[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":269},["ShallowReactive",2],{"learn-\u002Flearn\u002Fsids-and-stars-explained":3,"learn-nav-\u002Flearn\u002Fsids-and-stars-explained":244},{"id":4,"title":5,"body":6,"date":181,"description":182,"draft":183,"extension":184,"faqs":185,"howTo":195,"keyTakeaways":196,"meta":201,"navigation":202,"path":203,"quiz":204,"seo":230,"series":195,"seriesOrder":195,"sources":231,"stem":241,"topic":242,"__hash__":243},"learn\u002Flearn\u002Fsids-and-stars-explained.md","SIDs and STARs explained",{"type":7,"value":8,"toc":171},"minimark",[9,13,19,24,50,54,57,89,93,118,122,137,140,144,164,168],[10,11,12],"p",{},"A clearance at a busy airport could, in principle, be a long recital of headings, altitudes and fixes. Instead it is often a single name: a SID on the way out, a STAR on the way in. These published procedures do a lot of quiet work, turning a tangle of departing and arriving traffic into tidy, repeatable streams, and reading them well is a core instrument skill.",[14,15,16],"blockquote",{},[10,17,18],{},"This is general educational information, not operational, legal, or regulatory advice. Rules differ by authority and change over time. Always verify against current official sources and follow your operator's approved procedures.",[20,21,23],"h2",{"id":22},"what-they-are","What they are",[10,25,26,27,31,32,35,36,43,44,49],{},"A ",[28,29,30],"strong",{},"SID",", a standard instrument departure, is a pre-published route from a runway out to the en-route airway structure. A ",[28,33,34],{},"STAR",", a standard terminal arrival route, is a pre-published route from the en-route structure in toward the initial approach. As the ",[37,38,42],"a",{"href":39,"rel":40},"https:\u002F\u002Fwww.faa.gov\u002Fair_traffic\u002Fpublications\u002Fatpubs\u002Faim_html\u002Fchap5_section_2.html",[41],"nofollow","FAA AIM"," and ",[37,45,48],{"href":46,"rel":47},"https:\u002F\u002Fskybrary.aero\u002Farticles\u002Fstandard-instrument-departure-sid",[41],"SKYbrary"," put it, the point of both is to let a controller and a crew agree on a whole sequence of tracks and altitudes by naming it, rather than reading it out heading by heading.",[20,51,53],{"id":52},"why-they-exist","Why they exist",[10,55,56],{},"Three things at once:",[58,59,60,67,73],"ul",{},[61,62,63,66],"li",{},[28,64,65],{},"Reduced radio workload."," \"Cleared via the MID 2F departure\" replaces a paragraph of instructions and readback.",[61,68,69,72],{},[28,70,71],{},"Orderly, predictable flows."," Streams of departing and arriving aircraft follow known paths, which keeps them separated and lets controllers plan ahead.",[61,74,75,78,79,84,85,88],{},[28,76,77],{},"Obstacle clearance (on a SID)."," A SID is designed, under the rules in ",[37,80,83],{"href":81,"rel":82},"https:\u002F\u002Fstore.icao.int\u002Fen\u002Fprocedures-for-air-navigation-services-pans-aircraft-operations-volume-ii-construction-of-visual-instrument-flight-procedures-doc-8168",[41],"ICAO Doc 8168 Volume II",", to keep you clear of terrain and obstacles as you climb, ",[28,86,87],{},"provided you meet its published climb gradient",".",[20,90,92],{"id":91},"the-climb-gradient-that-matters","The climb gradient that matters",[10,94,95,96,99,100,109,110,113,114,117],{},"The default minimum climb gradient used in procedure design is ",[28,97,98],{},"3.3 per cent",", which works out to about ",[28,101,102,103],{},"200 feet per ",[37,104,108],{"href":105,"className":106},"\u002Flearn\u002Fglossary#gt-nautical-mile",[107],"glossary-link","nautical mile",". Where terrain or obstacles demand, a SID publishes a ",[28,111,112],{},"steeper"," required gradient, often expressed both as a percentage and as a feet-per-nautical-mile figure, and sometimes as a required rate of climb at a given groundspeed. The rule is firm: if your aircraft, at the day's weight and conditions, ",[28,115,116],{},"cannot meet the published gradient",", that SID is not available to you, and you need an alternative departure or different conditions.",[20,119,121],{"id":120},"a-worked-example","A worked example",[10,123,124,125,128,129,132,133,136],{},"You are assigned a SID that requires a minimum climb gradient of ",[28,126,127],{},"5 per cent"," to a crossing altitude, because of high ground off the end of the runway. Five per cent is about ",[28,130,131],{},"300 feet per nautical mile",". At a groundspeed of 120 knots, which is 2 nautical miles per minute, that is a required rate of climb of about ",[28,134,135],{},"600 feet per minute"," (300 feet per mile times 2 miles per minute). Check that figure against your aircraft's climb performance for the day; if you cannot sustain it, you do not fly that SID.",[10,138,139],{},"On the arrival, a STAR might include a crossing restriction such as \"cross WAYPT at or above FL080 and at 250 knots.\" That is the STAR doing its job: sequencing you down and slowing you into the terminal area at a known point, so the controller can fit you into the arriving stream without a string of individual instructions. You meet the restriction the same way you meet a SID gradient: by planning the descent and speed to arrive at the fix within the limits.",[20,141,143],{"id":142},"common-pitfalls","Common pitfalls",[58,145,146,152,158],{},[61,147,148,151],{},[28,149,150],{},"A SID's obstacle protection is conditional."," It assumes you make the published climb gradient; if you cannot, the protection does not apply.",[61,153,154,157],{},[28,155,156],{},"Percentages and feet-per-mile are two faces of one number."," Convert deliberately and turn it into a rate of climb for your groundspeed before you accept the procedure.",[61,159,160,163],{},[28,161,162],{},"Crossing restrictions are not optional."," \"At or above,\" \"at or below\" and speed limits on a STAR are clearance items; plan the descent so you meet them.",[20,165,167],{"id":166},"in-pilot-efb","In Pilot EFB",[10,169,170],{},"Pilot EFB is a study and planning companion for reading departures and arrivals and for the route planning around them, alongside your weather, NOTAMs and flight time in one offline-first place. It does not issue clearances or replace your charts and avionics, so fly the published procedure from your official source of record. Pilot EFB is not a certified Electronic Flight Bag, so treat it as a study and planning aid and brief from your official source of record.",{"title":172,"searchDepth":173,"depth":173,"links":174},"",2,[175,176,177,178,179,180],{"id":22,"depth":173,"text":23},{"id":52,"depth":173,"text":53},{"id":91,"depth":173,"text":92},{"id":120,"depth":173,"text":121},{"id":142,"depth":173,"text":143},{"id":166,"depth":173,"text":167},"2026-06-22","What standard instrument departures and standard terminal arrival routes are, why they exist, and how to read the climb gradients and crossing restrictions that turn a busy terminal area into orderly, repeatable traffic flows.",false,"md",[186,189,192],{"q":187,"a":188},"What is the difference between a SID and a STAR?","A SID, a standard instrument departure, is a published route from a runway out to the en-route structure. A STAR, a standard terminal arrival route, is a published route from the en-route structure in toward an approach. A SID gets you out, a STAR brings you in, and both are pre-designed so a single clearance name replaces a long string of headings and altitudes.",{"q":190,"a":191},"Why do SIDs and STARs exist?","They organise busy terminal airspace. A named departure or arrival lets a controller clear an aircraft with a few words instead of a long readback, keeps streams of traffic separated and predictable, and, in the case of a SID, guarantees obstacle clearance on the way up provided the aircraft meets the published climb gradient. They reduce radio workload and make terminal flows repeatable.",{"q":193,"a":194},"What is a minimum climb gradient on a SID?","It is the rate of climb, expressed as a height gained per distance, that an aircraft must achieve to stay safely above obstacles along the departure. The default minimum used in procedure design is 3.3 per cent, which is about 200 feet per nautical mile. A SID can publish a steeper gradient where terrain demands, and if your aircraft cannot meet it on the day, that SID is not available to you.",null,[197,198,199,200],"A SID is a published departure route out to the en-route structure; a STAR is a published arrival route in toward the approach.","They replace long clearances with a single name, keep terminal traffic orderly, and a SID guarantees obstacle clearance if its climb gradient is met.","The default minimum design climb gradient is 3.3 per cent, about 200 feet per nautical mile, and a SID can publish steeper.","If your aircraft cannot meet a SID's published climb gradient on the day, that departure is not available to you.",{},true,"\u002Flearn\u002Fsids-and-stars-explained",[205,214,222],{"q":206,"options":207,"answer":212,"explanation":213},"What does a SID provide that a STAR does not?",[208,209,210,211],"A route in toward the approach","A published departure route with guaranteed obstacle clearance if the climb gradient is met","A landing clearance","A weather forecast",1,"A SID is a departure route that guarantees obstacle clearance provided the aircraft meets the published climb gradient; a STAR is the arrival route in toward the approach.",{"q":215,"options":216,"answer":212,"explanation":221},"The default minimum climb gradient used in procedure design is about:",[217,218,219,220],"100 feet per nautical mile","200 feet per nautical mile (3.3 per cent)","500 feet per nautical mile","1000 feet per nautical mile","The default minimum design climb gradient is 3.3 per cent, which works out to about 200 feet per nautical mile; a SID can require steeper where terrain demands.",{"q":223,"options":224,"answer":212,"explanation":229},"Why do controllers use named SIDs and STARs?",[225,226,227,228],"To make pilots memorise more","To replace long clearances with a single name and keep terminal traffic flows orderly and predictable","Because radios are not allowed near airports","To avoid publishing charts","A named departure or arrival lets a controller issue a short clearance, keeps streams of traffic separated and predictable, and reduces radio workload in busy terminal airspace.",{"title":5,"description":182},[232,234,236,239],{"label":233,"url":39},"FAA Aeronautical Information Manual, Chapter 5 (Air Traffic Procedures)",{"label":235,"url":81},"ICAO Doc 8168: PANS-OPS, Volume II (Construction of Visual and Instrument Flight Procedures)",{"label":237,"url":238},"ICAO Doc 4444: PANS-ATM","https:\u002F\u002Fstore.icao.int\u002Fen\u002Fprocedures-for-air-navigation-services-air-traffic-management-doc-4444",{"label":240,"url":46},"SKYbrary: Standard Instrument Departure (SID)","learn\u002Fsids-and-stars-explained","Operations","g4iemnRgJRFecc5nivzm_USb5X6dCqGFqMsWFcblpy0",{"related":245,"newer":259,"older":263,"series":195},[246,253,259],{"path":247,"title":248,"description":249,"date":181,"topic":242,"draft":183,"minutes":250,"series":251,"seriesOrder":252},"\u002Flearn\u002Fairspace-speed-limits","The 250-knot speed limit and other airspace speed rules","Why there is a 250-knot speed limit below 10,000 feet, the slower 200-knot limits near and under busy airspace, and how the FAA and EASA wordings line up and differ, with a worked descent that puts the rules in order.",4,"plan-a-vfr-cross-country",7,{"path":254,"title":255,"description":256,"date":181,"topic":242,"draft":183,"minutes":257,"series":251,"seriesOrder":258},"\u002Flearn\u002Fminimum-safe-altitudes-msa-mora-mea-moca","Minimum safe altitudes: MSA, MORA, MEA, MOCA and MEF","The family of minimum altitudes that keep you clear of terrain and obstacles, what each one guarantees, and the difference between an altitude that also promises navigation signal and a chart figure that only tells you the highest obstacle.",3,6,{"path":260,"title":261,"description":262,"date":181,"topic":242,"draft":183,"minutes":250,"series":195,"seriesOrder":195},"\u002Flearn\u002Freading-an-instrument-approach-chart","Reading an instrument approach chart","How an instrument approach chart is laid out, what the plan view, profile view, minimums box and missed approach each tell you, and how to read one in order so you brief the approach the way you will fly it.",{"path":264,"title":265,"description":266,"date":181,"topic":267,"draft":183,"minutes":250,"series":268,"seriesOrder":258},"\u002Flearn\u002Ftaf-change-groups","TAF change groups: TEMPO, BECMG, PROB and FM","A deeper look at the change groups that make a TAF a forecast rather than a snapshot, with the exact meaning of FM, BECMG, TEMPO and PROB and a worked example that decodes them in order.","Weather","decode-the-weather",1782089963542]