User Guide

Learning To Fly with Rod Machado

Reading the AltimeterReading the Altimeter

Reading the Altimeter

Reading the altimeter is very similar to reading a watch. I say this with

caution knowing that some readers have been raised on digital watches and

no longer know what it means when Mickey’s little hand is on the 3 and his

big hand is on the 12. Some may not even know which way Mickey’s hands used to

turn.

Figure 6 shows a typical altimeter found in most airplanes. It has three hands,

which is how many you’ll wish you had sometimes when things get busy in the cockpit.

The shortest hand points to numbers representing the airplane’s height in tens of

thousands of feet. The medium, thicker hand represents altitude in thousands of

feet. And the long, thin hand represents the airplane’s altitude in hundreds of

feet.

The easiest way to read an altimeter is to read it just like you would read a clock.

For instance, if Altimeter A in Figure 6 were a clock, what time would it read? Yes,

it would read 3 o’clock. Since Altimeter A isn’t a clock, it shows an altitude of

3,000 feet. The long (hundreds) hand points to zero hundred feet, and the medium

(thousands) hand points to 3,000 feet.

If Altimeter B were a clock, what time would it say? It would read 3:30, or half

past 3 o’clock. As an altimeter it reads half past three thousand or 3,500 feet. The

long (hundreds) hand points to 500 feet and the medium (thousands) hand points

between 3,000 and 4,000 feet. The altitude is 500 feet past 3,000 feet (3,500

feet).Not too tough, is it?

Try reading Altimeter C like a clock. What time is it? Yes, it looks like it’s 3:00,

but take a closer look at the very short (ten thousands) hand. This hand points a

little past a value of 1, meaning you need to add 10,000 feet onto the value shown

by the altimeter’s medium and long hand. Altimeter C indicates an altitude of 13,000

feet.

Figure 6

B C