How soon (distance) after take-off can you start making a turn to your heading?
From FlightSim
Q:
HOW SOON (DISTANCE) AFTER TAKE-OFF CAN YOU START MAKING A TURN TO YOUR HEADING?
A:
Are you flying big iron or light a/c? In light a/c, you'd typically (VFR) climb to at least 400 ft AGL and past the departure end of the runway before initiating a turn, unless ATC asked you to turn early AND you felt it was safe to do so. When IFR, ATC will normally give you an initial heading to turn to (usually as part of the clearance) before contacting departure, and I'd want a minimum of 500 ft. AGL before starting the turn. I'll let Bala and Co. talk about the big iron.
Larry N.
In commercial aircraft, ATC usually tells you your alt, heading, and when to turn. In light aircraft too (IFR) you use the instructions on your SID (Standard Instrument Departure). I'll read an excerpt from the Cincinnati Eight Departure for RWY 36L: " Fly runway heasing until 0.5 DME north of runway localizer, then turn heading 330 degrees, maintain 6000 feet, expect radar vectors to filed/assigned route. Thence expect clearance to to requested altitude/flight level ten minutes after departure." This explicitly explains what to do! :-) Of course, SIDs differ (most don't use ILS freqs as SID navaid DME indicators). you generally climb until you reach that assigned altitude. what some adventures don't portray very well is when the climb to your requested flight level begins. most adventures request that you stay at the initial altitude (in this case 6000) for the full ten minutes. In real life, it's usually just about a straight climb up to your flight level because they clear you to your requested altitude before you reach your initial altitude. Hope this helps!
Noel Benford
