Definition
A departure procedure in which Air Traffic Control uses radar to provide navigational guidance and vectors to the pilot from shortly after takeoff until the aircraft is established on its filed route or assigned course. The pilot follows ATC headings and altitudes rather than a published departure procedure.
Plain English
Instead of flying a printed departure route, the controller watches you on radar after takeoff and tells you which headings and altitudes to fly until you're pointed toward your route.
Context Anchor
Seen in instrument departure planning and ATC clearances when a departing aircraft will receive controller guidance after takeoff instead of following only a printed departure path.
Derivation
Radar' comes from the 1940s acronym for RAdio Detection And Ranging — using radio waves to locate objects. A 'radar departure' is simply a departure conducted under the watchful eye of that radar.
Why Pilots Care
Radar departures give ATC flexibility to sequence traffic, avoid delays, and maintain separation in busy airspace.
Intuition Check
A radar departure does not mean every takeoff that happens to appear on radar. It means ATC is actively using radar to help guide the aircraft after takeoff.
Example Sentence 1
After takeoff from runway 27, the tower handed us off to departure, who issued a radar departure with a heading of 310 and a climb to 5,000 feet.
Example Sentence 2
In busy terminal airspace, pilots often request a radar departure to receive immediate vectors instead of flying a published SID.