Operators of out-of-production business jets are being offered help in gaining reduced vertical-separation minima (RVSM) approval for their aircraft.
Everett, Washington-based AeroMech has joined forces with flight-test specialist Kohlman Systems Research to gain RVSM approval for aircraft types for which manufacturer support is no longer available.
While most manufacturers are obtaining RVSM certification on behalf of operators for each of the aircraft types they support - so-called "group" approvals - owners of some out-of-production aircraft face the expense of gaining individual approvals. Without RVSM certification, operators are denied access to preferred North Atlantic routes, and the RVSM are planned eventually to be introduced in European, Pacific and US airspace.
AeroMech is offering two approaches to RVSM approval, says president Tony Wiederkehr. For out-of-production aircraft still operated in relatively large numbers, such as the Fokker F28 and 100 and Lockheed JetStar, the company plans to gain group approval. A minimum of five aircraft of each type is required for flight testing, to measure altimetry-system accuracy, he says, with inspections of up to 24 aircraft to check air-data-system variability.
Wiederkehr is confident that sufficient demand exists for group approval of the Fokker 100. The JetStar market is complicated by the many different altimetry-system configurations in existence, he says. AeroMech plans to survey operators and select a nominal system, to which operators can upgrade easily, as the basis for RVSM approval, Wiederkehr says.
The second approach is aimed at operators of non-group types, and involves analysing individual aircraft to determine whether the existing avionics are sufficient, upgrading if necessary, and flight testing the aircraft for RVSM approval.
AeroMech, which obtained group RVSM approval for the Lockheed L-1011 TriStar, estimates that it should take "two to three months" to obtain certification for aircraft meeting the minimum altimetry-system requirements.
Source: Flight International
