SID’s, STAR’s Airspace Redesign & You

Posted on May 14, 2008
Filed Under Aviation, Aviation News, FAA & Government, Flight Training, News & Stories, Pilots |

How well do you know your SID’s & your STARS? Leave it to the FAA to change that! Do you use a couple of different airports on those common business or personal trips? Are you used to depart using the runway heading and then at x thousand feet turn left…well you get the picture. You know them in your sleep, right? Even if you didn’t have your approach plate in hand you could do it right? Enter the FAA…

Might be better to not only have that approach plate handy, but write down the departure or approach procedure on your kneeboard. The FAA is redsigning some airspace in different parts of the country and in a “Brilliant Move” refusing to publish the new procedures until the become final. Yeah they are taking 40+ year old procedures, the term ‘old habits die hard’ ring any bells, changing them a refusing to publish them until they are final. Hopefully the change which will be great when finished, won’t be a disaster in the short term!

NOTE TO SELF: My SID & STAR may be wrong I better write down the whole thing and graph it prior to departure…extra confusion brought to you by the FAA. Read related story