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How to Fly a STAR
(Standard Terminal Arrival)
By Daniel
Hill
ATL_ARTCC C3, VATSIM
American Virtual Airlines Pilot, AAL515 (http:///www.flyava.org)
[Note - The
author acknowledges that he, himself, is not a real-world pilot, not a
real-world controller and not even a very good sim-pilot! So,
while I invite commentary and suggestions on my articles, I ask you keep
the above facts in mind if you decide to critique my work. I
welcome the opportunity to learn more about proper ATC phraseology and
flight procedures!]
References -
http://www.clearanceunlimited.com
- This great web site offers a wealth of information to the sim-pilot,
including (at no charge) detailed Departure Procedures, Standard
Terminal Arrival procedures, Instrument Approach Plates, Airport Taxiway
Diagrams, Jet Route information (Jay- and Victor-airways), Standard
Flight Plans between major airports, even some general tutorials, etc.
Check it out and bookmark the site for future reference. Well worth it!
http://edj.net/cgi-bin/echoplate.pl
(Echo Flight) -- This web site, like the above, offers a wealth of
charts on US airports. DPs, Facility Charts and IAPs are all listed
under the airport's ICAO code. Enter KJFK to see an airport diagram, all
the IAPs and DPs. STARs are a bit more of challenge to find - you have
to access a list of STARs by name and choose the right one. The best way
to find out what STAR you need is to first visit the ARTCC and determine
the STAR name you need. Some ARTCCs will have links to STARs directly,
some will not.
DPs, STARs, IAPs and Terminal Diagrams are available to flight-simmers
from http://www.jeppesen.com. The
collections of charts are on CD-ROM and are available based on
geographic location (worldwide). The United States comprises three
CD-ROMs at a total cost of about $64.00. [There is an expanded CD-ROM
set that also includes all Jay- and Victor-airways for a substantially
higher cost.]
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STARs (Standard Terminal Arrivals) are used to help organize and
expedite traffic flow into a TRACON (approach airspace). They are the
companion to the DP (Departure Procedure, formerly known as a SID) and
can be thought of as a system of "exit ramps" from a highway
system (Jay- or Victor-airways) to the local roads of a city (an
airport).
Major airports are usually served by one or more STARs. Minor airports
may not have STARs associated with them at all. Some STARS may serve a
variety of airports in the same general area. Different STARs for a
single airport (or group of airports) can be differentiated from one
another by
a) the area of approach space they serve (N, S, E, W, NE, etc.), and/or
b) times of the day they serve (for noise abatement), an/or
c) runways they serve (dependant on winds), etc.
To visualize a simple STAR, think of a funnel laying on its side. The
edge (or very tip) of the exit spout of the funnel would represent the
airport, the neck of the funnel would represent a common final path to
the airport and the funnel itself would represent feeder routes
(transitions) to the common approach path. To decipher a simple STAR,
please check out and print the MACEY2
STAR for Atlanta's Hartsfield-International Airport (KATL) by clicking
on the hyperlink.
Notice the airport (KATL) location on the map. It is situated right next
to (just north of) the Atlanta VORTAC (frequency 116.90). Notice that
all the approaches branch out to the northeast of KATL. This would
indicate that this STAR would be advisable when approaching KATL from
the northeast. [KATL also has the
SINCA
arrival (arrivals from SE), the
LAGRANGE
arrival (arrivals from SW) and the ROME
arrival (arrivals from the NW).] Note that the MACEY STAR applies to
both turbojet and turboprop aircraft (lower right hand corner).
If you check the text narrative that accompanies this STAR you will find
that the MACEY2 arrival has several transitions. A transition point is a
VOR or intersection from which you can "join" the arrival. The
MACEY2 arrival lists transition points of MOL (Montebello VOR), VXV
(Volunteer VOR), SPA (Spartanburg VOR) and ODF (Foothills VOR).
Once you maneuver your aircraft to one of these points in your flight
plan, you can expect (key word = expect) to follow the STAR for headings
and descent into the TRACON area. ATC will "clear" you for the
arrival or give you instructions otherwise. Also note that notations in
a STAR that say to "expect to cross at…" mean just that -
expect! Do not begin a descent in controlled airspace until ATC clears
you to do so or advises you to "descend at pilot's
discretion."
So, let's see how we'd set up our navigation if we were joining the
MACEY2 at the Volunteer (VXV) transition.
Upon reaching the Volunteer (VXV) VOR we would depart that VOR on the
177-radial (set your NAV radio to 116.4, the NAV's OBS to 177 and fly
the 177 radial outbound) for 40 miles to SABIN intersection and then for
another 55 miles (total = 95 miles) to MACEY intersection.
When you fly a radial outbound, you dial up the OBS as stated and fly
that heading once the needle is centered. When you fly a radial inbound,
you dial up the reciprocal heading (radial indicated +/- 180) indicated
and fly that reciprocal heading once the needle is centered. Remember,
your actual bearing (the direction your nose is pointed) may differ from
the heading by a few degrees due to crosswinds. You may need to fly
heading 177, but a wind from your starboard may force you to yaw into
the wind with bearing 180 to maintain the 177 heading (track). The key
is to "keep that needle centered with minimum drift."
As you approach MACEY intersection you'd change the NAV radio setting to
116.90 (the ATL VORTAC frequency), the NAV's OBS to 221 degrees and fly
the 041 radial inbound (you'll fly heading 221) toward the ATL VORTAC
(notice since we're inbound we're flying the reciprocal heading). At DME
40 ATL (40 miles from ATL VORTAC) you will be at the WOMAC intersection
(note that LOGEN is 29 miles from ATL VORTAC and that WOMAC is another
11 miles from LOGEN).
Now let's read the narrative at the bottom to see if we've interpreted
this STAR correctly. It reads,
"From over VXV VORTAC via VXV R-177 to MACEY INT, thence…."
Now we have to locate the common approach procedure (the neck of the
funnel, remember?) for the MACEY2 arrival. It reads, "From over
MACEY INT via ATL R-041 to ATL VORTAC. Expect radar vector to final
approach course after LOGEN INT."
Yep, looks like we "read" the arrival correctly.
Finally, we can search the STAR for information related to crossing
restrictions (both for altitude and speed). Some STARs list crossing
instructions right next to the relevant waypoint on the diagram. In the
MACEY2 you'll find the crossing restrictions in the upper portion of the
STAR. They read,
"Landing West: Turbojet expect…." and
"Landing East: Turbojet expect…."
Again, note the word "expect."
If the winds were out of the west and you were a turbojet you can expect
that ATL_CTR will want you to descend and cross WOMAC at 13000 MSL and
250 knots indicated airspeed (kias). With the distance information
provided you on the STARs and knowing that, as a general rule for
commercial aircraft, that 1000 feet of descent requires 4 miles you can
plan when to begin your descent.
If you are at FL310 and need to cross WOMAC at 13,000 you would need to
descend 18,000 feet, requiring about 72 miles (18 x 4 = 72). In that
case, put your finger on WOMAC and backtrack 72 miles along the MACEY2
arrival (VXV transition) and you would need to begin descent (with ATC's
approval) just prior to SABIN intersection (SABIN is 71 miles from WOMAC
- 55 miles from SABIN to MACEY, 16 miles from MACEY to WOMAC). Give
yourself an extra 10 miles if you are unsure.
If the path from one VOR to another uses two different headings (or two
different radials) you either a) change headings at half the distance
between the VORs, b) at the indicated intersection on the path between
them or c) at the indicated "changeover point" which will be
indicated along the route.
The Montebello (MOL) transition uses the outbound 233 radial from MOL
VORTAC for 183 miles (until AVERY intersection) and then an inbound 045
radial on the Foothills (ODF) VORTAC (remember, inbound 045 radial means
dial-up and fly heading 225).
[Note that lines of the type you see drawn from VXV to BEBAD
intersection are not routes within the STAR. They are reference only.
Note the line drawn from VXV to BEBAD contains no distance information,
no heading information - simply an indicated radial. This is to help you
locate BEBAD. According to the chart, if you were on a 045 radial for
ODF and crossed the 129 radial for VXV you'd be precisely at BEBAD
intersection (this would require you to have two functioning VORs).]
Okay, think you've got it? Good! Now take a look at the four STARs
associated with Charlotte-Douglas International Airport (KCLT). They are
the SHINE,
MAJIC,
CHESTERFIELD
and UNARM
arrivals.
Question - which STAR are you going to use if you are arriving at KCLT
from KORD?
Click here
for the answer!
Now, choose a transition for that STAR; that is, choose a point at which
you'd like to join the STAR.
Now think about how you'd navigate that STAR. What NAV frequencies would
you set? When? What OBS settings would you set? What headings would you
fly? For how many miles?
Did you choose the Falmouth (FLM) transition? There's nothing wrong with
choosing the Charleston (HVQ) or Volunteer (VXV) transitions - it all
depends on how close your en route flight plan takes you to those VORs.
Let's see if you can decipher the SHINE5 Arrival, Falmouth (FLM)
transition….
1) As you cross FLM VOR (your NAV should already be set to 117.0, the
Falmouth - FLM -VOR frequency), set your OBS to 145.
2) Fly outbound along the 145-radial for 85 miles.
Why 85 miles? The next VOR, Holston Mountian (HMV) shows you need to be
on the 327 radial inbound (see the R-327 next to the HMV VOR symbol).
That means a heading of 147 (inbound = radial +/- 180). Halfway along
the 169-mile trek from FLM to HMV you need to retune your NAV1 (see Step
3, below).
3) At DME 85 FLM (85 miles from FLM VOR), switch your NAV1 to the HMV
VOR (114.6), set an OBS of 147 (inbound = radial +/- 180) and fly
heading 147 (needle centered) to HMV VOR.
4) Once at HMV VOR, track the 156 radial outbound (freq 114.6, OBS =
156) for 56 miles at which point you will have arrived at SHINE
intersection.
5) Once at 56 DME HMV (on the 156 radial) you need to tune the Charlotte
(CLT) VOR on 115.0, set your OBS to 134 and fly that heading (needle
centered) inbound to the CLT VOR.
At DME 35 CLT you will have arrived at JOHNS intersection.
At DME 25 CLT you will have arrived at FOSSE intersection
6) Note that the text of the STAR tells you to expect radar vectors (if
ATC is available) to final approach course before DME 5 CLT or at FOSSE,
depending on whether you'll be landing north or south.
Distances between intersections or between intersection and a VOR are
shown in parentheses along the route. Distances from an intersection
back to the closest VOR are shown inside a bullet-type symbol.
Look at the SHINE5 arrival again. Look at the JOHNS intersection. See
the "(10)" between JOHNS and FOSSE? 10 miles from JOHNS to
FOSSE. See the "35" inside the bullet-shaped symbol pointing
from CLT (the closest VOR back along the path) to JOHNS? 35 miles from
CLT VOR to JOHNS. Easy once you get to flying a few of these.
How about those altitude markings along the routes. From FLM to HMV it
reads FL180. From HMV to SHINE it reads 8000. What's that? That's the
minimum enroute altitude (MEA) for that segment (minimum altitude, not
required altitude). For a full explanation of symbols, do the following
-
1) Go to http://www.clearanceunlimited.com
[This is a great site - explore it on your own later!]
2) Choose ENTER
3) Choose DP/STAR/IP
4) Choose HELP
5) Choose STANDARD TERMINAL ARRIVAL CHARTS AND STANDARD TERMINAL
DEPARTURE CHARTS.
6) Go through each of the categories that appear on the left-hand side
of the page, starting with "Radio Aids to Navigation - 1."
Enjoy, you've just added another dose of realism to your sim-flight.
Happy flying to all. You can e-mail me here.
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