Travis Marlatte wrote:

No, it was yours, Sam. Whether you knew it or not. Steven simply picked up
on your fairly inocent, but mistaken statement that ATC uses SERVICE VOLUMES
to guide direct routing. You even referenced a table that is NOT based on
service volumes.

You both agree about the limitations on direct routing and Steven knows it.
He just likes to nit pick the details.


Those are the values derived from service volumes, so to call them
service volumes in the context of the 7110.65 is not only reasonable, it
is exactly what the authors of the 7110.65 do as follows:

"4-1-4. VFR-ON-TOP
Use a route not meeting service volume limitations only if an aircraft
requests to operate "VFR-on-top" on this route."

To attach precision to a patch-work document such as the 7110.65 is a
fool's errand.