FAA Instrument Rating Airplane (IRA)IFR Procedures and ChartsMedium
An IFR departure procedure (ODP) does not specify a climb gradient for obstacle clearance. Under TERPS criteria, what climb gradient is assumed to provide standard obstacle clearance during the initial climb?
- A250 feet per nautical mile
- B200 feet per nautical mile
- C400 feet per nautical mile
- D152 feet per nautical mile
Show answer & explanationAnswer & explanation
Correct answer: B. 200 feet per nautical mile
TERPS design criteria assume a standard climb gradient of 200 feet per nautical mile when no specific climb gradient is published on the ODP. This gradient provides the baseline obstacle clearance; if a steeper gradient is needed to clear obstacles, it will be explicitly published on the departure procedure.
Why the other options are wrong
- A. Incorrect — 250 ft/NM would be an unusually steep gradient requiring specific charting
- C. Incorrect — 400 ft/NM is far steeper than the standard assumption
- D. Incorrect — 152 ft/NM is not the standard baseline gradient used in TERPS design
Standard ODP Climb Gradient
In the absence of a published climb gradient, an ODP assumes obstacle clearance based on a standard climb gradient of 200 feet per nautical mile.
- 200 ft/NM is the TERPS default for obstacle clearance
- Steeper gradients are explicitly charted when required
- Equivalent climb rate depends on groundspeed (converted using GS/60 × gradient)
Memory trick: Two-hundred is the ODP default — nothing charted, assume 200.