DP's and IAP's

[JimPilot]

Greetings fellow simpilots,

Although not totally new to sim flying, I'm confused about some real life info... Being from the Boston area, I've decided to "follow" the Red Sox around this baseball season. In an effort to do so as properly as I can, I've been going to the FAA site to get airport diagrams and the like. Question: What is the reason for multiple DP's? Is it related to the direction in which you plan to go once in the air? The runway you're using? I realize the IAP's are based on runways, but the DP's baffle me. How do you decide which one you need?

Thanks,
Jim

[SaultFresh]

Well, in real life, you need to have all of the published charts for the departure, destination, and alternate airports for your flight. Some instrument approaches lead to runways, while others just lead to the airport. This is the difference between (in example) a VOR Rwy 30 approach vs. a VOR B approach. There are also STARs, or Standard Terminal Arrival procedures, which leads to an arbitrary point in which an approach can be made. Lastly, to answer your question about departures. These are known as SIDs, or Standard Instrument Departures. They are usually issued on the ground, if issued at all. They include a set of instructions to do once airborne, who to contact, altitudes and headings to fly, things to expect. They also include a set of instructions to follow in-case of a communications failure. A SID in general doesn't pertain to a particular runway (although they may include a different set of instructions depending on the runway in use). So, in real life, you should have a copy of every SID available at the departure airport, in case you are issued one in your IFR clearance, however, in the world of simming, SIDs and STARs matter much less, so the need to worry about them are not as important.