I have always thought that Winter instruments are excellent,
and their repair/calibration support has been very
good in my limited experience (I've only needed Winter
support once, and got good service). But there is one
caution that I am aware of: the compact Winter altimeters
have possible errors that US pilots should be aware
of. It's not a secret: the possible errors are listed
in the Winter altimeter data sheet. This is important
to know, for pilots flying under a class B ceiling
(as I do), and especially for pilots who fly up to
the 18000ft ceiling, since the Winter data sheet errors
are surprisingly large at higher altitudes. Take a
look and see. As an experiment, I tested my three altimeters
(my Winter 4FGH40, my Cambridge 302, and my SN10b)
at my local airport, using my airport barometric setting,
to see if the three altimeters agreed with the published
airport elevation (1000ft msl). The errors were respectively
140ft, 2ft and 80ft. The Winter error is at the very
limit of the Winter data sheet error for 1000ft msl,
which is surprising since it had just been recalibrated
by the factory (because it had previously had an even
larger error). The other instruments were about 2 years
from calibration. In comparison, most US aircraft altimeters
that I've seen in (IFR qualified) power planes have
been very accurate under this test, not more than 50ft
error at the very most. The US IFR altimeter accuracy
requirement for this test is 75ft. So under the US
altimeter test, the Winter altimeter would fail, the
Cambridge would be perfect, and the SN10b just acceptable.
I've been asking around as to which of my three altimeters
is the 'legal' altimeter to use, but (of course) have
got no clear answer.


At 19:01 08 December 2006, Tim Mara wrote:
I've actually been there in their shop and gone out
for dinner with Achim
Winter..It's very much like a small watch shop with
everyone working
meticulously with tiny tools and magnifying glasses
each hand building 3 or
4 instruments from start to finish at a time. Interestingly,
the owner, his
father and his father before him were none of them
pilots and got into this
business building aircraft instruments totally from
other business but their
instruments have been the standard for the sailplane
industry for decades
and remain the best and most recognized in their field.
Winter also has a
full catalog on line at http://www.winter-bordgeraete.de/
tim
Wings & Wheels
www.wingsandwheels.com

'Paul Remde' wrote in message
news:qMheh.263996$FQ1.171910@attbi_s71...
Hi,

I just updated my Winter instruments web site with
a few photos from the
factory. Last year at this time they sent me a few
photos of the town the
company is located in. This year they sent me a few
photos showing the
instrument assembly area and the stand on which they
adjust altimeters. I
enjoy photos like these because they show a bit more
about the company and
the people that make the instruments. Most glider
pilots fly with Winter
instruments and we have come to trust and rely on
them.