Dave, when flying outside controlled airspace and not in receipt of an air traffic control service ie not receiving RAS/RIS/procedural APC, there is no such thing as `minimum seperation`. The idea of the quadrantal rule is that (in theory) it will provide a minimum of 500ft vertical seperation between aircraft on converging tracks, and a minimum of1000ft between aircraft opposite direction. Hope that makes sense!
Regds,
Rowdy.
Originally Posted by FlightDeckDave
Maybe i'm being dense, however perhaps someone could explain the quadrantal rule to me. As i understand it, when flying above 3000ft depending on the direction u are heading u take one of 4 combinations of flight level.
But when i look at the diagram is it possible for 2 planes to be flying out of controlled air space and pass over each other with a separation of only 500ft when the minimum should be a 1000ft?? Perhaps i am confused and dont understand the diagram
Thanks in advance