Narrative:

While flying an oceanic random route at FL380; we were overhead our first lat/long fix after our coast out fix. At this time; we were not using the standard lateral offset procedure (slop) due to our route being a 'random track'. Approaching zzzzz intersection and on an approximate heading of 311 degrees; we saw an airbus A380 approaching us from the opposite direction and 1000 feet above us. This aircraft flew directly overhead us. Due to the recent bombardier challenger upset during a similar situation; we chose to deviate to the left because of the winds aloft which were coming from approximately 290 degrees. My co-captain and I felt that if we offset to the right; as is the procedure; we would be subject to the wake turbulence being carried by the winds into our flight path. We chose to offset to the left which was upwind of the anticipated wake turbulence and did not encounter any. ATC then queried us via HF radio and told us that he showed us almost 5 miles to the left of our course. The co-captain replied and explained our situation then advised that we were back on course and that we would fly the slop for the remainder of the crossing. What I feel caused this problem was the reduced separation minimums not taking into account various types of aircraft and the potential wake turbulence. Even if we did fly the slop (1 to 2 miles right of course); I feel the winds aloft still had the potential to direct the wake turbulence towards us. I feel that more consideration should be given to opposite routings given to various aircraft types since the new rvsm rules took effect.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: G450 flight crew reported they offset to the left on an oceanic route due to an A380 1000 feet above them to avoid potential wake turbulence.

Narrative: While flying an oceanic random route at FL380; we were overhead our first lat/long fix after our coast out fix. At this time; we were not using the standard lateral offset procedure (SLOP) due to our route being a 'random track'. Approaching ZZZZZ intersection and on an approximate heading of 311 degrees; we saw an Airbus A380 approaching us from the opposite direction and 1000 feet above us. This aircraft flew directly overhead us. Due to the recent Bombardier Challenger upset during a similar situation; we chose to deviate to the left because of the winds aloft which were coming from approximately 290 degrees. My Co-Captain and I felt that if we offset to the right; as is the procedure; we would be subject to the wake turbulence being carried by the winds into our flight path. We chose to offset to the left which was upwind of the anticipated wake turbulence and did not encounter any. ATC then queried us via HF radio and told us that he showed us almost 5 miles to the left of our course. The Co-Captain replied and explained our situation then advised that we were back on course and that we would fly the SLOP for the remainder of the crossing. What I feel caused this problem was the reduced separation minimums not taking into account various types of aircraft and the potential wake turbulence. Even if we did fly the SLOP (1 to 2 miles right of course); I feel the winds aloft still had the potential to direct the wake turbulence towards us. I feel that more consideration should be given to opposite routings given to various aircraft types since the new RVSM rules took effect.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.