Altimeter settings: QNH versus QFE

wrote in message
oups.com...
I have a question for you CFIG's out the I recently moved to a
"flat" state from a "mountainous" state and noticed that every glider
pilot I have met and flown with in the "flat" state sets his altimeter
to zero (a QFE setting) instead of field elevation. Back in my old
stomping grounds, all my glider friends set field elevation (QNH).

Wow....I'm not a CFIG but am one of Kirk's "glider friends in his old
stomping grounds" and for the life of me cannot even believe this discussion
is happening!!!

To do this is an enormous crutch and dangerous for anyone that will ever fly
outside of their local airport environment. How about mountains? How about
large towers there in the "flatlands" where elevations can vary even there
by a few hundred feet making your chart worthless. And as 66 points out,
how about the old "hey I'm in the same area you just said you were in,
what's your altitude?". How about the powered plane that is transitioning
your area and is smart enough to read the chart, see that there is a glider
ops there and makes a radio call to say that he is overflying from the south
at X altitude?

Finally the last but maybe best reason to NOT do this is that when stressed
we all regress to what we were first taught and our natural instincts. If
one of these folks taught on the QFE basis starts taking powered lessons
(God forbid!) or heads to another mountainous glider site and gets in
trouble they are going to revert to thinking in QFE format and that may end
up being a fatal error.

Casey Lenox
KC
Phoenix
(who just got back from Moriarty where it was supposed to be good but
watched it OD for 3 days!)