Russell Kent wrote:

Mark Wrathall wrote:

This a good point. When you learn to fly it is important to learn to fly accurately,
but once you have flown in the cockpit of a RVSM approved airliner, it starts to
scare you. These things will hold 37000 feet +- about 3 feet for as long as you
want. Sooner or later there will be accidents because the systems put the planes at
exactly the same point. Many near misses in the past were probably avoided because,
although the pilots were trying their hardest to be at the same point, they just
weren't that accurate. I see the cruise reports from our 777's and I have never seen
an altitude reported more than 3" from an IFR level.

Not being IFR rated, this is unfamiliar territory for me.  What prevents the captain
from dialing in 37,025ft when assigned FL370 ?  Granted, 25 feet in a 777 ain't gonna
do squat in a possible midair.  Does the FAA regularly issue clearances for, say FL373
?  If not, why not?  Seems like a reasonable way to space out the traffic...

Russell Kent

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