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Aviation History
2003
2003 - 2150.PDF
Regulations: RVSM LEAVING IT TIGHT Upgrading around 6,000 US business aircraft to make them RVSM compliant is creating a surge of demand for avionics specialists. But do operators risk leaving it late? PAUL SEIDENMAN / SAN FRANCISCO if f the USA implements reduced vertical , separation minimum (RVSM) rules as M scheduled on 20 January 2005, thou- B sands of aircraft will have to be spe- 8 dally certificated - and pilots trained - to fly at altitudes of 29,000-41,000ft (8,850- 12,500m). This is because RVSM will reduce vertical separation from 2,000ft to 1,000ft in US airspace, as it already has over Europe. Canada, in tandem with the USA, expects to extend its RVSM airspace to below the 57th parallel, while most of Latin America will come under the jurisdiction of the rules. Because RVSM has been introduced stea dily outside the USA since the mid-1990s, nearly all commercial and business jets built since 1997 have been supplied with RVSM-compliant autopilots, air-data com puters and avionics. Aircraft built before that date will have to be upgraded or flown at lower, less fuel-efficient altitudes. Even business jets with service ceilings above 41,000ft will need to be RVSM certificated. Around 10,000 turbine-powered busi ness aircraft produced before 1997 will be affected, and an estimated 6,000 are likely candidates for RVSM upgrades, says Paul Clouse, director of RVSM operations for Annapolis, Maryland-based Arinc. Business jets and a few high-performance turbo- Avionics upgrade companies are preparing for a surge in demand for RVSM compliance props are significant users of airspace above 29,000ft in the USA, and, according to Federal Aviation Administration statis tics, the corporate and owner-flown tur bine fleet represents 10% of traffic above that altitude on any given day. For the owners of non-compliant air craft, numerous RVSM solutions have come to market, either under original equipment manufacturer (OEM) service bulletins (SB) or through supplemental type certificates (STC) developed by independent organisa tions. The latter have targeted the larger fleets of out-of-production models. Preparing for the rush As the deadline for US domestic RVSM draws closer, avionics upgrade organisa tions are preparing for swelling demand. "We have seen a definite increase in our RVSM business, with over 50% of the cus tomers scheduling the work in conjunc tion with some other maintenance or modification," says Brian Watkins, director of programmes, Garrett Aviation Services. "But not enough operators are scheduling their aircraft in order to avoid a bottleneck that could happen during 2004. Those who wait until next year to schedule the work may not make the deadline." To address demand, Garrett has intro duced Fast Lane, which guarantees a 10- business-day turnaround for Cessna Cita tion, Dassault Falcon and Gulfstream RVSM upgrades. Fast Lane is available at all Garr ett's US locations, as well as its dealer net work in Austria, Denmark, France and the UK. Watkins says Garrett offers RVSM cus tomers a turnkey programme that includes equipment installation, test flights, manu als and paperwork leading to an RVSM let ter of authorisation from the FAA. Garrett was the first non-OEM to receive a group RVSM approval, for the Gulfstream II and IISP, Watkins says. "We have also held an STC for the Gulfstream IIB since last year. Other RVSM STCs we have are for the 10 [with Collins APS-80 or AP-105 autopilots], and for Falcon 50s and 20s equipped with the Collins Pro Line 4 and Pro Line 21 avionics suites." Other Garrett RVSM STCs include the Citation I, II, S/II and V models, and for Citation Is retrofit ted with Williams FJ44 engines under Garrett's Eagle II modification. Garrett expects to have RVSM group approval for the Israel Aircraft Industries Westwind I and Astra family, under STCs due for the end of this year and April next year, respectively. The company is already installing RVSM kits for the Westwind II, under an STC owned by Lincoln, Nebraska-based Duncan Aviation. Independent companies like West Star Aviation are gearing up for what might be a last-minute rush. "Many people felt that the FAA might hold off the implementation date a little longer, but now indications are that that won't happen," says vice-president operations Greg Laabs. "More owners are calling around to see what's available. For the last few weeks, our phone lines have been jammed with inquiries about our Learjet 35/36 RVSM solutions." Because of the anticipated RVSM-related workload, Grand Junction, Colorado-based West Star may have to increase its capacity by 30-50%. "Based on our advanced book ings, we expect to move quickly to about five installations per month this year, with eight to 10 during 2004," adds Laabs. Aircraft manufacturers' service arms are seeing a surge in RVSM-related bookings, says Bruce Thigpen, sales manager avionics and new business development at Gulf stream. "A lot of this is because we are keep ing our customer base informed about RVSM, and other regulatory compliance tasks, such as TAWS [terrain awareness and warning system]," he adds. "Most of our customers are requesting RVSM and TAWS installations to be done at the same time." The manufacturer is performing RVSM upgrades under its own SBs at five domestic Gulfstream Aviation Services facilities and one at London Luton Airport. The modifica tions are available at the five General Dyn amics Aviation Services centres operated by Gulf stream's parent company. These are off ering RVSM modifications on the Raytheon Hawker 800 as well as the Bombardier Challenger and Dassault Falcon families under SBs from their manufacturers. The Learjet 20 series, which includes the 23, 24 and 25 models and their variants, is considered a prime market for RVSM. Avcon Industries president Larry Franke says over 450 aircraft are candidates for retrofit. "With over 400 Learjet 20-series aircraft operating today, we estimate the RVSM upgrade mar ket will be about 260," says Wichita, Kansas- 56 30 SEPTEMBER - 6 OCTOBER 2003 FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL www.fliqhtinternational.com
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