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5 Answers

How to find a suitable DP or STAR?

Asked by: 1646 views Instrument Rating

I am working on my Instrument rating and while planning a cross country I always run into the issue how to find a suitable DP or STAR. Especially at unfamiliar destinations or departure environments it seems to be a challenge to find a suitable DP or STAR among the dozens of chooses you sometimes have. The name(s) of these DP's or STAR's does not give anything away in which direction the particular procedure lies, begins or ends. And, yes! I'm aware we don't have to file one, or even request not to use them at all but that is not the purpose of the question. I would like to know if there is an easy way to recognize the DP's and STAR's without reviewing them all to see if there is a nav-aid on the plate that is on your route. 

My instructor does not really had a satisfying answer to this question so does anyone has a good advice in regards to the above? 

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5 Answers



  1. Mark Kolber on Jun 22, 2019

    There is really no way other than reviewing them.

    ForeFlight and some other EFB apps, as well as certain avionics, will allow you to scroll quickly through them to get their general layout and direction. And if you don’t have RNAV capability you can exclude the ones with RNAV in their name.

    That will help limit the ones to look at. But you will still need to look to find such things as whether for example they are “turbojet only” and you are in a 172.

    I actually do that exercise as part of my flight planning. I don’t ask for SIDs or STARs but I want to be prepared if they are assigned. Plus, since they define common routes, they help anticipate what I might get even if not by name,

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  2. John D Collins on Jun 22, 2019

    Finding a suitable SID or DP implies that the procedure will be included in a flight plan. However, not all procedures may be filed, even though they may be assigned in a clearance. There are two types of SID/STAR, those based on ground NAVAIDs and those based on RNAV. The RNAV based procedures may only be filed in an ICAO flight plan and the equipment specifications must include the capability to navigate with either RNAV 1 or RNP 1 PBN capabilities. Furthermore, many of these procedures are limited to be flown by Turbojet or Turboprop aircraft. Others will have notes such as ATC assigned only, which means don’t file one. As far as SIDs that may be flown using conventional NAVAIDs, many are what as known as vector SIDs, meaning the route is not defined and the procedure reads something like “…expect RADAR vectors to enroute fix/navaid, …”. Filing one of these vector SIDs will result in your flight plan being rejected by the ATC computer. In many cases, it is best to just file the first fix or navaid in your route and let ATC assign a SID if it makes sense to them. The only exception to this would be if there is a preferred route that includes a SID or STAR between a city pair that applies to your aircraft type and navigation equipment.

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  3. Mark Kolber on Jun 22, 2019

    “Finding a suitable SID or DP implies that the procedure will be included in a flight plan. ”

    I don’t think that’s a fair implication, John. As I mentioned, I never file a SID or STAR but at anyplace other than my home drone, I review the SIDs and DP to see which are “suitable” – those I might be assigned – so I am prepared.

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  4. John D Collins on Jun 23, 2019

    Mark,

    I don’t disagree that one should review the potential SIDs and STARs as part of the pre-flight preparation, but this is a new pilot in training for his instrument rating and the advice I provide applies. He mentions filing aspects when he states “And, yes! I’m aware we don’t have to file one, or even request not to use them at all but that is not the purpose of the question.” The way one requests not to use them at all is via a remark in the flight plan. He also states “My instructor does not really had a satisfying answer to this question so does anyone has a good advice in regards to the above?”

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  5. John D Collins on Jun 23, 2019

    Dodulation,

    You wrote “The name(s) of these DP’s or STAR’s does not give anything away in which direction the particular procedure lies, begins or ends.
    …
    I would like to know if there is an easy way to recognize the DP’s and STAR’s without reviewing them all to see if there is a nav-aid on the plate that is on your route.”

    Mark answered the question regarding naming of RNAV SIDs and STARs include RNAV in the title. As far as RNAV SIDs and STARs, the name of the procedure is always a 5 character named RNAV fix at the end of the DP procedure or beginning of a STAR. A revision number is added which increases from 1 to 9 and back to 1 as revisions are made to the procedure. The fix name associated with the procedure is the last fix on the common route for a DP and the first fix on the common route for a STAR. All transitions pass thru the common route fix. The syntax for filing a SID and STAR is respectively . and .. RNAV DP and STAR don’t generally use a navaid, as these are used on conventional procedures. ForeFlight provides a procedure advisor function that displays all of the SIDs or STARs graphically on a map. Each procedure path is a different color, so you can select procedures that are most compatible with your direction of flight.

    Also, ForeFlight and others provide information on recently cleared routes between city pairs. This can be informative if a particular airport commonly uses SIDs or STARs and if so, which ones. Note that just because a SID has been issued recently and often, does not mean that it can be filed as is the case with most vector SIDs.

    Even with these aids, you still have to review the notes on the procedure chart to determine if it is applicable, so there maybe aids, but no easy way.

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