Airspace redesign, increased use of RNAV and optimum climb/descent profiles complicate and clutter STARs and SIDs. Procedure complexity previously stemmed from complicated lateral paths. Course changes and cross-radials required frequencies to be tuned and OBS knobs spun like the man behind the curtain. (I’m supposed to identify each of these stations too?) The HAARP arrival into LaGuardia is an example: tracking outbound on Kingston R-203, the number two radio is set on Deer Park R-338, then number one on the Pawling R-211 or Huguenot R-107 to identify BASYE intersection.
FMS and GPS magic wonder boxes eliminated lateral navigation complexity. Instead of tuning, identifying and twisting, a pilot could sit back and watch waypoints tick off in the box and the path neatly displayed on the MFD. A coupled autopilot could even fly the jagged line, further reducing pilot workload. But procedure complexity continued increasing, with a third dimension of altitude and a fourth dimension of speed.
