GRAHAM WARWICK / WASHINGTON DC
US upper-level redesign to be introduced in three phases and should allow more direct routings for business jets
Business jet operators are expected to be among the first to benefit from a redesign of US high-altitude airspace due to begin on 15 May. The redesign will allow aircraft with area navigation (RNAV) capability to fly directly most of the time.
The first phase of the US Federal Aviation Administration's high-altitude redesign (HAR) involves the airspace of seven en route air traffic control centres in the north-west USA, at altitudes of 39,000ft (12,000m) and above. As most modern business jets are RNAV-equipped and cruise above 39,000ft, operators are expected to benefit from the redesign.
In May 2004, the FAA hopes to expand the redesign geographically to seven airspace regions in the south-west and south USA, and vertically down to 35,000ft, dramatically increasing the number of aircraft involved. The final phase, for which the timescale has yet to be determined, covers the remaining six centres in the north-east USA.
Sabra Kaulia, director of the FAA's air traffic management programme, says the high-altitude redesign will allow flight planners to file for direct point-to-point routes, or routes that allow the aircraft to "surf" the jetstream, reducing flight time and saving fuel. Aircraft not equipped for RNAV will be able to continue using airways, she says.
The redesign was scheduled to begin in March, but was delayed to allow more time to create the required navigation system databases. These use a navigation "grid" made up of regularly spaced waypoints, each with a unique five-character international designator specifying the latitude and longitude. Operators will use the waypoints to define a flight plan.
The database for the north-west USA will comprise 470 grid points, Kaulia says, plus another 127 defining special-use airspace and the "pitch and catch" points at which aircraft will be able to leave and rejoin the airways system. The database for the entire continental USA will have more than 1,000 grid points, she says.
Source: Flight International
