Welcome Guest. Sign in or Signup

3 Answers

IFR Departures

Asked by: 3008 views Airspace, FAA Regulations

Some airports have both SID and ODP. Why have both at the same airport?

Ace Any FAA Written Test!
Actual FAA Questions / Free Lifetime Updates
The best explanations in the business
Fast, efficient study.
Pass Your Checkride With Confidence!
FAA Practical Test prep that reflects actual checkrides.
Any checkride: Airplane, Helicopter, Glider, etc.
Written and maintained by actual pilot examiners and master CFIs.
The World's Most Trusted eLogbook
Be Organized, Current, Professional, and Safe.
Highly customizable - for student pilots through pros.
Free Transition Service for users of other eLogs.
Our sincere thanks to pilots such as yourself who support AskACFI while helping themselves by using the awesome PC, Mac, iPhone/iPad, and Android aviation apps of our sponsors.

3 Answers



  1. Wes Beard on Apr 16, 2013

    SIDs are an ATC clearance. It is easier, and wastes less time on the radio, to issue a SID then to issue the same long route to every airplane. SIDs and STARs are designed to reduce ATC workload and provide for standard routing.

    ODPs are for terrain and do not need an ATC clearance to fly. If you cannot make the climb gradients posted on the SID you can always fly the ODP.

    0 Votes Thumb up 0 Votes Thumb down 0 Votes



  2. John D. Collins on Apr 17, 2013

    Adding to Wes’s comments, a SID requires a clearance to fly and the procedure is intended for ATC purposes such as routing around or over other airspace, or establishing standardized routing that does not conflict with arrivals, etc. If a SID is flown, an ODP is not necessary nor should the ODP be flown. An ODP only deals with terrain clearance issues and provides “a way, but not the only way” that a pilot may safely climb to the enroute segment. Both an ODP and a SID will provide for the standard 200 feet/NM climb gradient or indicate otherwise on the chart or in the text. Some possible reasons that both may be provided at an airport, the SID is intended for turbojet only, ATC departures in direction requires a specific routing, but not in the other direction, certain equipment requirements prevent the SID from being used by all aircraft (DME or GPS required), …

    0 Votes Thumb up 0 Votes Thumb down 0 Votes



  3. Dan Chitty on Apr 17, 2013

    Thank you John and Wes for the feedback.

    0 Votes Thumb up 0 Votes Thumb down 0 Votes


The following terms have been auto-detected the question above and any answers or discussion provided. Click on a term to see its definition from the Dauntless Aviation JargonBuster Glossary.

Answer Question

Our sincere thanks to all who contribute constructively to this forum in answering flight training questions. If you are a flight instructor or represent a flight school / FBO offering flight instruction, you are welcome to include links to your site and related contact information as it pertains to offering local flight instruction in a specific geographic area. Additionally, direct links to FAA and related official government sources of information are welcome. However we thank you for your understanding that links to other sites or text that may be construed as explicit or implicit advertising of other business, sites, or goods/services are not permitted even if such links nominally are relevant to the question asked.