RVSM

[boofhead]

When RVSM came in it was OK to fly in the restricted flight levels when not so equipped provided ATC accepted the airplane and they applied extra (old) separation.
Have the regs been hardened now to prevent this? I want to fly to maybe FL320 without being RVSM equipped, but nowhere near any air routes, probably in the US or Canada. HAs anyone done this, and is it possible?

[MarkerInbound]

In the US, once RVSM was implemented in 2005, it was (and still is) illegal to request or accept a clearance into RVSM airspace unless both the plane and pilot were authorized. The ONLY exceptions were (and are) military and foreign government flights, aircraft climbing to and descending from FL 430 or above or aircraft in emergency situations.

So at least in the US, the rules have not been tightened, they never allowed 'normal' non-RVSM aircraft into RVSM airspace.

[Rainboe]

Agreed. We once had a lightning strike on the ground at MIA that caused a problem that made us non-RVSM capable. Whilst we could subsequently fly at normal altitudes, we were required to descend out of RVSM airspace for the Atlantic sector to below FL290. There is no latitude.