HD says <Now you can bet some loony will ask how military controllers can use 500 ft vertical inside a civil control zone!!!! Tee hee!!>
Looks like HD has shown a typical civil controllers lack of understanding of the military task.
Shame, so I'll throw my tuppence worth in and say we use RVS in 'CTZs' because our limited airspace requires such controlling skills. Indeed, we are good enough to wheel and deal OAT/GA traffic in very limited space, we have too. We do seek the civil pilots permission to apply RVS and if they are happy they get a good view of a fast jet and the pleasure of flying on QFE too!!
I will also go further and say that unlike HD's 'routine' job as a LHR Director, where evreything either comes off BOV,BPK,BIG or LAM and does the same thing day in day out. The Mil Controller has to cope with a far more dynamic, fast moving,unpredictable traffic flow from all points of the compass, with conflictors and the odd lack of SSR day. I would like HD to try recovering 13 Tornados (pattern speed of Concorde, remember?) with a number of emergencies, fuel priorities and the weather going downhill quickly in limited airspace. Throw a few transits in the way and 500' RVS is a luxury that Mil Controllers need to achieve their task.
Hope this loon has answered the question.
