points. I cringe when I find the altimeters in the club two-seat ships
I fly set to zero (QFE) instead of field elevation - because the
implication is that our club instructors and students are using the
altimeter as a crutch in the pattern.

We cannot set QFE and we scorn the eastern flat landers who come out here
and try that.
Our field elevation is to high to set the altimeter down to zero. And if you
set it to zero, how do you know you are remaining clear of the overhead
Class B Shelf or 9KMSL Mode C limitation (US 14CFR91.215). And if you are
going cross country, how do you know the elevation other than by visual
reference that you can clear the next mountain. Plus if you go cross
country, you can't always know the ground elevation that you are landing on,
so the altimeter is useless once committed.

BT