April 1, 2016
Business aviation operators will benefit from revised, extensive guidelines for conducting required navigation performance (RNP) operations, as defined in a new advisory circular (AC) released by the FAA.
AC 90-105A – Approval Guidance for RNP Operations and Barometric Vertical Navigation in the U.S. National Airspace System and in Oceanic and Remote Continental Airspace – provides aircraft eligibility and operational guidance for conducting RNP operations in the United States, as well as in foreign countries that have adopted International Civil Aviation Organization RNP operational standards and in certain areas of remote and oceanic airspace.
The revised AC provides guidance for conducting RNAV (GPS) approaches, and the use of barometric vertical navigation on approaches. It includes operational guidelines for performing RNP 10 and RNP 4 Oceanic operations, replacing FAA Orders 8400.12C and 8400.33, respectively.
“These changes are in line with the FAA’s concept of ‘bundling’ authorizations to streamline the authorizations process for operators, which in turn will also streamline operator approval for RNAV and VNAV procedures,” said Rich Boll, chairman of the NBAA Access Committee’s ATC, Airspace and Flight Technologies Working Group.
Boll added that the AC also furnishes guidance on airworthiness and operational approval to fly procedures with RF legs that are not labeled as ‘authorization required;’ those operations are currently defined under AC 90-101.
“In the coming months, we will begin to see increased application of RF legs on non-RNP AR procedures,” he added.
“In addition, the AC provides new guidance concerning the use of Baro-VNAV on approaches to LNAV/VNAV minima; RNP terminal operations – RNP SIDs and RNP STARs and advanced RNP operations that include the use of radius-to-fix legs and fixed-radius-turns on instrument approaches, SIDs, obstacle departure procedures and STARs.”
International Business Aviation Council Ltd.