Who's flying out of the higest elev airport?

"Ron Natalie" wrote in message
. ..

"Dudley Henriques" wrote in message
news:IIp3c.4260$ Here in the UK, setting the altimeter to This,
considering an average atmosphere, denies you setting an
altimeter to 0 on any airport runway above about 2500 to 3000 feet
MSL!!!

The highest elevation (Ben Nevis) in the UK is under 4500 feet. The
highest airport isn't
even close to that.

Discovering this is the answer. It's basic enough, but the regulations
writers in the UK leave it to the pilots to discover this limitation instead
of just telling everyone that a QFE setting can only be used at airports
below the ASL limits for the Kollsman window.
All I've been able to find in the UK regs is that QFE is an option. They
don't state any limitations at all for elevation as far as I've been able to
discover; perhaps not for the UK pilots, but it's not too clear for pilots
flying into the UK for the first time.
It's interesting, and confuses a lot of pilots.
Dudley

"Stefan" wrote in message
...
Dudley Henriques wrote:

It's amazing that the governing agencies who write this stuff just
assume
that sooner or later all of us will just figure out that only airports
under
3K feet are eligible for the QFE option. Interesting!!!

Don't you have this backwards? Shouldn't it read: Just because QFE isn't
common in the USA, the manufactorers assume that it's not common
elsewhere either, and sell unsuitable instruments?

Stefan

Could be, if the Brits altimeters were indeed superior, but I'm
understanding so far from everybody that the UK altimeters don't actually
have a wider Kollsman range than the US altimeters, and that it's the same
above sea level limit there as we have here; so that would apparently take
you right back to square one with understanding the regs, wouldn't it? :-))
Dudley Henriques
International Fighter Pilots Fellowship
Commercial Pilot/ CFI Retired
For personal email, please replace
the z's with e's.
dhenriquesATzarthlinkDOTnzt

Dudley Henriques wrote:

Well, not really. If you can get the actual station pressure, (not the
altimeter setting for the station reduced to sea level ) and the airport
elevation is within the Kollsman limits, the altimeter should read 0 on the
ground after landing. This is the definition as I understand it, for the QFE
setting.
Dudley

OK then what's the point? Why would you want the altimeter to read zero
for normal flying?

In article et,
"Dudley Henriques" wrote:

Hey, you mountain types out there :-) I'm doing some research on a safety
issue and need your help . I need a post from someone flying out of Colorado
somewhere, preferably Telluride or a field very close to Telluride. I need
as close to the highest elevation in the U.S. as I can get.
I'm not dealing with this issue in the context of right or wrong as it
pertains to mountain flying. I need to know if the Kollsman window in your
altimeters has a wide enough range to allow you, IF YOU DESIRED TO DO SO, to
set your altimeters to 0 elevation on a consistent basis before take off at
your field instead of a MSL setting. Again, I'm only interested in the
possibility, not the right and wrongs involved with doing this.
Thanks,
Dudley Henriques
International Fighter Pilots Fellowship
Commercial Pilot/ CFI Retired
For personal email, please replace
the z's with e's.
dhenriquesATzarthlinkDOTnzt



I think AAL was the last major to set QFE for takeoff and landings. They
special ordered altimeters that would handle Mexico City.

--
Ron

Normally you wouldn't. The whole world uses MSL! Why the Brits have a QFE as
an option is a big mystery to most of us in the US, but apparently they have
it as an option for pattern and VERY local work.
Personally, I would never use it. I have zeroed my altimeter for low
altitude demonstration aerobatics, but I'd never recommend that pilots use a
0 set for any other purpose...and only under special circumstances with
aerobatics.
Dudley
Dudley
"Newps" wrote in message
news:Oqr3c.92126$PR3.1462720@attbi_s03...


Dudley Henriques wrote:

Well, not really. If you can get the actual station pressure, (not the
altimeter setting for the station reduced to sea level ) and the airport
elevation is within the Kollsman limits, the altimeter should read 0 on
the
ground after landing. This is the definition as I understand it, for the
QFE
setting.
Dudley

OK then what's the point? Why would you want the altimeter to read zero
for normal flying?

Newps wrote:

OK then what's the point? Why would you want the altimeter to read zero
for normal flying?

If you can set the altimeter such that it reads 0 on the field, you can maintain
pattern altitude without having to do any arithmetic and without looking up the
field elevation. Of course, someone's gonna have to tell you the pressure at the
field.

George Patterson
Battle, n; A method of untying with the teeth a political knot that would
not yield to the tongue.

I wonder if having the extra raw data QFE monitor by the FO on approach was
worth the cost of retrofitting the airplanes? I understand in the end they
crap canned the idea anyway.
Dudley
"Ron Parsons" wrote in message
...
In article et,
"Dudley Henriques" wrote:

Hey, you mountain types out there :-) I'm doing some research on a safety
issue and need your help . I need a post from someone flying out of
Colorado
somewhere, preferably Telluride or a field very close to Telluride. I
need
as close to the highest elevation in the U.S. as I can get.
I'm not dealing with this issue in the context of right or wrong as it
pertains to mountain flying. I need to know if the Kollsman window in
your
altimeters has a wide enough range to allow you, IF YOU DESIRED TO DO SO,
to
set your altimeters to 0 elevation on a consistent basis before take off
at
your field instead of a MSL setting. Again, I'm only interested in the
possibility, not the right and wrongs involved with doing this.
Thanks,
Dudley Henriques
International Fighter Pilots Fellowship
Commercial Pilot/ CFI Retired
For personal email, please replace
the z's with e's.
dhenriquesATzarthlinkDOTnzt



I think AAL was the last major to set QFE for takeoff and landings. They
special ordered altimeters that would handle Mexico City.

--
Ron

Dudley Henriques wrote:

It's amazing that the governing agencies who write this stuff just assume
that sooner or later all of us will just figure out that only airports under
3K feet are eligible for the QFE option. Interesting!!!

If the Feds had to explain everything in the AIM, it would be the size of the
Encyclopedia Brittanica.

George Patterson
Battle, n; A method of untying with the teeth a political knot that would
not yield to the tongue.

Stefan wrote:

Don't you have this backwards? Shouldn't it read: Just because QFE isn't
common in the USA, the manufactorers assume that it's not common
elsewhere either, and sell unsuitable instruments?

It's not unsuitable if it does the job, and it appears that the Kollsman range
is quite adequate for those areas in which QFE is the norm. It is also the case
that the altimeter design predates the regulations by about 70 years, so it's
not backwards at all.

George Patterson
Battle, n; A method of untying with the teeth a political knot that would
not yield to the tongue.

"G.R. Patterson III" wrote in message
...


Dudley Henriques wrote:

It's amazing that the governing agencies who write this stuff just
assume
that sooner or later all of us will just figure out that only airports
under
3K feet are eligible for the QFE option. Interesting!!!

If the Feds had to explain everything in the AIM, it would be the size of
the
Encyclopedia Brittanica.

EVERYTHING!!!! Hell George...I'd be happy if they only explained ONE
thing!!! :-))))
Dudley