Departures Revisited

A while back, I wrote an article on departing an airport in Class G airspace. To follow up, well delve a little deeper into the departure and discuss entering the radar environment to see what radar provides. Well also look at what radar doesnt provide.

Editorial Staff

Monday, August 25, 2014 at 12:00 AM ET

Verified

Key Takeaways:

Pilots navigate departures using Standard Instrument Departures (SIDs), Obstacle Departure Procedures (ODPs), or Diverse Departures, each requiring adherence to specific climb gradients (e.g., 200 ft/NM) and turn restrictions (e.g., no turns below 400 ft AGL) to ensure obstacle clearance.
"Radar contact" does not transfer obstacle avoidance responsibility to ATC; pilots are only relieved of this duty when ATC provides specific navigational guidance through radar vectors, especially when operating within an established Diverse Vector Area (DVA).

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A while back, I wrote an article on departing an airport in Class G airspace. To follow up, we’ll delve a little deeper into the departure and discuss entering the radar environment to see what radar provides. We’ll also look at what radar doesn’t provide.

Basics
As a quick recap, there are three types of departures you can use to get out of any airport, Class G included. A Standard Instrument Departure (SID), which conveniently shrinks long, complicated instructions full of headings, courses, altitudes and navaids into a charted procedure.