Definition
A defined geographic point on a Standard Instrument Departure (SID) or other published procedure where the pilot transitions from following the published lateral path to following an ATC-assigned heading or radar vector. Up to the pitch point, the aircraft flies the charted route; after it, the aircraft proceeds as directed by ATC.
Plain English
A spot on a departure procedure where you stop following the printed route and start following whatever heading or vector ATC gives you.
Context Anchor
Seen in ATC routing, flight planning, and route amendments that describe where a route change begins.
Derivation
‘Pitch’ here comes from the older sense of ‘to throw’ or ‘hand off’ — the same idea as pitching a ball to someone else. At the pitch point, the procedure hands you off from the chart to ATC.
Why Pilots Care
Setting the correct pitch point at the right moment controls descent rate and airspeed, directly affecting whether the aircraft lands safely on the runway.
Intuition Check
Do not read pitch point as the airplane’s nose attitude or a climb/descent angle. Here, pitch point means a location on the route where the planned routing changes.
Example Sentence 1
After crossing the pitch point on the SID, the crew expected radar vectors from departure control.
Example Sentence 2
The instructor reminded the student to hold the published pitch point until the runway threshold was reached.