Take-off and departure

Take-off and Departure

Take-off and departure are the phases when the aircraft leaves the runway and transitions to cross-country. Radio procedures are clearly standardised.

Source: ICAO Doc 9432 Manual of Radiotelephony, Chapter 4 Take-off and Departure.

Phase 1: Ready for departure

Pilot calls

At the holding point after pre-takeoff checks:

• "Munich Tower, DEMRA, ready for departure runway 26."

ATC replies

Cleared for take-off (most common positive clearance):

• "DEMRA, runway 26, wind 270 degrees 10 knots, cleared for take-off."

Pilot read-back:

• "Cleared for take-off runway 26, DEMRA."

→ Read-back sequence: pilot repeats callsign → runway → cleared for take-off (simplified variant: "DEMRA, runway 26, cleared for take-off").

Line up and wait (use the runway, but wait):

• "DEMRA, runway 26, line up and wait."

Hold position (wait at holding point):

• "DEMRA, hold position, give way to landing traffic."

Phase 2: Take-off

After cleared for take-off:

1. Line up on runway.
2. Throttle full, accelerate.
3. Rotation at Vr.
4. Initial climb.

Radio during the roll: typically silent — pilot focuses on aircraft.

Phase 3: Airborne — frequency change

Standard after lift-off

Tower often hands off to Departure / Approach Control:

• "DEMRA, contact Munich Departure on 119.95."

Pilot read-back:

• "Munich Departure 119.95, DEMRA."

Pilot switches to new frequency, then:

• "Munich Departure, DEMRA, airborne off runway 26, climbing to 2500 feet QNH 1015."

Take-off report — content

For VFR flight plan traffic or handoff to FIS/Approach, a standardised take-off report follows lift-off, with these four core items:

Example take-off report:

"Munich Information, DEMRA, departed Augsburg time 1245, destination Ingolstadt, climbing to 5500 feet."

This call is used:

• With VFR flight plan to activate the flight plan at AIS.
• With FIS service to register in the sector with route data.

At a controlled field with departure frequency, this report is typically handled automatically by ATC handoff.

Phase 4: Initial climb-out / departure

Standard instructions

• "Climb to 2500 ft QNH 1015": altitude target.
• "Maintain runway heading": keep runway heading.
• "Turn left heading 270": heading instruction.
• "Squawk 7000": transponder code.

Leaving CTR

For VFR exit from control zone:

• "DEMRA, leaving the control zone, switching to Munich Information 124.45, goodbye."

Special situations

Runway icing or snow

ATC mentions in take-off clearance:

• "Runway 26 wet, caution braking action."

Crosswind advisory

• "Runway 26, wind 220 degrees 18 knots, caution crosswind 18 knots."

Traffic in sight required

For VFR traffic in the pattern:

• "DEMRA, traffic Cessna at 2000 ft, 2 NM ahead, report in sight."

Pilot:

• "Traffic in sight, DEMRA" (when seen).
• "Negative contact, DEMRA" (when not seen).

Holding take-off (conditional)

• "DEMRA, behind the landing 737, line up runway 26 behind, hold."

→ Pilot waits for landing aircraft, then taxis onto runway and waits.

Special departure procedures

Standard Instrument Departure (SID)

IFR flights follow a SID (pre-published departure route with altitude profile).

• ATC: "DEMRA, cleared for take-off, SID Munich 2 Charlie."
• VFR: SID not relevant.

VFR departure route

At large fields with VFR routes (VRP-based):

• "DEMRA, after departure VFR route November to VRP Echo, then own navigation."

Common errors

• Take-off without clearance: runway incursion → serious violation.
• Frequency not changed: ATC calls on old frequency, no pilot.
• Read-back incomplete: forgetting to repeat runway number.
• Climb-out altitude exceeded: without clearance.
• Take-off report incomplete: callsign, departure, time, destination — all four required.

Practical recommendation

• Before take-off: departure frequency pre-set (standby).
• Immediately after lift-off: power and pitch fixed, then radio.
• Sterile cockpit rule: no private chatter below 1000 ft AGL.