A reduced vertical separation minima (RVSM) solution has been certificated for the Dassault Falcon 20 that works with a range of autopilots installed on the 1960s-vintage business jet. The group solution has been developed by Genesis 3 Engineering using Innovative Systems & Solutions altimetry equipment and Rosemount air-data probes.
Woodland Park, Colorado-based Genesis 3 says its RVSM compliance kit has been approved for Falcon 20 models with the Rockwell Collins AP-104 and AP-105 and Honeywell SPZ-500 autopilots, with work under way to certificate the system for the Collins APS-80 autopilot. The Falcon 20 approval will then cover “all the autopilots that can hold RVSM tolerance”, says company president Jerry Lowe.
Genesis 3 says 257 US-registered Falcon 20s are candidates for the RVSM upgrade, and a competing solution is available for only one of the autopilot options. “We are the first to cover multiple autopilots,” says Lowe. Ten aircraft have been modified so far. RVSM airspace was introduced over the Americas in January, forcing non-compliant aircraft to fly at lower altitudes, where fuel consumption is higher.
Genesis 3 was formed in 2001 to provide engineering services to manufacturers, modification centres and operators, and the Falcon 20 RVSM upgrade is one of its first branded products.
Source: Flight International
