The development of DPs was an evolutionaryprocess. Pilots and controllers wanted compli-cated verbal departure procedures committedto paper to simplify clearance delivery proce-dures. Initially, DPs were available in narrativeform only back in the late 1960s, but they weremade into graphics a short time later becauseof Jeppesen user comments.

If you depart an airport which has one ormore published DPs, you can expect to becleared via one of these procedures.However, to accept a DP in your clearance,you must possess at least the text descriptionof the DP. If you don’t want to follow a DP,include a note stating “no DPs” in theremarks section of the FAA flight plan.Adherence to all restrictions on the DP isrequired unless clearance to deviate isreceived from ATC.

Most Departure Procedures are divided intotwo main parts: the actual departure, fol-lowed by the transitions. The first portionbegins at the airport and terminates at a fixsuch as a navaid, intersection, DME fix, or

RNAV waypoint. The transi-tions start at the fix wherethe standard instrumentdeparture terminates andthe transition, by design cri-teria, is supposed to end atan enroute fix.

Refer to the “Red Rock TwoDeparture” from Las Vegas,Nevada, which is a typicalDeparture Procedure. ThisDP is still titled “SID” and willbe changed to DP when it isrevised for other aeronauticalreasons. Most of the symbolsused on the DP charts arethe same as those used onthe enroute navigationcharts (with some excep-tions). The navigation fre-quency box is the same asused on the high altitudecharts. These facility boxesinclude the latitude/longi-tude coordinates for aircraftequipped with latitude/lon-gitude systems, but no air-borne database. The samesymbols also are used onboth types of charts for:MEA designations, leg seg-ment distances, DME fixidentifiers,changeover pointsymbols, and magnetic radi-al designations.

One major differencefound on the DP charts,when compared to otherJepp charts, is that the DPsare not drawn to scale.Although the layout of thefixes on the chart aredrawn schematically, themileages cannot be deter-mined accurately by the use

of a plotter. DPs that are drawn to scale wouldbe desirable, but with so much detail next tothe airport as well as transitions which are oftenhundreds of miles long, a chart that was drawnto scale would force the initial departure infor-mation to be too small to read.

The main body of the DP is depicted with aheavy, solid line, and the DP transitions are des-ignated with heavy, dashed lines for distinction.

Departure Procedure NamesEach DP is named according to the last fix onthe main portion of the DP. At Las Vegas, the DPends at the Oasys intersection, but since therealready is an Oasys DP, another name had to beselected. The title “Red Rock” was arbitrarilychosen since there are no rules for alternatenames. The number designator in the DP titlerepresents the revision number of the particularDP. This is particularly useful in communicationswith ATC. For example, when this departureprocedure is revised, it will be titled “Red RockThree Departure.” When the controller assignsyou the Red Rock Three Departure, and your DPchart still reads “Red Rock Two Departure,” youknow immediately that you didn’t file lastweek’s revision.

The computer code in parentheses to theright of the departure name is not used incommunications; however, this code can behelpful in many cases. When filing an IFRflight plan from Las Vegas which includes thisDP, you should give the computer code in theflight plan. The computer code in parenthe-ses is only for the segment from the airport tothe end of the DP, but not to the end of thetransition you might want to fly. If yourrequest includes both a DP and a transition,the DP and the transition code both shouldbe used. This will expedite the processing ofyour IFR flight plan through the flight servicestation and the air route traffic control center.

To the right of the computer code are thewords “Pilot Nav” in parentheses. There arealso DPs with the word “Vector” in parenthe-ses. Both of these sets of words are meant toindicate the primary means of navigation onthe particular DP. However, the distinctionbetween the two is sometimes a little blurry,so the terms will be dropped in the future.

Flying the DPAs a practical application, let’s fly the RedRock Two Departure and Goffs Transitionfrom a takeoff on Runway 1L. The IFR clear-ance given to you by Las Vegas ClearanceDelivery would be something like this:“Saberliner 737R, cleared to Douglas Airportas filed, Red Rock Two departure, GoffsTransition, maintain...”

Now check the narrative description ofthe DP. The notation in parenthesesunder the title indicates this departure isonly for Runways 1 Left and Right andthat DME and radar are required for thisDP. You will also notice there are restric-tions on the Hector and DaggettTransitions. The first portion of the DP textstates that this procedure requires a ceiling of1,200 feet and a visibility of 3 miles, plus aminimum climb rate of 410 feet per nauticalmile to 5,000 feet. These minimum climb

The Chart Clinic – Twenty Ninth in a Series

If it were always VFR at mountainous air-ports, and if there were no other airplanesat the hub airports, you could depart an

airport and do almost anything you want-ed. Unfortunately, cumulogranite cloudssurround many airports. Also, ATC gives usdeparture paths other than direct routes atbusy airports. These published paths aregenerally designed to comply with ATCdeparture procedures and are now calledDeparture Procedures (DPs). They startedtheir life with the name standard instru-ment departures (SIDs).

BY JAMES E. TERPSTRA

SR. CORPORATE VICE PRESIDENT, JEPPESEN

James E. Terpstra is seniorcorporate vice president,aviation affairs at Jeppesen. Hisratings include ATP, single andmulti-engine, airplane andinstrument flight instructor. His6,000+ hours include 3,200instructing. For comments, please Email:JimTerps@jeppesen.com

Daggett VOR. Also, there is an MRA (mini-mum reception altitude) at the Riffe intersec-tion which is 14,000 feet. Most likely, theMRA is to receive the Hector VOR since youare already high enough at the MEA of12,000 feet to receive the Daggett VOR. So,if you are using the DME from Daggett, youcan ignore the MRA at Riffe.In the next article, we will conclude theseries with a discussion on STARs.

rates are stated in the DP text only when theyexceed a rate of 152 feet per nautical mile.Below the climb gradient statement, there is atable that gives the climb rate in feet perminute at various ground speeds so that youhave some numbers that are meaningful whenreading the panel instruments.

The information in the takeoff paragraphstates that departures for turbojets should bea climbing left turn to a 315° heading to4,000 feet, then a climbing left turn to a 180°heading to intercept the Las Vegas 211° radi-al. Then the word “Thence” which starts thedeparture path that states a climb via the LasVegas 211° radial to the Oasys intersectionfollowed by the transition or other route fromOasys. It’s not stated in each DP, but the ini-tial turn after lift off should be after reaching400 feet above the airport since that is stan-dard for all departures.

On this departure, there is a LostCommunications procedure that is enclosedin a box comprised of hashed lines that statewhat to do if not in contact with departurecontrol. The Lost Communications procedureis available only on a few departure proce-dures. When the Lost Communications arenot available in text form on the procedure,then the standard FAR Part 91 lost communi-cations procedures apply.

DP TransitionThe information included in the transitionsparagraph includes the departure proceduresfor either normal procedures or for a com-munications failure. For this hypotheticalflight, the course after Oasys goes to theGoffs VORTAC. Since we are flying the GoffsTransition, the computer code (REDRK2.GFS)should be used when filing the flight plan tohelp expedite it through the flight service sta-tion and air route traffic control center. Thetransition identifier is shown adjacent to thetransition track.

The Goffs Transition departs Oasys intersec-tion via the Goffs 333 radial. Note the num-ber 153 in large type right after Oasys. Thisshows the course setting to use when depart-ing Oasys, so you don’t have to mathemati-cally derive the reciprocal of the 333 radialfrom the Goffs VOR. The Goffs Transition nar-rative is duplicated in the graphic depictionof the transition, so you will eventually seethe text description of the transitions disap-pear from the DP pages. This should make itmuch easier to read, since much of the tex-tual “clutter” will disappear.

At Oasys, note that there are two MCAs (mini-mum crossing altitudes). MCAs are specifiedfor obstacle clearance, whereas the 11,000-foot altitude restriction at the 42 DME fix fromGoffs is an ATC restriction (even though theMEA on the transition is also 11,000 feet). TheMCA of 10,500 feet at Oasys is applicable forflights to the southeast which is the direction of the Goffs Transition.

On the Daggett Transition, there are a coupleof unusual pieces of information. On the tran-sition, there is a changeover point (COP) which is37 miles from Las Vegas and 59 miles to the

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