Visual Departures for IFR

An item recently crossed our desks that has caused some head scratching: Teterboro had a revised charted visual departure procedure for IFR clearances. Of course, everyone knows about SIDs-weve analyzed bunches of 'em in these pages over the years. And most of us will occasionally ask for a VFR departure. Visual approaches (charted or not) are common.

Frank Bowlin

Monday, August 04, 2014 at 12:00 AM ET

Verified

Key Takeaways:

Charted visual departure procedures are formal, IFR-clearance-linked procedures that require visual flight conditions, often surprising pilots familiar with other visual segments of IFR flights.
Pilots must specifically request these procedures, which come with their own weather minima and detailed, charted routing, altitude, and speed restrictions.
These procedures are designed to provide structured guidance for navigating complex environments, such as avoiding terrain, sensitive areas, or dense traffic corridors.

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VISUAL DEPARTURES for IFR
Charted IFR arrival and departure procedures are routine. Charted visual approaches are not uncommon. But a charted visual departure procedure? We didn’t know, either.

An item recently crossed our desks that has caused some head scratching: Teterboro had a revised charted visual departure procedure for IFR clearances. Of course, everyone knows about SIDs—we’ve analyzed bunches of ’em in these pages over the years. And most of us will occasionally ask for a VFR departure. Visual approaches (charted or not) are common.