“If SIDs were only applicable to radar airports why don’t they call them ‘SRIDs’?”*

This comment really tickled my fancy. Why?

In RSA and a number of other less well endowed countries, the powers that be (CATCOs and CAAs) decided that airports don’t require departure procedures unless they have radar. This sad situation has been a sad one person campaign for me for some time, since, the odd educated aviator may agree “Yes, where there are obstacles restrict an omnidirectional departure, there must be an approved departure procedure”, but still, there are none. I still lie awake at night awaiting the time a foreign pilot - thinking an omnidirectional departure is possible, in the absence of instructions from the AIP otherwise, makes the infamous non-returnable departure into ‘cumulo granitus’.

The commenter further pointed out, somewhat correctly “Surely it’s more important to have a DP at an airport that doesn’t have radar?”*

Well Yes! Nice to have someone thinking logically!!

I’d love to hear what the aviation people out there think about this one, especially those from countries that do understand what and why departure procedures are applied.

*These comments were from Richard Moss: Master MCC and fixed base sim instructor.