Guidance and Procedures for the Registration of Reduced Vertical
Separation Minimum (RVSM) Approvals in Pacific Airspace

Pacific Approvals Registry and Monitoring Organization (PARMO)

1.  The Asia/Pacific Air Navigation Planning and Implementation Regional
    Group (APANPIRG), the International Civil Aviation Organization
    (ICAO) regional planning group for the Asia and Pacific Region,
    established the RVSM Implementation Task Force in August 1998 and
    charged it with progressing RVSM implementation within appropriate
    Asia Pacific flight information regions.

2.  A regional monitoring agency is a necessary part of an overall RVSM
    implementation program as specified in International Civil Aviation
    Organization guidance material, the *Manual on Implementation of a
    300 m (1 000 ft) Vertical Separation Minimum between FL 290 and
    FL 410 Inclusive* (ICAO Doc 9574, Montreal, 1992.). At its Second
    Meeting, the Task Force agreed that the U.S. Federal Aviation
    Administration's William J. Hughes Technical Center (FAA Technical
    Center) would provide the regional monitoring agency function to
    support RVSM introduction, designating the agency as the Pacific
    Approvals Registry and Monitoring Organization, or PARMO. The
    Asia/Pacific Air Navigation Planning and Implementation Regional
    Group (APANPIRG), the ICAO planning group for the Asia Pacific
    Region, later confirmed this decision.

3.  The PARMO has the following principal **duties and
    responsibilities**:

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a)  **To establish and maintain a central registry of State RVSM
    approvals of operators and aircraft using Pacific airspace where
    RVSM will be applied;**

b)  **To facilitate transfer of approval data to and from other RVSM
    regional monitoring agencies;**

c)  **To establish and maintain a data base containing the results of
    height keeping performance monitoring and all altitude deviations of
    300 ft or more within Pacific airspace*,* and to include in the
    database the results of PARMO requests to operators and States for
    information explaining the causes of observed large height
    deviations;**

d)  **provide timely information on changes of monitoring status of
    aircraft type classifications to State authorities and operators;**

e)  **to assume overall responsibility for**

    **i) administration of the Global Positioning System-based
    Monitoring System (GMS) and**

    **ii) assessing compliance of operators and aircraft with RVSM
    height-keeping performance requirements**

    **in conjunction with RVSM introduction in Pacific airspace;**

f)  **to provide the means for identifying non-RVSM approved operators
    using Pacific airspace where RVSM is applied; and notifying the
    appropriate State approval authority; and**

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g)  **to develop the means for summarizing and communicating the content
    of relevant databases to ICAO RVSM Task Force decision makers for
    use in agreeing on the timing and extent of RVSM application within
    the airspace under their administration.**

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4.  In general, State approval is required for aircraft operations in
    Pacific airspace where the RVSM is applied. This State approval
    consists of both an airworthiness approval of each aircraft and also
    operational approval of the operator. Details on the State approval
    process can be accessed through the PARMO website located at:

http://www.tc.faa.gov/acb300/parmo

by accessing the link to the FAA Pacific RVSM website.

5.  Requirements for monitoring the height-keeping performance of
    aircraft in connection with the State approval process have been
    established for Pacific airspace. These can also be found on the
    PARMO website, as can procedures for accomplishing this monitoring
    using the GPS-based Monitoring System noted in 3 e), above..

6.  Each State must register with the PARMO by submitting the point of
    contact form (PARMO Form F1 -- "Point of Contact Details/Change of
    Point of Contact Details for Matters Relating to RVSM Approvals")
    contained in Attachment A. Upon receiving this form from a State,
    the PARMO will acquire all RVSM approvals granted by that State
    which have been registered previously with other RVSM regional
    monitoring agencies.

7.  A State should submit notice of RVSM airworthiness and RVSM full
    approval of an aircraft separately using PARMO Form F2, "Record of
    Approval to Operate in Pacific RVSM Airspace," which is shown in
    Attachment B. States should forward notice of such approvals to the
    PARMO on a regular basis in order to support establishment and
    maintenance of the database cited in 3. a), above.

8.  Notice of withdrawal of State RVSM approval should be sent using
    PARMO Form F3, "Withdrawal Of Approval To Operate In Pacific RVSM
    Airspace," which is shown in Attachment C.

9.  Electronic versions of these forms are available at the PARMO
    website noted above. The PARMO requests that these forms be
    submitted over the Internet, if possible. If a State does not have
    access to the Internet, the forms can be dispatched to the PARMO by
    post or fax. Notes to aid in completion of the forms and
    construction of the database are included in Attachment D.

10. States in the Pacific Region should maintain a database of all RVSM
    airworthiness and operational approvals. States should send updated
    database information to the PARMO as soon as it becomes available;
    however, it may not be practical to pass information every time a
    new approval is granted. Therefore, the minimum requirement is that
    any additions to a State's RVSM approvals during a month, correct as
    of the last working day of the month, be on file with the PARMO by
    the tenth day of the following month. Any withdrawals of approval
    must be notified to the PARMO immediately using PARMO Form F3 or by
    forwarding a complete updated database with the appropriate fields
    amended and the reason for the withdrawal included in the "Remarks."
    It should be noted that an approval is not transferable and that if
    an aircraft is sold or leased, re-approval from the State of
    Registry will need to be sought.

11. The PARMO database of State RVSM approvals is maintained in
    Microsoft Access for Windows. This software platform is compatible
    with other common database software such as D-Base III/IV, Paradox
    3.0/3.5, and Foxpro 2.0/2.5. In order to simplify the process of
    transferring data between State databases and the PARMO, it is
    recommended that individual States establish their own RVSM
    approvals databases with the same informational content for an
    aircraft as is shown in Attachment B. It is further recommended that
    Microsoft-Access-compatible software be used if the database is to
    be maintained on a computer. The PARMO requests that States with
    Internet access send notice of approvals as Microsoft Excel files.

12. The PARMO provides the following information as an aid to States
    wishing to establish their own RVSM approvals database with the same
    content, format and structure as that maintained by the PARMO. The
    individual fields in the database together with instructions for
    entering data are:

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1)  State of Registry - Enter the single letter ICAO identifier as
    contained in ICAO Doc 7910/92 (3/99). If more than one identifier is
    designated for the State, use the letter identifier that appears
    first.

2)  Name of Operator - Enter the operator's 3-letter ICAO identifier as
    contained in ICAO Doc 8585/109 (3/99). For general aviation
    aircraft, enter "IGA". For military aircraft, enter "MIL". If none,
    place an X in this field and write the name of the operator/owner in
    the Remarks row.

3)  State of the operator - Enter the single letter ICAO identifier as
    contained in ICAO Doc 7910/92 (3/99). In the case of their being
    more than one identifier designated for the State, use the letter
    identifier that appears first.

4)  Aircraft Type - Enter the ICAO designator as contained in ICAO Doc
    8643/27 (7/99), e.g. for Airbus A320-211, enter A320; for Boeing
    B747-438 enter B744.

5)  Aircraft Series - Enter Series of aircraft, or manufacturer's
    customer designation, e.g., for Airbus A320-211 enter 211; for
    Boeing B747-438, enter 400 or 438.

6)  Manufacturers Serial Number.

7)  Registration Number. No. "\_\_\_\_". Example: for AA-XYZ write
    AAXYZ.

8)  Mode S Address - Enter ICAO allocated Aircraft Mode S (6 character,
    hexadecimal) address code.

9)  Airworthiness Approval -- Enter yes or no.

10) Date Airworthiness Approval Issued -- MM/DD/YY. Example: for October
    26, 1998 write 10/26/98

11) RVSM Approval - Enter yes or no.

12) Date RVSM Approval Issued -- MM/DD/YY. Example: for October 26, 1998
    write 10/26/98.

13) Date of Expiry -- MM/DD/YY. Example: for October 26, 1998 write
    10/26/98.

14) Date of Withdrawal Expiry -- MM/DD/YY. Example: for October 26, 1998
    write 10/26/98

15) Reason For Withdrawal

16) Remarks.

The data specifications for these fields are:

[Field]{.underline} [Field Name]{.underline} [Type]{.underline} [Nominal
Width]{.underline}

1 State of Registry Text 2

2 Name of Operator Text 3

3 State of Operator Text 2

4 Aircraft Type Text 4

5 Aircraft Series Text 6

6 Manufacturers Serial Number Text 5

7 Registration Number Text 6

8 Mode S Address Text 6

9 Airworthiness Approval Text 3

10 Date Issued Date/Time 6

11 RVSM Approval Text 3

12 Date Issued Date/Time 6

13 Date of Expiry Date/Time 6

14 Date of Withdrawal Date 6

15 Reason for Withdrawal Text 60

16 Remarks Text 60

13. As noted in its list of duties and responsibilities in 3 e) , above,
    the PARMO administers the height-keeping performance monitoring
    program in the Pacific Region. In addition, the PARMO has
    responsibility for technical direction of the officially designated
    GPS Monitoring Unit (GMU) support contractor efforts in connection
    with application of the GMS. Specifically, the PARMO will oversee
    the following duties of the contractor:

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a)  Administration of the application of GMUs to the height-keeping
    performance monitoring program during the system verification and
    full implementation of Pacific RVSM implementation.

b)  Maintenance, repair, and, as necessary, replacement of GMUs, data
    collection and post processing software used in the height keeping
    performance monitoring program.

c)  Provision of corrected GPS-derived aircraft geometric height for
    each GMS-monitored flight to the PARMO.

d)  Provision of a GMU Flight Information Form for each GMS-monitored
    flight to the PARMO.

e)  Provision, as necessary, of meteorological model data to the PARMO.

f)  Operation of a central processing facility for post-processing of
    GMU-collected GPS pseudoranges and archiving of pertinent data.

g)  Operation of the means for electronic transfer of GMS component data
    sources other than SSR Mode C between their origins and required
    destinations and for transfer of pertinent data between the PARMO
    and the contractor.

> Once all the required data is acquired for a particular flight, the
> PARMO will then calculate aircraft altimetry system error (ASE),
> assigned altitude deviation (AAD), and total vertical error (TVE).

14. As noted in 4. Above, State RVSM approval is generally required for
    operation in Pacific airspace where the RVSM is applied. Such
    approval must be indicated in field 10 of the ICAO flight plan by
    entering the Letter "W". A crew of any aircraft seeking clearance
    into airspace where RVSM approval is required and not filing a
    flight plan with this required designator should expect to be
    challenged by air traffic control. Any crew not able to confirm that
    they possess State RVSM approval will be directed to climb or
    descend in order to operate outside the flight-level band where the
    RVSM is applied. The ATS Provider State will notify the PARMO of
    this event using Attachment E, Example of Message Reporting of RVSM
    Approval Query. The PARMO will then write to the State of Registry
    concerning the flight using Attachment F. The purposes of this
    communication are to ensure that the operator is made aware of the
    implications of RVSM operation without appropriate State approval
    and to request notification of the course of action which will be
    taken to ensure that the incident is not repeated.

ATTACHMENT A

**[POINT OF CONTACT DETAILS/CHANGE OF POINT OF CONTACT DETAILS FOR
MATTERS RELATING TO PACIFIC APPROVALS]{.underline}**

*This form should be completed and returned to the address below on the
first reply to the PARMO or when there is a change to any of the details
requested on the form (PLEASE USE BLOCK CAPITALS).*

STATE OF REGISTRY: enter State here

STATE OF REGISTRY (ICAO 2 LETTER IDENTIFIER): enter 2 letter State here

Enter the 2-letter ICAO identifier as contained in ICAO Doc 7910/92. In
the event that there is more than one identifier for the same State, the
one that appears first in the list should be used.

ADDRESS: enter address here

CONTACT PERSON:

Full Name: enter full name here

Title: enter title here Surname: enter surname here Initials:

Post/Position: enter position here

Telephone #: enter phone here Fax #: enter fax here

E-mail: enter email here

Initial Reply\*/Change of Details\* (\**Delete as appropriate)*

When complete, please return to the following address:

William J Hughes Technical Center (WJHTC)

Separation Standards Group (ACB-310)

Atlantic City International Airport

Atlantic City, NJ 08405

Telephone: 1+609-485-5678

Fax: 1+609-485-5117

E-Mail: APARMO@faa.gov

ATTACHMENT B

**[RECORD OF APPROVAL TO OPERATE IN PACIFIC RVSM AIRSPACE]{.underline}**

1\. When a State of Registry approves or amends the approval of an
operator/aircraft for operations within Pacific airspace, details of
that approval must be recorded and sent to the Pacific Approvals
Registry and Monitoring Organization (PARMO) to reach it by the tenth
day of the month following the month that the approval was issued.

2\. *Before providing the information as requested below, reference
should be made to the accompanying notes* **(PLEASE USE BLOCK
CAPITALS)**.

State of Registry^1^:

Name of Operator^2^:

State of Operator^1^:

Aircraft Type^3^:

Aircraft Series^4^:

Manufacturers Serial No:

Registration No:

Mode S Address Code^5^:

Airworthiness Approval^6^:

Date Issued^7^:

RVSM Approval^6^:

Date Issued^7^:

Date of Expiry^7^ (If Applicable):

Remarks^8^:

When complete, please return to the following address by the next
business day.

William J Hughes Technical Center (WJHTC)

Separation Standards Group (ACB-310)

Atlantic City International Airport

Atlantic City, NJ 08405

Telephone: 1+609-485-5678

Fax: 1+609-485-5117

E-Mail: APARMO@faa.gov

ATTACHMENT C

**[WITHDRAWAL OF APPROVAL TO OPERATE IN PACIFIC RVSM
AIRSPACE]{.underline}**

1\. When a State of Registry has cause to withdraw the approval of an
operator/aircraft for operations within Pacific RVSM airspace, details
as requested below, must be submitted to the Pacific Approvals Registry
and Monitoring Organization (PARMO) by the most appropriate method.

2\. *Before providing the information as requested below, reference
below, reference should be made to the accompanying notes* **(PLEASE USE
BLOCK CAPITALS)**.

State of Registry^1^:

Name of Operator^2^:

State of Operator^1^:

Aircraft Type^3^:

Aircraft Series^4^:

Manufacturers Serial No:

Registration:

Aircraft Mode S Address Code^5^:

Date of Withdrawal of RVSM Approval^7^:

Reason of Withdrawal of RVSM Approval^8^:

Remarks:

When complete, please return to the following address by the next
business day.

William J Hughes Technical Center (WJHTC)

Separation Standards Group (ACB-310)

Atlantic City International Airport

Atlantic City, NJ 08405

Telephone: 1+609-485-5678

Fax: 1+609-485-5117

E-Mail: APARMO@faa.gov

ATTACHMENT D

**[NOTES TO AID COMPLETION OF PARMO FORMS F1, F2, AND F3]{.underline}**

1.  Please read these notes before attempting to complete forms PARMO
    F1, F2, and F3.

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2.  It is important that the Pacific Approvals and Monitoring
    Organization (PARMO) have an accurate record of a point of contact
    for any queries that might arise. Recipients are therefore requested
    to include a completed PARMO F1 with their first reply to the PARMO.
    Thereafter, there is no further requirement unless there has been a
    change to the information requested on the form.

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3.  If recipients are unable to pass the information requested in the
    PARMO F2 to the PARMO through the Internet, by direct electronic
    transfer, or by data placed on a 3.5" floppy disk, a hard copy PARMO
    F2 must be completed for each aircraft granted RVSM approval. The
    numbers below refer to the superscript numbers on the blank PARMO
    F2.

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1.  Enter the 1 or 2 letter ICAO identifier as contained in ICAO Doc
    7910/92 (3/99), Index to Nationality Letters for Location
    Indicators. In the case of their being more than one identifier
    designated for the State, use the identifier that appears first.

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2.  Enter the operator's 3 letter ICAO identifier as contained in ICAO
    Doc 8585/109 (3/99). For International General Aviation, enter
    "IGA". For military aircraft, enter "MIL". If none, place an X in
    this field and write the name of the operator/owner in the Remarks
    row.

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3.  Enter the ICAO designator as contained in ICAO Doc 8643/27 (7/99),
    e.g., for Airbus A320-211, enter A320; for Boeing B747-438 enter
    B744.

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4.  Enter series of aircraft type or manufacturer's customer
    designation, e.g., for Airbus A320-211, enter 211; for Boeing
    B747-438, enter 400 or 438.

5.  Enter ICAO allocated Aircraft Mode S address code.

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6.  Enter yes or no.

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7.  Example: For October 26, 1998 write 10/26/98.

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8.  Use a separate sheet of paper if insufficient space available.

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4.  The above numbers refer to those superscript numbers used in PARMO
    F3 - "Withdrawal of Approval to Operate in Pacific RVSM Airspace."
    ***PARMO F3 must be completed and forwarded to PARMO immediately
    when the state of registry has cause to withdraw the approval of an
    operator/aircraft for operations within Pacific RVSM Airspace.***

    ATTACHMENT E

[EXAMPLE OF MESSAGE REPORTING OF REDUCED VERTICAL SEPARATION MINIMUM
(RVSM) APPROVAL QUERY]{.underline}

TO: PARMO

FROM:

SUBJECT: TACTICAL MONITORING OF RVSM APPROVAL

DATE:

AIRCRAFT IDENT:

AIRCRAFT TYPE:

CREW COMMENT

FLIGHT PLANED LEVEL:

FLIGHT PLANNED TRACK:

LETTER W FILED IN FIELD 10?

ATTACHMENT G

Dear Sir:

**[MONITORING OF PACIFIC APPROVALS FOR OPERATION IN REDUCED VERTICAL
SEPARATION MINIMUM (RVSM) AIRSPACE]{.underline}**

The Asia Pacific Region RVSM Task Force concluded that the Pacific ATS
Provider States should introduce, where possible, procedures designed to
monitor the approval status of operators in order to assist in reducing
the number of non-approved users. The procedure applies in tactical ATC
situations where the RVSM approval status of a flight is uncertain. The
procedure consists of a request by ATC that a flight crew confirm State
RVSM approval when seeking clearance into Pacific airspace where such
approval is required for operation.

In the situation where a crew is unable to give this confirmation, the
details are passed to this office, the Pacific Approvals Registry and
Monitoring Organization (PARMO), so that the State of Registry or the
State of the Operator involved may be notified.

It was noted that the crew/s of the following flight/s/list of flights,
which took place on \_\_\_\_\_\_, and for which we believe you to be the
State of Registry/of the operator, was/were unable to give assurance of
State RVSM approval. We would be grateful if you would investigate the
circumstances, and advise whether or not this/these flight/s was/were in
possession of a formal State Approval for PAC RVSM Operations. If
the/these flight/s was/were not so approved, we would be grateful if you
would notify this office of your of your proposed course of action.

Sincerely,

(Name)

Pacific Approvals Registry and Monitoring Organization