Heads Up! - RVSM Comes to North America

84-1091752987 · Posted: Tue Jan 04, 2005 7:37 pm

Folks, tripped over this today while checking in with the VATCAN forums. On 20 Jan, 2005 at 0901 GMT, VATCAN will join with the real world ATC folks in North America and institued RVSM in the North American Airspace. Check the following link for details: http://bathursted.ccnb.nb.ca/vatcan/forum. There is a good explanation from Mike Oxner included, with tables, which details the application of RVSM from a controller and pilots perspective. Thought I'd pass this along. Cheers. :cool:

Keith CVA51 · Posted: Tue Jan 04, 2005 7:42 pm

Good stuff. Thanks for the heads up

Don CVA1279 · Posted: Wed Jan 05, 2005 8:18 pm

I read that same article. Excellent! As are all of Oxner's other articles on ATC matters. In the real world RVSM defines exclusive airspace between FL290 and FL410 in which only qualified ac are permitted to operate. I think AC are required to maintain assigned altitude within 200 ft or ATC will re-assign an altitude out of RVSM airspace. Mike mentions that
VATSIM considers VA aircraft qualified but it looks like there will be some adjusting to new ATC procedures. It will be interesting to see how VATCAN ATC will handle the altitude tolerance. Might even get a little hair raising in a crowd!

Keith CVA51 · Posted: Wed Jan 05, 2005 11:00 pm

The biggest problem I see happening is the differring weather from one aircraft to the next. For example:

Pilot A is flying with ActiveSky 2004 and Vatsim weather heading West at FL320 AS04 is giving current altimeter reading of 30.02

Pilot B is flying with FS Realworld weather and heading east at FL310. FS weather is giving a reading of 29.55

Now even if both pilots have their altimeters set for std 29.92, they are going to be off their assigned altitudes by quite a wide margin. The potential for a problem certainly exists.

In the real-world, both aircraft would be subjected to the same outside pressure and thus, their deviation (be it 100 feet or 500 feet from true) should be the same, allowing them to pass safely with 1000' of vertical seperation. With the simulators, this may not be true.

ATC will have to stay on their toes!

Don CVA1279 · Posted: Thu Jan 06, 2005 8:05 pm

Yes, the various weather sources will be a problem I'm sure. Also, I find that most times flying our aircraft the altitude hold feature of the autopilot can wander off the set altitude by 300-400 feet so that might cause one to get booted out of the RVSM airspace too. I found it interesting that in realworld ops pilots are required to fly on autotpilot in RVSM space so as to maintain altitude hold accuracy.

Heads Up! - RVSM Comes to North America

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