Chris Yates/LUXEMBOURG
Europe's business aviation community faces severe restrictions on its upper airspace operations when reduced vertical separation minima (RVSM) procedures come into force in Europe in November 2001, according to the European Business Aviation Association (EBAA).
Speaking at the "RVSM for Europe" seminar held in Luxembourg from 21- 23 April, the EBAA revealed that, of the 1,105 business jets in the European fleet, nearly 60% are not RVSM compliant. "The business jet community is facing the uncomfortable challenge to comply [with RVSM requirements] before implementation with no existing solution, or be relegated to airspace below FL290, with the negative economic and environmental impact of higher fuel consumption," warns the EBAA.
RVSM is being phased in worldwide and became operational on North Atlantic routes in March. Europe is the next region scheduled to implement the new procedures, followed by North America and then Asia.
The Brussels, Belgium-based association claims that airframe makers have been reluctant to devote resources to RVSM compliance. Bombardier, for example, is busy with RVSM certification for its latest models - including the Learjet 45 - but has not even started looking at the issue as it applies to older Learjets. Dassault is one of the most advanced among the manufacturers in certificating upgrades for its older models.
The EBAA also fears that the likely cost to the end user could be huge - for a Learjet 35A, for example, estimates from the manufacturer and industry sources suggest a minimum $250,000 to update to RVSM standards. If an autopilot change is also necessary, this is expected to soar to between $500,000 and $600,000. "This is 12-27% of the average resale value of the aircraft - and it comes in addition to many other European airspace entry requirements such as B-Rnav [Basic Area Navigation], 8.33 kHz [VHF channel spacing] and ground proximity warning system, which will push the total bill way above $1 million."
The EBAA is now pushing the Eurocontrol to preserve some airspace for non-RVSM-equipped aircraft so that operators can extend the useful life of non-conforming types. "The business aviation community is generally not opposed to new equipment requirements that provide commensurate improvements in operational capability or safety. However, RVSM must be implemented with enough lead time to allow aircraft and equipment manufacturers, certification authorities, air traffic service providers and all airspace users to retrofit and certificate aircraft and ground infrastructure," the EBAA says.
Source: Flight International
