Standard Operating Procedures for Dallas/Ft Worth Flights
DEPARTURE GATES:
Departure gates are sort of like outlets. This is where IFR Departures exit DFW Class Bravo airspace. ALL IFR DEPARTURES MUST EXIT THROUGH DEPARTURE GATES. NEVER PLAN A DEPARTURE ROUTE THAT PUTS YOU THROUGH AN ARRIVAL GATE. Refer to the following image for a generic graphic of the Departure Gates.
And these are the arrival gates:
As you can see, departures exit through the 4 cardinal directions, East, West, North South, and arrivals enter through the 4 corner VORs. UKW (Bowie), BYP (Bonham), CQY (Cedar Creek), and JEN (Glen Rose). Understand that it is considered a SEVERE DISRUPTION TO TRAFFIC FLOW if you depart through an arrival Gate. NEVER UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES do this!
Each direction of departure has 4 distinct departure gates. For example, North has 4 departure gates, south has 4 departure gates. Each departure gate is an actual intersection.
The intersections are:
SOUTH: NELYN, JASPA, ARDIA, and DARTZ (From Joe Pool Departure)
NORTH: LOWGN, BLECO, GRABE, and AKUNA (From Texoma Departure)
EAST: NOBLY, TRISS, SOLDO, and CLARE (From Dallas Departure)
WEST: FERRA, SLOTT, CEOLA, and PODDE (From Worth Departure)
There is another way, an abbreviated method to get your aircraft through these departure points, this is where SIDs (now called DPs) come in. "Standard Instrument Departure" or "Departure Procedure". This is a PRE-DETERMINED route for IFR aircraft departing busy airspace. It eliminates the amount of radio chatter when issuing a clearance, and it streamlines traffic flow. Any aircraft departing an airport that has DPs, and whose remarks do NOT say "NO SID" or "NO DP" is elegible to fly a SID (DP). It is essential you make sure the aircraft departing is on the CORRECT SID.
This page is a quick reference for finding the appropriate DP for your flight.
