I remember reading....I need to have my first waypoint within 5 miles of the departure airport?Is this true?I've done this before, taken off, flew there, and proceeded onwards to the rest of my checkpoints, and I always get yelled at for being off course.

Giz,No one said that anywhere.You can set your first waypoint 1000 miles away if you want.What was said is that you have to CROSS waypoints within 5 miles 30 miles or greater from the departure airport, or within 2 miles less than 30 miles frpm the airport, since you are on a DP.Since you can get any runway, the odds of hitting a waypoint only 5 miles away is very slim. Plus, you would hardly even be off Tower frequency and not credited.