Departure procedures can be tricky, but here are some rules you can use to
assure you depart in IFR conditions correctly.
A failure during takeoff under instrument meteorological
conditions (IMC) is extremely critical. In the event of an emergency and the
weather conditions are below the landing minimums for the departure airport, the
flight would be unable to return for landing, leaving few options and little
time to reach a takeoff alternate. This is the reason for takeoff
minimums.
The FAA establishes takeoff minimums for every airport that has
published Standard Instrument Approaches. For commercial carriers, at
airports where minimums are not established, use FAA designated standard
minimums (1 statute mile [SM] visibility for single and twin-engine aircraft,
and 1/2 SM for helicopters and aircraft with more than two engines).
Aircraft operating under Part 91 (non-commercial) are not
required to comply with established takeoff minimums. Legally, a zero/zero
departure is acceptable but it is never advisable. Good judgment and
common sense would tell all instrument pilots to follow the established minimums
whether commercial or not.
NACO charts list takeoff minimums only for the runways at
airports that have other than standard minimums. These takeoff minimums are
listed by airport in alphabetical order in the front of the TPP booklet (as
shown below).
As shown above, the Livermore take-off minimums indicate that
the ceilings should be 1500 or 2300 feet (runways 7 and 25 respectively) as well
as 2 statute miles visibility. This means that to be completely safe on
departure, these minimums should be adhered to when departing Livermore, IFR.
If an airport has nonstandard takeoff minimums, a
will be placed in the
notes sections of the instrument procedure chart (near the bottom of the figure
below).
