BOMBARDIER ISTHE first business-jet manufacturer to gain regulatory approval for a service bulletin enabling operators to comply with reduced vertical-separation minima (RVSM) to be introduced on North Atlantic routes on 27 March. Initial approval from Transport Canada is for the latest Challenger 604. Bombardier expects Canadian certification of service bulletins covering the earlier Challenger 600 and 601 models in March.
Dassault received European certification for an RVSM data package for the Falcon 2000 in late 1996, but is waiting for US approval before issuing a service bulletin. The French manufacturer says that data packages on the Falcon 900 and 900EX have been presented to the European Joint Aviation Authorities for approval. Deliveries of the RVSM-compliant Falcon 50EX will begin in May, and flight-testing of earlier Falcon 50s should lead to approval in March, the company anticipates.
Approval for older Falcon 200s and 20-5s will follow, according to Dassaults, while surviving Falcon 10s and 20s will be dealt with "case by case".
Gulfstream says that it plans to provide preliminary data to the US Federal Aviation Administration by the end of February, and hopes to issue service bulletins for the Gulfstream III and IV by early April. Flight testing of the Gulfstream II has just begun.
Source: Flight International
