The Chart Clinic – Database Series

specified by the governments who design altimeters, which do not have external digital
the basic procedure. ATC typically designs output capabilities.) As soon as the altitude is
departures based on where they want the reached, the computer will then sequence to
airplanes to go, and they leave the details of how the next leg which will capture and track the
to comply with the pilot when flying manually 350˚ radial from the SFO VOR.
and up to the database coder when flying with
an automated navigation system. In the illustration of the VA leg, the path shows
as a series of arrows followed by a “blob” which
BY JAMES E. TERPSTRA implies the end of the heading leg could be in

SR. CORPORATE VICE PRESIDENT, JEPPESEN The First Path/Terminator many different locations depending on the wind
and the climb rate of the airplane.
Leg after Takeoff
“S
nowbird 527, cleared to Houston as
filed, Eugen Five Departure, Salinas If you were to fly the Eugen Five departure
Transition, maintain 6,000 feet.” procedure without automation, you would Fix to a DME Termination
Assuming the active runways for departures are maintain runway heading up to some predeter- The next portion of the takeoff procedure says to
runways 1 left and right, the published depar- mined altitude before turning left to capture the “Climb via SFO R-350, after passing the 4 DME
ture for both runways proceeds on a series of SFO 350˚ radial. And – what would that altitude fix and after reaching 1,600 feet, . . . ” Since
headings, courses, and tracks that connect you be? Should it be at 35 feet above the runway? this leg is to end at a DME fix (actually the 4
to your planned enroute airways. As a pilot, At 50 feet? Or can your turn start when you are DME arc since a heading will rarely reach a given
when you fly the Eugen departure procedure comfortable to make the turn? The altitude for fix), the leg terminates at a DME reading and the
with your FMS or your GPS, things happen. And making the turn is specified in the Aeronautical second letter of the path/terminator is the letter
sometimes they happen at different times than Information Manual and states, “Obstacle “D” (for DME). The 350˚ radial actually begins
you expect. Then you ask, “Why?” clearance for all departures, including diverse, is back at the VOR so the leg begins back at the
based on the pilot crossing the end of the VOR. Thise leg type is termed an FD leg. This leg
The departure says the first thing to do is to runway at least 35 feet AGL, climbing to 400 feet has two conditions – both the 4 DME and 1,600
climb out on the SFO 350˚ radial. The radial is above the departure end of runway elevation feet so both conditions are loaded into the
to be flown until passing the 4 DME fix and after before turning, and at least 200 feet per nautical computer. Since both conditions must be met,
reaching 1,600 feet. Then turn left to fly a head- mile unless a higher climb gradient is specified in the airplane won’t turn with an electronic
ing of 200˚ to intercept and fly the SAU 168˚ the DP, or unless required to level off by a coupled departure until both conditions are
radial and the BSR 309˚ to Eugen intersection. crossing restriction.” satisfied. If the airplane reaches 1,600 feet after
All of this happens in only a few minutes, but to passing the 4 DME, the airplane will turn after
make this all happen automatically, a number of reaching 1,600 feet. If the airplane reaches
codes need to be loaded into the database that 1,600 feet before passing the 4 DME fix, it will
represent the paths to be flown and the way wait until passing the 4 DME fix.
they are terminated. VA Leg – Heading to an Altitude

Each of the path/terminators is determined by Because of the AIM statement and other state-
the database supplier since they are not ments similar to this in FAR Parts 23 and 25,
virtually all the first legs after takeoff include are FD Leg – Fix to a DME Termination
coded as a VA leg. Since the first letter (V in VA)
indicates the path and the second letter Look closely at the wording for the termination
indicates how the path is terminated, this of the leg. It says “after passing 4 DME . . . ”
means the path is a heading (V implies This means that the 4 DME fix is a fly-over fix
vector, or heading) and is terminated when and not a fly-by fix. The database rules in the
reaching an altitude (the A in VA). The first leg avionics system state that all legs that end as
on the Eugen Five departure from runway 1 left a DME fix will be fly-over fixes. This ensures
and right is a VA leg and it includes a heading of that the airplane will not turn before 4 DME
012˚ to an altitude of 411 feet (400 feet above is reached.
the airport elevation of 11 feet). As the leg is
implemented in the avionics system, it reads the
compass system, and provides the autopilot or Heading to an Intercept
flight director with a steering command that will After passing the 4 DME fix, the departure
null out any deviation from the desired heading. runway takeoff continues by turning left to a
If installed, the system will also be monitoring heading of 200˚ to intercept and proceed via the
its barometric altitude input, then sequence legs SAU 168˚ radial. To make the computer fly a
when the terminating altitude of 411 feet has heading of 200˚, the first letter of the path
been reached. (Note: The altimeters in most terminator is “V” for vector. (Actually, the
single-engine aircraft are simple pneumatic letter “H” makes more sense but it was already
taken for holding patterns). The termination
end of the heading leg occurs when the radial is
intercepted. The path terminator for this type of
leg is VI – heading to an intercept. In the data-
base coding, the heading of 200˚ is included
with the record. Also, since the heading has
such a large turn, there is a command of L (left)
included to ensure the airplane doesn’t turn
right after passing the 4 DME fix.

VI Leg – Heading to Intercept Next Leg

Course to a Fix
Once the airplane has intercepted the 168˚
radial from Sausalito (SAU), it captures and flies
the convenience
the radial until the turning point indicated by
the letter “X” on the Departure Procedure chart. you dream of.
Since all systems that use airborne databases ®

need identifiers on fixes that establish turning

points, an identifier is created for the turning
gives you e-speed internet access to the
point. The turning point is 36 nautical miles
most current navigation data available.
from SAU, so the identifier SAU36 is created and
Anytime, anywhere in the world, just
loaded into the database.
plug in, log on and download. You’ll have
the latest data by the time you complete
your preflight.
Call for more information
about Skybound today!
CF Leg – Course to a Fix Like a dream come true, Skybound pays for
itself in the first year. It also provides even 1-800-621-5377
or 303-799-9090
more substantial savings in subsequent
Track to a Fix (Western Hemisphere)
years. Skybound offers the additional
From the SAU36 fix to Eugen, which is the end +49 6102 5070
of the takeoff procedure, a TF leg (track to a fix) convenience of smaller regional cover- (Eastern Hemisphere)

is used. The turning point is considered a fly-by ages and trip kit availability. Skybound gives
+61 3 9706 0022
fix so you can expect the aircraft to begin the you the convenience you dream of and the (Australasia)

turn slightly before SAU36 so it can easily value you want.

Or visit us on
capture and fly the 129˚ course to Eugen.
the internet at
You fly with the best navigation tools
www.jeppesen.com
BIG LIMITATION available. So why not update them with all of
By looking at all the coding it takes to make this the convenience, confidence and value
procedure work, you can see that it takes some
of Skybound?
very sophisticated equipment to make all the
legs work. The autopilot needs input from the
heading indicator, from the altimeter, from the
the Eugen intersection. This makes it necessary James E. Terpstra is senior
VOR radials, and from the database. Even corporate vice president,
though some of the avionics systems have the for you to manually fly all the legs and end each
aviation affairs at Jeppesen. His
ability to interface with some of the other air- one as stated in the takeoff procedure. ratings include ATP, single and
craft systems, not all avionics have implemented multi-engine, airplane and
In the next article, we will look at many of instrument flight instructor. His
all the path/terminators. When flying the Eugen
6,000+ hours include 3,200
Five Departure with some avionics systems, it is the differences that you will see between the
instructing.
quite likely that the first sequence your system information on your charts and what you see on For comments, please Email:
would show is a straight line from the airport to your avionics display – and why. JimTerps@jeppesen.com