As the April 2001 date for early introduction of RVSM airspace in the UK, Ireland Germany and Austria nears, specialist engineers Cranfield Aerospace Ltd have been working with a number of operators to secure compliance for business jets, particularly the HS125-700 series aircraft.

UK operators and engineering facilities have been rather slow off the mark compared with our colleagues in continental Europe. In the business jet / regional jet segment there seems to be limited enthusiasm from the industrial sector to support the process, with the notable exception of BAE Systems and Raytheon.

Providing solutions for older aircraft can be a complex, time intensive process, which may not be so attractive to the Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM). The larger passenger jets are well looked after by the OEMs but there seems to be less interest in the smaller aircraft end of the market.

The deadline of January 24, 2002 for full introduction of RVSM across Europe is fast approaching and operators may face the prospect of selling their aircraft back into the market at a discounted price, if they cannot find an engineering facility that can offer a cost-effective solution.

The scale of the problem for the smaller business / corporate jets is probably compounded by the fact that most of them are manufactured in the United States, where RVSM compliance is not the same. Added to this, the physical distance from the US based OEM to Europe probably makes the issues rather remote.

Until recently the UK has not had a CAA-approved organisation that could carry out the survey and aircraft modification work required on aircraft not covered by the OEM. Operators based in the UK may have found it not only inconvenient but also economically unattractive to undertake a positioning flight to Germany for an RVSM solution.

We at Cranfield Aerospace Ltd have been working with a number of independent organisations and also working closely with Raytheon to provide a solution for the HS 125-700. We are have a close liaison with the CAA to resolve issues associated with the HS125.

We are now, as a matter of urgency, going through an exercise to identify those aircraft, which are not covered by a Service Bulletin, yet may be suitable for development of an RVSM solution; the Falcon 20 is a strong possibility.

The work involved in any update program is not straightforward – there is a need to evaluate the altimetry system and the air data computers in a flight test environment, to ensure that compliance with RVSM can be achieved. This work includes surveying the skin profile of

the fuselage around the static ports, to ensure continued airwor-thiness and build conformity within a group.

Our advice is that operators should not feel that disposal is the only option – an RVSM solution may be practically and economically viable.

David Gardner, managing director, Cranfield Aerospace