Globe Cargo

Can someone tell me the primary difference between the ANC4 and the Knik6 departures? Is it just the parallel runway turnout (ANC4 goes South while KNIK6 goes North) based on aircraft weight? ANC4 preferential to turbojets for noise?

It has been a while since I worked that sector on VATSIM... Their site is in a state of construction - again - so I can't get to the SOPs. I will check my drive this evening to see if I still have some of the old docs that I wrote for ZAN 5-6 years ago...

If I recall corectly, ANC4 is a vectored departure for destinations to the SE, S and W. KNIK6 is another vectored departure for destinations to the N. Hence the turn to the left vs right as you take off from the 7s. If you take off from the 14/32 there isn't much of a difference. If you are heavy you probably want 14 for t/o to avoid the climbing turn. That would also be the preferred rwy for noise abaitment. Both DPs are valid for jets, the main difference is really the direction of your destination. If I recall correctly, KNIK was used mainly for Fairbanks departures and anything else that wanted a polar route...

I specifically watched some Alaska flights on Flightaware (and listened on LiveATC.net) and the ones departing for Fairbanks and points north were filing Knik6, while all the Heavies heading to the Pacific Rim were filing ANC4 via Nodle or SQA.

However, if you look at the Knik6 DP, Nodel, SQA and all the Westerly points on the ANC4 are still available. I just chalked it up to noise abatement.....