace it. Fly the procedure as charted — the design considers obstacle clearance — and keep eyes outside while the weather allows it.

From IPH ch. 1:

• Non-RNAV DP — flown with conventional ground-based NAVAIDs (some FMSs are certified to fly these from conventional sensor inputs)
• RNAV DP — for RNAV-equipped aircraft (GPS, VOR/DME, DME/DME); automated vertical navigation is not required; RNAV procedures not requiring GPS carry "RADAR REQUIRED"
• Radar DP — ATC vectors you to a route, NAVAID, or fix; "RADAR REQUIRED" is annotated

The departure task expects you to select the appropriate procedure and the facilities that go with it (AA.VI.B.S1); AC 90-100 is the ACS's reference for U.S. terminal and en route RNAV operations.