Within uncontrolled airspace in ID, aircraft may operate free of the control of an ATC unit. However all aircraft are required at all times to conduct their activities with regard to the ICAO Regulations.

When cruising in uncontrolled airspace pilots are advised to monitor continuously the emergency frequency 121.5, and 122.8

When cruising above 3000ft in Uncontrolled airspace, aircraft should comply with the quadrantal rule. The altimiter should be set to 1013mb and the cruising level is selected according to the magnetic track unless the aircraft is holding according to published procedures or is otherwise instructed by Air Traffic Control.

Magnetic Track	Cruising Level
360° to 089°	FL50, 70, 90 etc. up to FL190
090° to 179°	FL35, 55, 75 etc. up to FL175
180° to 269°	FL40, 60, 80 etc. up to FL180
270° to 359°	FL45, 65, 85 etc. up to FL185

Unless otherwise stated, the Transition Altitude is 3000ft. FL35 is only available when the local QNH is greater than 1013mb.

There are 4 types of ATC service available to aircraft outside of controlled airspace:

• Alerting Service
• Basic Service
• Traffic Service (Radar)
• Deconfliction Service (Radar)

Alerting Service:

An alerting service is provided to notify appropriate organisations regarding aircraft in need of search and rescue aid, and assist such organisations as required.

Basic Service:

A Basic Service is a non-radar service provided, either separately or in conjunction with other services, for the purposes of supplying information useful for the safe and efficient conduct of flights. Under a Basic Service the following conditions apply:

• Provision of the service includes information about weather, changes of serviceability of facilities, conditions at aerodromes and any other information pertinent to safety.
• The controller may attempt to identify the flight for monitoring and co-ordinationpurposes only. Such identification does not imply that a radar service is being provided or that the controller will continuously monitor the flight. Pilots must be left in no doubt that they are not receiving a radar service.
• Controllers are not responsible for separating or sequencing aircraft.

Traffic Service:

A Traffic Service is an air traffic radar service in which the controller shall inform the pilot of the bearing, distance and, if known, the level of the conflicting traffic. No avoiding action shall be offered. The pilot is wholly responsible for maintaining separation from other aircraft whether or not the controller has passed
traffic information. Under a Traffic Service the following conditions apply:

• The service may be requested under any flight rules or meteorological conditions.
• The controller shall only update details of conflicting traffic, after the initial warning, at the pilot’s request or if the controller considers that the conflicting traffic continues to constitute a definite hazard.
• The controller may provide radar vectors for the purpose of tactical planning or at the request of the pilot. However, vectors shall not be provided to maintain separation from other aircraft, which remains the responsibility of the pilot. There is no requirement for a pilot to accept vectors.
• The controller will be advised before a pilot changes level, level band or route.
• Should a pilot request avoiding action, this shall be treated as a request for a change of radar service.

Deconfliction Service:

A Deconfliction Service is an air traffic radar service in which the controller shall provide advice necessary to maintain prescribed separation between aircraft participating in the advisory service, and in which he shall pass to the pilot the bearing, distance and, if known, level of conflicting non-participating traffic, together with advice on action necessary to resolve the confliction. Where time does not permit this procedure to be adopted, the controller shall pass advice on avoiding action followed by information on the conflicting traffic. Even though the service is an advisory one, controllers shall pass the 'advice' in the form of instructions. Under a Deconfliction Service the following conditions apply:

• The service may be requested under any flight rules or meteorological conditions.
• Controllers can expect the pilot to accept vectors or level allocations which may require flight in IMC. Controllers should be aware that pilots may not be qualified to fly in IMC. Should this situation arise the controller will be informed by the pilot.
• There is no legal requirement for a pilot flying outside controlled airspace to comply with instructions because of the advisory nature of the service. However, should a pilot choose not to comply with advisory avoiding action then he will become responsible for his own separation and any avoiding action that may subsequently prove necessary.
• The controller will be advised before a pilot changes heading or level.
• Controllers shall pass avoiding action instructions to resolve a confliction with nonparticipating traffic and, wherever possible, shall seek to achieve separation which is not less than 5 nm or 3000 feet, except when specified otherwise by the CAA. However, it is recognised that in the event of the sudden appearance of unknown traffic, and when unknown aircraft make unpredictable changes in flight path, it is not always possible to achieve these minima.
• Controllers shall continue to provide information on conflicting traffic until the confliction is resolved.

ID Airspace is divided into two Flight Information Regions (FIR's). At and above FL245, this is known as the Upper Flight Information Region and below FL245, it is known as the Lower Flight Information region.

The classification of airspace determines which flight rules apply and the minimum services that are to be provided in that airspace. There are 7 types of airspace in ID; A to G, A being the most restrictive and G being the least restrictive.

Class A:

• IFR Only
• ATC Clearance before entry
• Comply with ATC Instructions
• All aircraft are separated from each other

VFR flights are not permitted in Class A airspace - Special VFR is permitted in Class A Control Zones.

Class B:

• IFR and VFR
• ATC Clearance before entry
• Comply with ATC Instructions
• All aircraft are separated from each other

Class C:

• IFR and VFR
• ATC Clearance before entry
• Comply with ATC Instructions
• IFR flights separated from other IFR and VFR flights
• VFR flights separated from IFR flights
• Traffic Information on VFR flights passed to VFR flights, with avoidance advice if requested

Class C airspace in ID can be found between FL195 and FL245.

Class D:

• IFR and VFR
• ATC Clearance before entry
• Comply with ATC Instructions
• IFR flights separated from other IFR flights
• Traffic Information on VFR flights passed to IFR flights, with avoidance advice if requested
• Traffic Information on VFR flights and IFR flights passed to other VFR flights

Class D airspace in ID can be found in most control zones around airports.

Class E:

• IFR and VFR
• IFR flights obtain clearance before entry
• IFR flights comply with ATC Instructions
• IFR flights separated from other IFR flights
• Traffic Information on VFR flights passed to IFR flights, as far as practicable
• VFR Flights in contact to be given traffic information as far as practicable

VFR flights do not have to be in contact, or require an ATC clearance in Class E airspace.

Class F:

• IFR and VFR
• Participating IFR flights comply with ATC instructions
• Participating IFR flights separated from each other

Class F airspace can be found on Advisory Routes.

Class G:

• IFR and VFR

Class G airspace is Uncontrolled Airspace - More than half of the ID airspace is class G, and can be found all around the country.

RVSM airspace was introduced throughout Europe in January 2002. It has also been implemented in North America, South America, Australia, Middle East, Africa, Parts of Asia and the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.

RVSM means Reduced Vertical Separation Minima - or in plain english the reduction of the vertical separation required between FL290 and FL410 from 2000ft to 1000ft. By doing this you double the amount of airspace available, therefore doubling the traffic capacity. With the skies getting busier and busier every day the need for more room has become more and more important.

In the real world aircraft must have the following equipment aboard to be RVSM certified and therefore take advantage of the reduced separation minimum:

• Two primary altitude reporting systems;
• One automatic altitude-keeping device;
• One altitude-alerting device.
• In addition, while changing altitudes, the altitude holding device must not overshoot an assigned level by more than 150 feet.
• Also, to gain certification for RVSM, each aircraft must overfly a stationary Height Monitoring Unit (HMU) or a portable Ground Monitoring Unit (GMU) unless flight test evidence can be supplied to the regulator that the airframe is compliant with Altimeter System Error (ASE) targets.

Aircraft who do not meet the standards are excluded from RVSM airspace except for the purpose of climbing or descending to/from the CVSM airspace above FL410. (Exceptions do exist though, see bottom of page for complete listing.)

In the real world this was a costly affair for operators who still had older aircraft in their fleet. On IVAO there isn't much to it, as any aircraft can be considered RVSM, or non-RVSM. There are however a few important procedures for pilots and ATC to follow. They are detailed below.

Pilots flying through RVSM airspace continue using the Odd-East / West-Even rule up to FL410, after which the airspace becomes CVSM.

Use the following table for reference:

RVSM airspace (the new way) West track (180°-359°) Even Altitudes East track (000°- 179°) Odd Altitudes 4,000 ft 6,000 ft 8,000 ft 10,000 ft 12,000 ft 14,000 ft 16,000 ft FL 180 ... FL 280 ------------- FL 300 FL 320 FL 340 FL 360 FL 380 FL 400 FL 430 FL 470 FL 510 ... 5,000 ft 7,000 ft 9,000 ft 11,000 ft 13,000 ft 15,000 ft 17,000 ft FL 190 ... FL 290 ------------- FL 310 FL 330 FL 350 FL 370 FL 390 FL 410 FL 450 FL 490 FL 530 ...

CVSM airspace (the old way) West track (180°-359°) Even Altitudes East track (000°- 179°) Odd Altitudes 4,000 ft 6,000 ft 8,000 ft 10,000 ft 12,000 ft 14,000 ft 16,000 ft FL 180 ... FL 280 ------------- FL 310 FL 350 FL 390 FL 430 FL 470 FL 510 ... 5,000 ft 7,000 ft 9,000 ft 11,000 ft 13,000 ft 15,000 ft 17,000 ft FL 190 ... FL 290 ------------- FL 330 FL 370 FL 410 FL 450 FL 490 FL 530 ...

Changes to cruise direction from the old system to the new RVSM system are highlighted in red.

All pilots operating within RVSM airspace are to comply with the following guidelines:

• Pilots flying RVSM certified aircraft are expected to file altitudes appropriate for the direction of flight in compliance with the previous table.
• The equipment suffix W shall be filed in the flight plan to indicate RVSM certification.
• Autopilot must be used to maintain altitude in level cruise flight. Manual trimming of the aircraft is not acceptable. If the autopilot does not work or the altitude hold mode is known to be inaccurate, the aircraft will be considered non-RVSM, and therefore not allowed into RVSM airspace. The equipment suffix "W" is not to be used on such aircraft.
• If a pilot notices his aircraft is unable to accurately maintain altitudes with the autopilot altitude hold he/she is to consider the aircraft as not up to RVSM standards and notify ATC at once. This applies regardless of whether the aircraft is already in, or cleared to enter RVSM airspace. ATC may instruct pilots of such aircraft to leave RVSM airspace if traffic requires.
• Pilots are to report any encounters with turbulence greater than moderate. By its nature, severe turbulence means that control of the aircraft is affected, and RVSM procedures can no longer be maintained.

All controllers operating positions involving RVSM airspace are to follow the following guidelines:

• All aircraft having filed /W equipment suffix will be considered RVSM certified and equipped, unless there it is apparent that the aircraft is unable to hold altitude with reasonable accuracy.
• Aircraft not having filed /W equipment suffix, will not be cleared to enter RVSM airspace except for those aircraft meeting the conditions described in the exceptions listed below.
• Aircraft operating in RVSM Airspace who indicate an inability to maintain altitude correctly shall be considered non-RVSM compliant. Separation for such aircraft shall be immediately increased to 2,000 feet vertically, and the aircraft shall be cleared to climb or descend out of the RVSM airspace as soon as practicable. Aircraft who are unable to make destination due to fuel requirements at lower levels will not be required to descend below RVSM airspace, but 2000ft separation will have to be maintained at all times. The idea is to remain within the rules of RVSM while not creating a fuel shortage for the aircraft involved. It is essential to pass this information to adjacent sectors/units.
• Use of altitudes inappropriate to direction of flight (wrong-way) in RVSM airspace remain the same as outside of RVSM airspace. Aircraft cruising at such altitudes should be cleared back to correct altitudes as soon as practicable.
• If an aircraft reports greater than moderate turbulence, use of 2,000 feet vertical separation will be required. Immediate action must be taken to provide another form of separation, including changing of altitudes, use of speed control, or re-routing.

There are a few exceptions which may allow a non-RVSM certified aircraft to operate with RVSM exclusionary airspace. For those who do get clearance into it, the following rules apply:

• RVSM certified aircraft will receive priority for altitude assignment over non-RVSM aircraft. (see example above)
• Vertical separation of 2,000 feet will be maintained between non-RVSM aircraft and all other aircraft.
• Aircraft wishing to climb or descend through RVSM airspace are to be granted clearance provided they do not level off within RVSM airspace, should maintain a normal rate of climb or descent (no cruise climbs/descents allowed).
• Aircraft used by military, police and customs services are exempt from RVSM certification requirements, do not require advance approval, and will be provided with 2,000 feet separation from all other aircraft in RVSM airspace.