What are IFR visual take-offs?
Visual IFR departures are IFR flights that are performed immediately after take-off - in deviation from the published instrument departure procedures - while maintaining visual ground visibility. This option offers pilots the opportunity to react flexibly to situations such as when navigational aids fail or thunderstorm cells block the standard departure.
Such a departure is either requested by the pilot or offered on the initiative of the air traffic controller. In both cases, the pilot must expressly confirm the clearance by reading it back.
Requirements for authorisation
Certain conditions must be met for a visual departure to be authorised under IFR:
- Weather conditionsThe cloud base and ground visibility must be such that obstacle clearance is guaranteed up to at least the published minimum sector altitude (MSA).
- DaylightThe regulation only applies during the day to enable visual orientation.
- Responsibility of the pilotThe pilot is responsible for obstacle clearance up to the specified height. Only then does air traffic control take over the separation.
- ATC staggeringThe air traffic control unit must ensure that the aircraft is separated from other traffic in accordance with the applicable airspace classification, even during a visual departure.
The clearance takes place either together with the route clearance or immediately before the take-off clearance. If possible, air traffic control also provides current weather information for the departure area.
General applicability and exceptions
In principle, IFR visual take-offs are permitted at all German IFR aerodromes. However, restrictions apply at some commercial airports, mostly due to noise protection regulations or safety aspects.
There are also exceptions in which a visual departure is permitted even if restrictions actually exist. This applies, for example, to situations in which navigational aids fail unplanned, if no published departure procedures are available or if acute weather conditions (e.g. thunderstorm cells) make an alternative departure route necessary.
Restrictions at major airports
Specific restrictions have been published for several major commercial airports. Examples:
- Berlin Brandenburg (EDDB): Visual take-offs only for twin-engine propeller aircraft and the DHC-7.
- Frankfurt/Main (EDDF) and Munich (EDDM): Only for twin-engine propeller aircraft and the DHC-7.
- Düsseldorf (EDDL), Dortmund (EDLW), Cologne/Bonn (EDDK), Lübeck (EDHL), Mönchengladbach (EDLN), Weeze (EDLV), Stuttgart (EDDS): Visual take-offs only for propeller aircraft up to 5.7 tonnes MTOW.
- Hanover (EDDV) and Münster/Osnabrück (EDDG): Extended regulations that also include certain jet aircraft.
- Saarbrücken (EDDR): Visual take-offs are permitted here without restriction for all aircraft.
These regulations show that particularly busy airports deliberately restrict the possibility of visual take-off in order to minimise risks in the complex mixed operation of IFR and VFR traffic.
Significance for general aviation
The new rules open up additional flexibility for general aviation pilots. Smaller propeller aircraft in particular will benefit from the option of performing a visually assisted take-off under IFR conditions if technical or meteorological circumstances make this necessary.
For flight schools and business aircraft in the propeller segment, this means better planning and an additional option for action in exceptional situations. At the same time, the regulation emphasises the pilot's responsibility to ensure obstacle clearance until the minimum altitude is reached.
Conclusion
With the new requirements for visual departures under IFR, the Federal Supervisory Authority for Air Navigation Services is creating a clear legal framework for a procedure that has only been used to a limited extent in practice to date. While large airports with high traffic densities severely restrict the procedure, smaller IFR aircraft and regional traffic benefit from more room for manoeuvre.
For general aviation, this means more flexibility - but also more personal responsibility. If you want to use visual take-offs under IFR, you need to know the weather conditions, the obstacle situation and the local restrictions precisely and include them carefully in your flight preparations.
Source references:
NFL (the link requires a subscription to Eisenschmidt)