Plain English Meaning

A pre-printed flight path that tells you exactly how to leave an airport under instrument flight rules — which way to turn, what altitude to climb to, and which navigation points to fly to — until you join your en route course.

Full Definition

A Standard Instrument Departure (SID) is a published, preplanned IFR departure procedure that provides a standardized route from the runway to a point on the en route structure. SIDs simplify clearance delivery, reduce pilot/controller workload, and ensure obstacle clearance and traffic separation during the .