Clearances, Departure & Enroute
Everything between requesting your clearance on the ground and being handed off to approach control. The IFR system is built around precise expectations between pilot and controller — knowing what's expected of each side is what makes communication clean and operations safe.
How this topic is laid out
A clearance is one continuous transaction — you ask, you copy, you read back, you depart, you climb. It is split here into the four places pilots actually get stuck, so each one can be read on its own during a brief.
Receiving a Clearance
Who is responsible for what under § 91.3, how to ask, CRAFT, the five steps, the read-back that closes the loop, and what to say when you cannot comply.
Void Times & Takeoff Minimums
What a clearance void time obliges you to do at a non-towered field, the 30-minute contact requirement, and the takeoff minimums that apply before you ever get a release.
Departure Procedures
ODP, SID, radar vectors and the VFR departure — four ways out of an airport, and the conditions that make each one the right answer.
Enroute Altitudes & VFR-on-Top
MEA, MOCA, MRA and MCA, the changeover point, what VFR-on-Top actually authorises, and the services Center provides once you are established.