Hi,So, I have this question about what SIDs and STARs to choose. It

Once you determine your landing runway (by prevailing surface winds), then look at the available SIDS/STARS and choose one appropiate for your direction of flight. In the real world ATC assign's them, in FS you are on your own. Personally I don't bother with them, but thats just me :(

SIDs and STARs usually provide the pilot with several options of getting into or out of an airport, depending on where you are (arriving) or where you want to go (departing), or depending on your preferred method of navigation (e.g., RNAV SID/STAR). For example, at Atlanta (KATL), you could depart using the BRAVS FIVE if want to depart to the south, or the CADIT FIVE if you want to depart to the north. Likewise, you could choose the CANUK SEVEN STAR if you're arriving from the southeast, or ERLIN FIVE if you're arriving from the northwest.Hope this helps.

Go here, http://flightaware.com/live/findflight_route.rvt Here is an example of Delta 74 from MIA to ATL, http://flightaware.com/live/flight/DAL74 HEDLY1 HEDLY J53 CRG CANUK7 ,HEDLY1 is the DP out of MIA, and CANUK7 is the STAR into ATL

ok but basicly pilots are always looking through every SID and STAR to find the appropiate one in the planning stage?

ok but basicly pilots are always looking through every SID and STAR to find the appropiate one in the planning stage?

Yup

ok but basicly pilots are always looking through every SID and STAR to find the appropiate one in the planning stage?

Not necessarily, depends on situation. ATC may ask you to fly certain SID or STAR and you have little choice. When you file electronically a quick look what is being flown today will tell you what SID/STARs are in use. But all this can still change while you are flying. Commercial pilots flying for airlines have dispatch centers - they do all the planning work for them. If you are a small GA pilot you may have to do a bit more work upfront and pick some convenient STAR to get you started and see what happens but small GA aircraft usually fly to airports where there are no SIDs or STARs.

Not necessarily, depends on situation. ATC may ask you to fly certain SID or STAR and you have little choice. When you file electronically a quick look what is being flown today will tell you what SID/STARs are in use. But all this can still change while you are flying. Commercial pilots flying for airlines have dispatch centers - they do all the planning work for them. If you are a small GA pilot you may have to do a bit more work upfront and pick some convenient STAR to get you started and see what happens but small GA aircraft usually fly to airports where there are no SIDs or STARs.

I may be wrong but I believe he's interested in the FS world, not the real world :(

You should have a first waypoint on your route. If it is a real route you've gotten from somewhere, it will probably be the actual transition (the link between your SID and your route). If not, find a SID that puts you close and adjust your route. In general, different SIDs are going to start you out in different directions, so it isn't too hard to figure out. Unfortunately, since you don't always know what runway you're going to be using, it is hard to pick one SID-STAR set in advance and be done with it. You can print out a likely collection from online, or set your FMC to MAP mode and try each one out to see which looks like the best bet.Or you can do what I often do and cheat.There's a way to set wind direction by individual station, so you can be pretty sure what runways ATC is going to assign on takeoff and landing. Or you can do without wind, nuke traffic and take and off and land from / on whichever runways you want. Either way, you can plan out your entire route in advance, including SIDs and STARs and runways. This is the way it is done in a lot of tutorials and is a good way to learn.No matter what, it is best to obtain the charts from one of the many places online and print them out so you can figure it all out properly. You'll not only want to pick the right SID, but figure out what nav aids you want to dial in, etc. and "fly the route in your mind" until you know exactly what to expect.

The whole point of SIDs and STARs really is for ATC to 'get their ducks in a row; either by feeding things into a neat line for the approach controllers, or sending things on their way along airways or into another ATC sector at a recognised entry point. Since none of that really matters too much in FS, you can simply use the ones which best emulate that kind of thing.You'll notice that SIDs tend to be for either one way or the other off a runway, so you can narrow your choices down to the ones which don't involve more than a 180 degree turn to send you on your way, and lose the ones that don't suit the wind direction, probably getting it down to about a quarter of the whole range of choices. With STARs, it's often the case that the same STAR will feed more than one runway, since they tend to head for approach fixes a lot of the time, and they are usually good for parallel runways.A good way to get your head around it is to tune in to the radio at an airport that handles commercial flights. You will hear them announcing what departure SIDs are getting used. If you check out the wind direction and get hold of those charts, it will all start to make sense.Al

Ok, thanks guys!At the moment I

The whole point of SIDs and STARs really is for ATC to 'get their ducks in a row; either by feeding things into a neat line for the approach controllers, or sending things on their way along airways or into another ATC sector at a recognised entry point. Since none of that really matters too much in FS, you can simply use the ones which best emulate that kind of thing.You'll notice that SIDs tend to be for either one way or the other off a runway, so you can narrow your choices down to the ones which don't involve more than a 180 degree turn to send you on your way, and lose the ones that don't suit the wind direction, probably getting it down to about a quarter of the whole range of choices. With STARs, it's often the case that the same STAR will feed more than one runway, since they tend to head for approach fixes a lot of the time, and they are usually good for parallel runways.A good way to get your head around it is to tune in to the radio at an airport that handles commercial flights. You will hear them announcing what departure SIDs are getting used. If you check out the wind direction and get hold of those charts, it will all start to make sense.Al

In the UK the AIP includes a Standard Route Document (SRD)http://www.nats-uk.ead-it.com/public/index...Itemid=258.htmlThis gives ATS preferred routeing between UK and Irish airports and between airport and entry/exit points from UK airspace. It includes SIDs/STARs as appropriate. It is updated with each AIRAC Cycle. It's not mandatory but I suspect calling for a non-standard route might result in a delay.I believe there is something similar covering Europe, but I think it's no longer accessible generally.EDITIf a UK airport has published SIDs, then a flight plan that doesn't use one will be rejected by ATS.

Another problem I have is to understand what is being said over the radio (real radio and in VATSIM) which I need to somehow learn or something. At the moment it

In North America, some of the charts will mention preferred routes. I prefer STARs that I have flown (as a passenger!) in real life over ones that I have no clue regarding the visual cues.As mentioned before, the active runway is based on wind direction. You can set the wind in Weather and keep the weather static. Or you can use the FSX Map to right click on your destination airport and see wind direction. Real world procedures are planned out in advance, but weather and other travel conditions can change the plans in a hurry, which can mean that the flight crew is quickly setting up an alternate STAR (usually SIDs are simpler and more direct). Elwood Blues keeps marine-grade glue, a harmonica, and a handcuff key in his travel bag. Maybe pilots have that stuff in their bags, but they also keep sets of plates and charts, just in case. Better to have them and not need them than the other way around.Jeff ShylukSenior Staff ReviewerAVSIM

Mattius,If you are completely new to using SIDs and STARs, some of the explanations here may be confusing to you. For instance, let's get some terminology straightened out here first for you, and how it applies in different situations.SID = Standard Instrument Departure. It is designed to get you FROM a RUNWAY on an airport TO a "final transition FIX (waypoint)" in your flightplan. A SID may be RUNWAY DEPENDANT, but not always. And it can also contain MULTIPLE "transition fixes". BUT, you will use only ONE of those "transition fixes" in your flightplan. So, to determine which SID to use from a given airport, you need to take the following into consideration:1. What SIDs for the airport contain a "transition fix" for your flightplan? You can see a list of the "transition fixes" (they are called "Transitions" on the STAR chart) for the SID in the NARRATIVE section of the SID chart. The narrative tells you the ROUTE you will fly using the SID to get to your selected "transition fix" FROM the runway you take off. Note that some SIDs take you to a "transition fix" that can be over 200 miles away from the airport! So, using a departure SID can be a big part of the overall route of your entire flightplan. Also note that many SIDs use multiple "transition fixes", not just one. Your goal in selecting the proper SID is to determine if the SID contains a "transition fix" that will allow you to depart the airport, arrive at that "transition fix", then continue on with your flight from there using the REST of your flightplan. So, you will choose a STAR and TRANSITION that links you up with the remainder of your flightplan.2. Some SIDs can be runway dependant. You may not be able to use a certain SID if your departure runway doesn't allow it. You can verify whether a SID you choose can be used for your intended departure runway by looking at the chart diagram and ALSO reading the Narrative section on the chart. It will describe "what to do" when departing each runway allowed for use with the SID.3. Aircraft Capability: Some SIDs are "ATC Vectored Only" SIDs, and require you to follow ATC vectors when flying them. Other SIDs require the pilot to do all the work, and the aircraft MUST have the navigational equipment capable of flying the ENTIRE SID without ATC telling the pilot anything after takeoff. You need to select the proper SID for your aircraft capability.STAR = Standard Terminal Arrival Chart. Think of these as the "reverse" of the SID description above. They can have multiple "transition fixes", some of them over 200 miles FROM the airport. You want to select one that STARTS at a "transition fix" already in your flightplan, then follow the STAR to the "terminal". Note...TERMINAL here means the AIRPORT VICINITY, NOT a specific RUNWAY. Almost all STARs are designed to get you CLOSE to the airport, at which time you will either follow the STARs instructions to get lined up for a specific runway, or follow ATC vectors to do the same. DO NOT CONFUSE the word "Arrival" as used in a STAR, with the word "APPROACH" as used in a procedure for landing on a specific runway. A STAR will make you follow an "arrival path" towards the AIRPORT ("terminal"), then link you to a FIX for an "Approach" for a given runway, at which point you will quit using the STAR chart and start using the separate Runway Approach Chart. This assumes you are flying an IFR Approach, of course. ATC could also vector you at any time for a Visual Approach, or even vector you to get "lined up" with a Localizer, etc, depending on the circumstances. Just as with using a SID, you will be selecting a STAR and TRANSITION to get you flying towards the AIRPORT ("terminal"). When ATC informs you which RUNWAY to expect, you may then need to refer to the Narrative section of the STAR chart to see what procedures to follow to get you lined up with the assigned runway in use. It CAN keep you very busy, and is why you really need to become proficient in using your navigation equipment in the aircraft to "set things up" quickly. One of the biggest problems on VATSIM is pilots who can't use their FMC's and MCP's fast enough to "change" the information in them so the autopilot will fly the route to the RUNWAY in use. This is most apparant when pilots are on the STAR to the airport, then get issued a runway they hadn't "planned on " using. They start wandering all over the place instead of staying on the "route" to the runway as it is described in the STAR.With a little practice, you'll get the hang of it all. Have fun!Rick