How are SIDS and STARS assigned? Are these included in the flight plan and submitted for approval by ATC? If not how are these handled? For SIDS are these issued to pilots when requesting clearance by clearance delivery? How about STAR's--are they issued at some point nearing the descent phase of the flight? I have been using SIDS/STARS for some time now, including them in the planning of my flights (based on the general direction of travel) but I would like to know exactly how and when these are issued instead of basing it on what I have heard from others.Thanks,ChrisPorter

SIDs and STARs are based on the weather conditions at the airport. You can see what runway(s) is/are being used by looking at the wind. If there is a tailwind on say Runway 26L (wind at 260) then the SID/STAR procedures for that runway would be in use.

They are usually part of the IFR flight plan, in fact, if you did not want to fly a SID or STAR, you would probably put a note on the flight plan saying so. In real airliner operations however, the decision is mostly out of the hands of the guys in the actual driving seat, because flight plans are normally bulk filed by an airline for scheduled flights, weeks or even months in advance, usually with the provision for different runways if the wind is unusual, since this means everyone knows what to expect, from ATC to the guys driving the aeroplanes and the despatchers loading the necessary fuel, which is important since the purpose of such procedures is to expedite flying time and save fuel as well as keeping traffic organised. Which SID or STAR is used will be dependent on prevailing winds, destination and arrival directions (since SIDs and STARs lead to and from airways), and any NOTAMS that might affect their use or noise restrictions depending on the time of day, such as temporary Purple Airspace in Europe or whatever. NOTAMS will be checked daily at a briefing before getting in the cockpit, but in more broad terms, the aerodrome guide booklet will list any noise restrictions that might also affect routing choices, so a SID might be different for the same flight at night than it is in the day, which is of course another consideration. Occasionally it is also dependent on aircraft type as well, since many procedures specify minimum performance requirements such as speeds and rates of climb the aircraft can achieve, as such procedures are also often the way they are because of the surrounding terrain ad other nearby airports etc. Al

First on your wind vector description that is a headwind component of 260. Winds from tower or METARS are stated FROM the direction they are coming from, runways are numbered for the direction (rounded divided by 10) of the direction they are pointing (magnetic bearing). :) In addition some tailwind components can be accommodated if they are low enough to enable an arrival convenience. This can be also done for terrain restrictions and runway assignment changes can be delayed in light wind changes to avoid aircraft pattern conflicts during dense traffic. It should be pointed out I believe that some SIDS and STARs are runway specific but many points on them can be common to all runways with the departure or arrival direction taking part in the process. A SID or STAR can be filed with the flight plan but especially if runway specific ATC can amend those as required by current conditions.

SIDs and STARs are based on the weather conditions at the airport. You can see what runway(s) is/are being used by looking at the wind. If there is a tailwind on say Runway 26L (wind at 260) then the SID/STAR procedures for that runway would be in use.

They are assigned dependant on the direction of flight