Standard Terminal Arrival Route (STAR)

The standard terminal arrival route (STAR) is a bridge between the enroute structure and your destination. STARs are stablished to simplify clearence delivery procedures. STARs usually terminate with an instrument or visual approach procedure. Often they are simply called arrivals. A transition is one of several routes that bring traffic from different direction into one STAR.

INTERPRETING THE STAR

STARs use many of the same symbols as departure and approach charts. In fact, a STAR looks much like a graphic SID, except that the direction of flight is reversed and the procedure ends at an approach fix. The STAR officially begins at the navaid or intersection where all the transitions to the arrival converge. This way, the same chart can accommodate incoming flights from several directions, and traffic flow is route appropiately within the congested airspace.

A STAR is usually named for the navaid or fix where its associated transitions converge and the arrival procedure begins. The name also includes a number. When a significant change in the procedure occurs, such as a change to an altitude, a route, or data concerning a fix, the number of the procedure increases by one. After the sequence reaches nine, the next revision is numbered one again. For example, when a significant portion of the SHAMU ONE ARRIVAL is revised, the arrival becomes the SHAMU TWO ARRIVAL. The computer code for an arrival is similar to a standard instrument departure (SID).

Transitions are usually named for the fix or navaid where they begin, and you use that identifier in the computer code when filing your IFR flight plan. When filing for a transition and a STAR, the computer code for the transition comes before the dot and the name of the STAR. Although this might seem to be the opposite of the convention for filing departures, it is logical and easy to remember. In both cases, the segments are listed in the order that you fly them. For example, the Los Angeles transition and the SHAMU arrival would be written LAX.SHAMU1.

To ease your transition from enroute to terminal navigation, initial fixes on the STAR chart correspond to fixes on the enroute chart. Routes between fixes contain courses, distances, and minimun altitudes. Although FAA charts and Jeppesen charts contain most of the same information, they organize and display the information somewhat differently.