Obstacle departure procedure

Pilots can fly ODPs without prior clearance unless assigned a standard instrument departure or radar vectored by air traffic controllers.

[1] ODPs may be designed using either conventional or area navigation (RNAV) criteria.

Pass the departure end of the runway, Surveyors establish an obstacle clearance surface (OCS), which is an imaginary surface that rises at a 40:1 ratio under standard conditions, or 152ft per nautical miles.

The OCS can rise more steeply if terrain or other obstacles are present.

Pass the departure end of the runway at 35ft above ground, if an aircraft can maintain 48ft per nautical mile clearance above the OCS, or maintain a climb rate of 200ft per nautical mile for standard 40:1 ratio OCS, no ODP will be established.