Welcome Guest. Sign in or Signup

1 Answers

Pressure and how it relates to temperature

Asked by: 720 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. 

Ace Any FAA Written Test!
Actual FAA Questions / Free Lifetime Updates
The best explanations in the business
Fast, efficient study.
Pass Your Checkride With Confidence!
FAA Practical Test prep that reflects actual checkrides.
Any checkride: Airplane, Helicopter, Glider, etc.
Written and maintained by actual pilot examiners and master CFIs.
The World's Most Trusted eLogbook
Be Organized, Current, Professional, and Safe.
Highly customizable - for student pilots through pros.
Free Transition Service for users of other eLogs.
Our sincere thanks to pilots such as yourself who support AskACFI while helping themselves by using the awesome PC, Mac, iPhone/iPad, and Android aviation apps of our sponsors.

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).

    0 Votes Thumb up 0 Votes Thumb down 0 Votes


The following terms have been auto-detected the question above and any answers or discussion provided. Click on a term to see its definition from the Dauntless Aviation JargonBuster Glossary.

Answer Question

Our sincere thanks to all who contribute constructively to this forum in answering flight training questions. If you are a flight instructor or represent a flight school / FBO offering flight instruction, you are welcome to include links to your site and related contact information as it pertains to offering local flight instruction in a specific geographic area. Additionally, direct links to FAA and related official government sources of information are welcome. However we thank you for your understanding that links to other sites or text that may be construed as explicit or implicit advertising of other business, sites, or goods/services are not permitted even if such links nominally are relevant to the question asked.