STANDARD INSTRUMENT DEPARTURES
A Standard Instrument Departure (SID) is an ATC
requested and developed departure route, typically used
in busy terminal areas. It is designed at the request of
ATC in order to increase capacity of terminal airspace,
effectively control the flow of traffic with minimal
communication, and reduce environmental impact
through noise abatement procedures.
While obstacle protection is always considered in SID routing,
the primary goal is to reduce ATC/pilot workload while
providing seamless transitions to the en route structure.
SIDs also provide additional benefits to both the airspace
capacity and the airspace users by reducing radio congestion,
allowing more efficient airspace use, and simplifying
departure clearances. All of the benefits combine to provide
effective, efficient terminal operations, thereby increasing
the overall capacity of the NAS.
If you cannot comply with a SID, if you do not possess
SID charts or textual descriptions, or if you simply do
not wish to use standard instrument departures, include the statement “NO SIDs” in the remarks section of your
flight plan. Doing so notifies ATC that they cannot issue
you a clearance containing a SID, but instead will clear
you via your filed route to the extent possible, or via a
Preferential Departure Route (PDR). It should be
noted that SID usage not only decreases clearance
delivery time, but also greatly simplifies your departure,
easing you into the IFR structure at a desirable
location and decreasing your flight management load.
While you are not required to depart using a SID, it may
be more difficult to receive an “as filed” clearance when
departing busy airports that frequently use SID routing.
SIDs are always charted graphically and are located in
the TPP after the last approach chart for an airport. The
SID may be one or two pages in length, depending on the
size of the graphic and the amount of space required for
the departure description. Each chart depicts the departure
route, navigational fixes, transition routes, and
required altitudes. The departure description outlines the
particular procedure for each runway. [Figure 2-21 on
page 2-20]
![](images/figure2_21.jpg)
Charted transition routes allow pilots to transition from
the end of the basic SID to a location in the en route
structure. Typically, transition routes fan out in various
directions from the end of the basic SID to allow pilots
to choose the transition route that takes them in the direction of intended departure. A transition route
includes a course, a minimum altitude, and distances
between fixes on the route. When filing a SID for a specific
transition route, include the transition in the flight plan, using the correct departure and transition code.
ATC also assigns transition routes as a means of putting
the flight on course to the destination. In any case, the
pilot must receive an ATC clearance for the departure and the associated transition, and the clearance from
ATC will include both the departure name and transition
e.g., Joe Pool Nine Departure, College Station
Transition. [Figure 2-22]
![](images/figure2_22.jpg)
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