‘Get out of Dodge’ with CDR

A rarely used, but important tool available for General Aviation aircraft flying out of busy airports is CDR (Coded Departure Routes). Knowing that CDRs exist, knowing how to file a flight plan requesting them, and how to use a CDR if assigned, can save you minutes (sometimes hours) of sitting on the ground when there is bad weather along your route of flight.

 What are CDRs?

CDRs are preplanned routes of flights that can be issued to pilots when thunderstorms, turbulence, or traffic constraints preclude ATC from issuing the standard routing between the airport pairs. These preplanned routes have special 8-letter identifiers (such as MDWTEBC6 ) where the first three letters are the departure airport ID, and the next three letters are the arrival airport ID, and the last two letters are for specifying which specific CDR route is to be used between the two airports. Thus the origin of the name CDR (Coded Departure Routes).

By giving a controller the ability to assign a preplanned CDR, coordination between ATC facilities and the flight crew is simplified. This can save time and avoid possible mistakes. This is done simply by assigning an 8-character clearance versus a lengthy reroute with all the Airway, VOR and intersections.

For more information on CDRs click here