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In ISA temperature conditions the altimeter will read the height above the airfield/runway in the vicinity of the airfield. SPS/STD - 'Standard Pressure Setting' or just 'Standard' refers to the altimeter being set to the standard pressure of 1013.25 hPa. It is the setting that causes an altimeter to read the aircraft's flight level (FL).
Radar altimeter technology is also used in terrain-following radar allowing combat aircraft to fly at very low height above the terrain. After extensive research and experimentation, it has been shown that "phase radio-altimeters" are most suitable for ground effect vehicles , as compared to laser, isotropic or ultrasonic altimeters.
The altimeter setting used is the ISA sea level pressure of 1013 hPa or 29.92 inHg. The actual surface pressure will vary from this at different locations and times. Therefore, by using a standard pressure setting, every aircraft has the same altimeter setting, and vertical clearance can be maintained during cruise flight. [1]
Diagram showing the internal components of the sensitive aircraft altimeter. In aviation terminology, the regional or local air pressure at mean sea level (MSL) is called the QNH or "altimeter setting", and the pressure that will calibrate the altimeter to show the height above ground at a given airfield is called the QFE of the field. An ...
The system monitors an aircraft's height above ground as determined by a radar altimeter. A computer then keeps track of these readings, calculates trends, and will warn the flight crew with visual and audio messages if the aircraft is in certain defined flying configurations ("modes"). The modes are:
The altimeter is adjustable for local barometric pressure which must be set correctly to obtain accurate altitude readings, usually in either feet or meters. As the aircraft ascends, the capsules expand and the static pressure drops, causing the altimeter to indicate a higher altitude. The opposite effect occurs when descending.
The altimeter, which is usually a barometer calibrated in units of distance instead of atmospheric pressure, can therefore be set in such a way as to indicate the height of the aircraft above ground. This is done by communicating with the control tower of the airport (to get the current surface pressure) and setting the altimeter so as to read ...
Altimeter setting is calculated based on barometric pressure, site elevation, sensor elevation and - optionally - air temperature. Altimeter setting is reported in inches of mercury (in steps of 0.01 inHg) or whole hectopascals, rounded down. ASOS heated tipping bucket precipitation gauge