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Pressure and how it relates to temperature

Asked by: 758 views , ,
Private Pilot

Hello.

I came across a question that says what are the limitations of the altimeter.

 

answer. On warm days pressure levels are raised and your actual altitude will be higher than indicated.

Can someone explain this to me? 

I have an idea but I want to be sure. because the altimeter is just really sensing pressure  but that pressure is affected by temp and the altimeter setting you placed into the altimeter. 

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1 Answers

  1. Best Answer


    Russ Roslewski on Jul 06, 2023

    The diagram in the Instrument Flying Handbook, Figure 5-6 helped me understand it, at least to the level that it mattered for a pilot.

    Wish I could just post a screenshot here, but here’s a link to just that figure:
    https://photos.app.goo.gl/JouQiXS1h1x6Ftrm6

    Obviously the picture is exaggerated, but high-vs-low temperature can most definitely cause a difference of several hundred feet in your true altitude.

    I recommend reading the paragraphs surrounding that figure in the IFH as well.

    As an aside, in my job we fly “true” altitudes routinely. At roughly 1500 AGL, during the summer we almost always have to come down about 100-200 feet to get the altitude we want. In other words, if we need to be flying at 2000 MSL (true), we will first fly to 2000 MSL (indicated), check our true altitude, see it’s too high, and usually have to come down to somewhere around 1800 – 1900 MSL (indicated) to make it equal 2000 (true).

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