I’m just starting to do some longer flights in the A320 and how to know which departure code to use please? I’m ok with arrival as it will be the ILS for the runway I plan to land on but not sure about the correct departure. Thanks in advance if anyone can help.
Moin.
Usually the ATC will give you the departure route.
Here, however, this only applies to online flying (for example Vatsim).
In your flight planning it is very easy: You choose the last Waypoint in SID that best suits your route, i.e. is closest to your first waypoint in the flight plan.
Gruß
Dieter
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Pretty much as dflight states in the above post.
As you progress take a look at Simbrief; it will do it for you - for free. It’s like having your very own personal virtual dispatcher.
Have a look around the site and see what you think. A lot of us use it. When you’re ready to move up to the FBW A320NX then Simbrief integrates with it flawlessly.
Take a look too at this basic video introduction to planning your route, including SIDs and STARs using Simbrief.
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Thanks so much both of you and that’s very helpful!
I will take a look at Simbrief although I am flying on the Xbox. I know msfs can generate the flight plans but I’m interested in getting to know and understand them better and I think this could help.
Thanks guys👍
SIDs and STARs are not always required. A standard instrument departure is used to climb from takeoff and connect to the enroute portion of the flight.
Imagine that you are going on a road trip. There is a standard method to get from your home to the interstate/highway/dual carriageway where you cruise. Getting from your home to the highway is the SID.
When you reach your destination, getting off the highway is the Standard Terminal ARrival.
In MSFS and often in real life, it’s perfectly acceptable not to use SIDs and STARs, using ATC climb instructions to reach the enroute portion of your flight.
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I use Simbrief, which will usually automatically select SID for you. Then either use that SID when planning the flight in the menu, or enter that SID before departure on the MCDU.
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I think that’s only the case if 1) SID departures are not popular with the airport, and the airport isn’t as busy as most international airports…and 2) Most flights would deviate from SID routes if there needs to be weather avoidance. But yes, where ATC workload is very minimal, pilots don’t need to use SIDs.
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SIDs and STARs are used very frequently for larger GA planes and heavier. They are indeed very helpful to provide transition between Departure and Center.
However, in the US, they are not required, regardless of ATC workload. You are obligated as a pilot to refuse a standard procedure if you do not have access to the chart or textual description.
If a plane does not meet the navigation requirements of an assigned SID/STAR, the pilot is obligated to refuse the procedure.
Lighter GA planes are often not able to meet the minimum performance requirements of many standard instrument departures and terminal arrivals. In these circumstances, the pilot is required to refuse the procedure.
An operator can even refuse a SID/STAR if the pilot simply does not want to fly it. In this case, however, be ready to move to the back of the line for a delay or hold as ATC deconflicts traffic.
AIM Ch 5-4-1 (c) “… it is the responsibility of each pilot to accept or refuse a STAR by placing ‘NO STAR’ in the remarks section of the flight plan or by the less desirable method of stating the same to ATC.”
https://www.faa.gov/air_traffic/publications/atpubs/aim_html/chap5_section_4.html
I’ve registered with simbrief and it looks very good.
I just created a flight plan for my planned flight from Brussels to Nice and then on msfs flight planner used the runways and SID and STARS according to simbrief however the waypoints differ to my flight plan. Is the only way on Xbox to make it identical inputting all the waypoints from within the plane on the computer?
Lot to unpack here.
Navigation data changes over time. Free version of Simbrief has an older navigation data version. MSFS also has an older nav database, but not the same I think.
So it is highly likely that manually constructing the flight in the sim will result in something unexpected.
On PC, you would take the flt plan file that simbrief generates and open it is MSFS. Not sure how to open a simbrief file on Xbox as I don’t have one, sorry.
If someone else knows how to do this, I’d be interested.
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Actually here is a separate thread on a similar topic:
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I let the world map draw the route with “High Altitude Airways” option.
Then click on departure and arrival airfield to see the winds so you know which runway you’ll approach.
Then choose a commercially expeditious SID and STAR that leads fits in nicely with your airways routing. Always check the last 5 waypoints to make sure they consecutively lead to the runway and avoid listing the arrival airport as any waypoint except the very last.
Is worth turning navaids and reporting points on the world map to help.
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Is there a problem with ATC when following flight plans as I load a flight plan with sid and stars and looking on the computer in the cockpit it’s giving different altitudes for different waypoints coming into land and yet ATC tell me different and I’m ending up too high to intercept the glide slope for ILS approach?
ATC is broken and makes no sense. It’s the same logic from FSX and has had only very minor updates. Except in this more modern sim, it’s even less usable.
You’re not wrong.
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Is it advisable that I ignore then and simply use the flight plan and altitudes on the onboard computer you would say?
I like to request lower cruise altitude if I get the feeling that ATC is descending me too late. Puts me in a better position to capture the STAR / Approach altitude limits.
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Well yes I did that and five mins later it told me to go higher and I thought I better do what it says but silly me 
Great tutorial but I can never find the correct SID and STAR that simbrief provides.
Also, my flightplans seem to be extremely long. A flight which is normally 300nm when I select my arrival it adds like 200NM.
How do you remove way points mid flight? Its probably very vague explanation so sorry for that
It wants to descend you into the approach. If you’re at an altitude to intercept, best to ignore.
(Not realistic, obviously)
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You don’t have to delete any waypoints.
Just go to the “Direct” page and choose the waypoint you want to fly to.
The waypoints not flown to are then automatically deleted in the flight plan.
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