Definition
The standard minimum climb gradient required on an instrument departure procedure, expressed as 200 feet of altitude gained for every nautical mile of horizontal distance flown. Unless a higher gradient is published, this is the climb performance the aircraft must achieve from the departure end of the runway up to the published minimum altitude to ensure obstacle clearance.
Plain English
For every nautical mile you travel forward over the ground, the aircraft must climb at least 200 feet upward. This is the default climb rate built into instrument departures unless the chart says otherwise.
Context Anchor
Seen when reading instrument departure procedures and checking whether the aircraft can climb fast enough after takeoff.
Derivation
This is a unit expression: ft means feet, NM means nautical mile, and the slash means “per.” So ft/NM reads as “feet of climb for each nautical mile traveled.”
Why Pilots Care
Determines whether an aircraft can safely clear terrain and obstacles after takeoff.
Analogy
Think of it like a road grade, but for an airplane’s climb. For each nautical mile forward, the climb must rise by a set amount—in this case, 200 feet.
Grounding Statement
After traveling 1 nautical mile along the departure path, the aircraft should be at least 200 feet higher than where it started.
Intuition Check
Do not read 200 ft/NM as 200 feet per minute. It is based on distance traveled over the ground, not time.
Example Sentence 1
The departure procedure required the standard 200 ft/NM climb gradient, so at our planned 120-knot groundspeed we needed to maintain at least 400 feet per minute on climb-out.
Example Sentence 2
If performance charts show you cannot sustain 200 ft/NM, request an alternate departure.