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What is a STAR?
A Standard Terminal Arrival Route, or STAR, is a pre-defined arrival route that aircraft flying IFR will follow during the arrival phase to their destination. STARs contain both lateral and vertical components, and they’re designed to aid in traffic organization, decongestion, and terrain and traffic avoidance.
A STAR usually begins with a series of transitions branching out across various directions. These are the initial transitions that allow an aircraft to enter and begin navigating along a given STAR. Certain STARs, however, may only have one initial transition, resulting in a one way in situation.
The initial transitions of a STAR will eventually converge at a given point (or more) along the STAR. The final converging point is known as the main fix; thus, in order to properly control with STARs, usage of speed commands is a must. At a certain point, a STAR can become “full,” meaning there isn’t sufficient space to allow planes to join the STAR at the converging point(s). In these situations, it’s best to vector along (but offset) of the STAR.
Each STAR is designed to lead a route to a specific runway, or multiple runways. In other words, the ending transition of a STAR will result in a path to the specified runways the STAR caters to. Some STARs strictly cater to one runway, whereas other STARs can provide coverage for all available runways.
In order to effectively utilize STARs, the following should be taken into account.
1. Study all available STARs beforehand. Familiarize yourself with the altitudes, transitions, and any applicable speed restrictions.
2. Choose specific STARs that provide maximum coverage, but don’t choose so many that you overload yourself.
a. The selected STARs should be able to cover and accommodate inbounds from all directions.
i. In the event multiple STARs start from the same area, choose the one with the most available initial transitions, or entry points, to increase coverage.
b. The selected STARs should cover as many runways as possible to reduce controller workload and the need for vectors later.
Preparing with STARs
To prepare for STARs, studying of the published charts is strongly recommended, though not required. For airports located in the United States, STARs can be found on SkyVector and FlightAware.
For airports outside of the United States, charts can be found on Jeppesen, or by using various aviation bots that provide the charts. Not all airports outside of the United States have publicly available charts, so, in those situations, spawning in as a pilot and loading the procedures to be used would be most ideal.
Reading a chart for a STAR is relatively simply; below, the CAPSS3 STAR into KDCA is broken down.
Breaking Down A STAR
1. The first step to understanding a given STAR is to refer to any Arrival Route Descriptions (highlighted in red). The Arrival Route Description provides necessary information about the following.
a. Initial (or funnel) transitions for the STAR (highlighted in orange).
i. As specified in the chart, the transitions for the CAPSS3 STAR are the THHMP and WAVES waypoints. These two waypoints act as the funneling legs that lead to the main fix (or the converging point), BULII (highlighted in yellow).
1. The main fix (converging point) can be found at the bottom left corner of the chart under the name of the STAR (highlighted in yellow).
ii. Transitions for STARs can be identified in the following format: ABCDE.name_of_STAR.
b. Subsequent routing to the runways the STAR is applicable to (highlighted in dark blue).
i. Routing information can specify altitude restrictions and headings.
ii. Approach instructions can also be specified (i.e., expect vectors or assigned approach).
2. Altitude restrictions are the second component to understand when reading the charts for a STAR. They can be incredibly helpful tools in guiding an aircraft along the arrival process into the airport, should they not have a filed STAR.
a. There are four types of altitude restrictions: mandatory, at or above, at or below, and block.
i. Mandatory altitudes are surrounded by two horizontal lines (one above and and one below the specified altitude) (highlighted in pink). An aircraft must be at that altitude at the specified waypoint that corresponds with the altitude.
ii. At or above altitudes have one horizontal line underneath the specified altitude (highlighted in green). An aircraft is allowed to cross that waypoint at any altitude, as long as it is above the specified altitude. Aircraft must not go below the written altitude.
iii. At or below altitudes have one horizontal line above the specified altitude (highlighted in aqua). An aircraft is allowed to cross that waypoint at any altitude, as long as it is below the specified altitude. Aircraft must not go above the written altitude.
iv. Certain waypoints have two altitude figures with horizontal bars surrounding both altitudes (highlighted in purple). This indicates an aircraft must not go above the altitude at the top, and they must not go below the altitude at the bottom. In simpler terms, they have to cross between the specified altitudes.
b. Each enroute (waypoint to waypoint) has a specified Minimum Enroute Altitude (MEA) and a Minimum Obstruction Clearance Altitude (MOCA).
i. The MEA is the absolute lowest an aircraft can go during that leg of the STAR (highlighted in dark green). MEAs are the altitudes above or below each leg between waypoints.
ii. The MOCA is the lowest altitude an aircraft can clear any obstructions at (highlighted in dark red). MOCAs are designated with an asterisk to the left of the altitude, and they are below MEAs.
3. Speed restrictions are the third component to understand with STARs. Certain STARs are more lenient with aircraft speeds, while others are stricter. Like altitudes, speed restrictions are designated in the same fashion.
a. There are three types of speed restrictions for STARs: mandatory, minimum, and maximum. All speeds are measured in Indicated Airspeed.
i. Mandatory speeds are designated by two horizontal bars (one above, one below) surrounding the speed limit (highlighted in black). Aircraft must be at that speed.
ii. Minimum speeds are designated the same way as at or above altitudes. One horizontal bar is under the speed limit (not shown). Aircraft can go at any speed so long as it does not go below the specified airspeed.
iii. Maximum speeds are designated the same way as at or above altitudes. One horizontal bar is above the speed limit (not shown). Aircraft can go at any speed so long as it does not go above the specified airspeed.
4. Another component to a STAR is the lateral distance from waypoint to waypoint.
a. The distance of each leg is designated by a number in parentheses either below the leg it is referencing, above the MEA, or below the MOCA (highlighted in bright purple).
5. Waypoint types are also another component for STARs. There are two types of waypoints found along a STAR: compulsory, and non-compulsory.
a. Non-Compulsory waypoints are hollowed out in the middle (circled in blue).
b. Compulsory waypoints are bolded/filled in the middle (not shown).
c. There are also flyover points, which mean aircraft must fly over that waypoint or fix prior to turning or navigating in another direction (circled in red).
6. Fixes, like waypoints, are another component for STARs. There are also two types of fixes: compulsory, and non-compulsory position report.
a. Non-Compulsory fixes are hollowed out in the middle (circled in orange).
b. Compulsory fixes are bolded/filled in the middle (not shown).
7. Surrounding airports are also outlined by the STAR. An airport served by the STAR is designated with various bolded markers, but, a civilian airport served by the STAR is shown with a hollowed crosshair (circled in light blue).
8. The final component (that we’re concerned with) in a STAR are the holding points. Holding points are outline by an oval, and the ovals designate the direction, applicable headings, distances, altitudes, and speed restrictions.
a. The maximum restricted airspeed is 175kts, applying to all altitudes, and 210kts, applying to all altitudes above 6000ft to and including 14000ft.
