The History of RVSM
By: Duncan Aviation

Though the airspace surrounding the world's larger airports has long been very crowded, an increase of daily flights between Europe, North America and Asia in the early 1970s was a warning sign that airway traffic would one day bulge at the seams. It was the foresight of these unavoidable bottlenecks that bore the concept that was later dubbed Reduced Vertical Separation Minimum (RVSM).

In 1978, the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) initiated studies to investigate the feasibility of reducing the vertical spacing between aircraft to increase the number of aircraft that could utilize a given airspace while maintaining an acceptable measure of safety. The detailed plan called for the reduction of the vertical space between aircraft from 2,000 feet to 1,000 feet at flight levels above 29,000 feet, adding six more flight levels. Completed in 1988, these studies proved the goal of RVSM was attainable and RVSM was capable of offering increased traffic density, preferred routing and fuel economy. Above all, it offered all these advantages with the highest levels of safety. Implementation of RVSM was initiated with an evaluation phase in the North Atlantic in 1997.

This evaluation phase was followed with full implementation in this region in October 1998. Since then, many other regions around the world have incorporated RVSM as well. The FAA, Eurocontrol, Nav Canada and other regional agencies supported ICAO in its efforts and have since initiated their own vertical separation programs.

The FAA has published its final ruling on the RVSM mandate. It states that the FAA will require all aircraft and flight crews operating in DRVSM airspace to be RVSM compliant as of January 20, 2005.

Existing and Proposed RVSM Regions
Current Regions of Implementation

	NAT (North Atlantic Track System): FL290-410 27Deg North Latitude to the North Pole
	PAC (Pacific): FL290-390 Oakland and Anchorage FIRs
	Australia: FL290-410 BN and ML FIRs north of 45deg South Latitude
	WATRS (Western Atlantic Route System): FL290-410
	Europe: FL290-410
	EUR/SAM Corridor (Southern Atlantic): FL290-410 Canarias, Dakar, Recife and Sal Oceanic FIRs
	Canada: FL290-410 57Deg North Latitude to North Pole
	Asia/Pacific: FL290-410
	South China Sea: FL290-410
	Asia/Europe Routes: FL290-410
Proposed Regions of Implementation
	DRVSM (Domestic United States): FL290-410 Effective January 20, 2005
	Canada: FL290-410 57Deg South Latitude to US Border Effective January 20, 2005
	Caribbean/South America: FL290-410 Effective January 20, 2005
	Japan/Korea: FL290-410 Pending 2005

The information in this article is an excerpt from a booklet called "Straight Talk About RVSM," published by Duncan Aviation, a full-service aircraft support company with nose-to-tail facilities in Lincoln, Nebraska (800.228.4277), and Battle Creek, Michigan (800.525.2376). Duncan Aviation also publishes a booklet called "Straight Talk About TAWS." Call either facility to request a copy or visit www.DuncanAviation.com.

Copyright © 2004 Duncan Aviation, Inc., Lincoln, NE