Every flight, even a VFR flight, has a departure procedure and an arrival procedure. On VFR flights that might just be make a left turn and remain in the pattern. Often times, particularly at a non-towered airport, you will make up procedures yourself.
But on an IFR flight things are never so simple. There must be some sort of fixed plan that both the pilot and controller agree upon. With some exceptions you can’t just fly around for a bit and figure out which way you would like to join up with your assigned route. Figuring out which route to take after departure or upon arrival is often rather simple but can sometimes be quite complex. Usually the complexities are more significant at non-towered airports. Airports with a control tower typically give us very explicit instructions on how to depart or arrive. With that in mind, let’s first take a look at how to depart a non-towered field and then look at departures from a towered field. Finally we’ll take a look at arrivals.
