Group 1

ALTIMETER
Members:
Ramirez, Lial
Destraza JR, Gildo Lee
Pitogo, David Joseph A.
 INTRODUCTION
An altimeter or an altitude meter is an instrument used to measure the altitude of an object above
a fixed level. The measurement of altitude is called altimetry, which is related to the
term bathymetry, the measurement of depth under water. The most common unit for altimeter
calibration worldwide is hectopascals (hPa), except for North America and Japan where inches of
mercury (inHg) are used.
 HISTORY OF ALTIMETER
Cailletet was the first to liquefy oxygen, hydrogen,
nitrogen, and air in 1877. He had been studying the
composition of gases given off by iron in the blast
furnace of his father's ironworks. Cailletet had an
interest in aeronautics, which led to the development of
an altimeter to measure the altitude of an airplane.

Louise Paul Cailletet

(21 September 1832 – 5 January
1913)
 HISTORY OF ALTIMETER

In 1928, a German-American inventor named Paul Kollsman

changed the world of aviation with the invention of the
world's first accurate barometric altimeter, which was also
called the “Kollsman Window.”
His altimeter converted barometric pressure into the
distance above sea level in feet. It even allowed pilots to fly
blind.
Kollsman was born in Germany, where he studied civil
engineering. He formed the Kollsman Instrument Company
in 1928 when Pioneer didn't accept his design.
He had then-Lieutenant Jimmy Doolittle conduct a test
flight with the altimeter in 1929 and was eventually able to
sell them to the United States Navy.
Paul Kollsman
Born February 22, 1900 - Died
September 26, 1982
 EARLY VERSION OF ALTIMETER

Older aircraft used a simple aneroid barometer where the

needle made less than one revolution around the face from
zero to full scale. The aneroid altimeter is calibrated to
show the pressure directly as an altitude above mean sea
level (our true altitude or elevation. the average height
above standard sea level where the atmospheric pressure
is measured in order to calibrate altitude).
Picture of an altimeter from an aircraft flown by
Lafayette Escadrille pilot Norman Prince. Picture
taken at the National Air and Space Museum's Steven
F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Virginia, USA -
Gift of Frederick H. Prince Jr. 
TYPES OF ALTIMETERS
 BAROMETRIC ALITMETER
A barometric altimeter consists of a barometric capsule linked
to a pointer by a suitable mechanical or electronic system. The
pointer moves across the dial in response to changes in
barometric pressure. The dial is calibrated in feet, or (less
commonly) in meters.
Barometric altimeters are provided with a pressure setting
control and sub-scale (Kollsman window) so that the altimeter
may be calibrated according to the appropriate pressure setting
 to indicate flight level, altitude above mean sea level or altitude
above ground level.
The altimeter provides an output to the transponder system to
enable the transmission of the flight level or altitude to the air
traffic control.
 TYPES OF ALTIMETERS.
 This design evolved to three-pointer altimeters with a primary
needle and one or more secondary needles that show the
number of revolutions, similar to a clock face. In other words,
each needle points to a different digit of the current altitude
measurement. However this design has fallen out of favor due
to the risk of misreading in stressful situations.
 The design evolved further to drum-type altimeters, the final
step in analog instrumentation, where each revolution of a
single needle accounted for 1,000 feet (300 meters), with
thousand-foot increments recorded on a numerical odometer-
type drum.

Diagram showing the face of the "three-pointer" sensitive aircraft

altimeter displaying an altitude of 10,180 ft (3,100 m).
Reference pressure of about 29.92 inHg (1013 hPa) is showing in
the Kollsman window
TYPES OF ALTIMETERS
 RADIO ALTIMETER
A radio altimeter is an airborne electronic device
capable of measuring the height of the aircraft above
terrain immediately below the aircraft.
This type of altimeter provides the distance between
the antenna and the ground directly below it, in
contrast to a barometric altimeter which provides the
distance above a defined datum, usually mean sea
level.
Radio altimeters are used in automatic navigation and
blind-landing systems.
TYPES OF ALTIMETERS
 Modern aircraft are usually equipped with
composite Electronic Flight Instrument System
 displays which combine the functions of several
conventional instruments into one.
 Presentations vary according to the manufacturer's
design philosophy. The illustration shows a typical
EFIS display in which the altitude is depicted on a
vertical tape to the right of the attitude indicator. In
the illustration, the altitude is 5100 ft. The altimeter
pressure setting (29.92 in Hz) is depicted in green
below the altitude tape.
 TYPES OF ALTIMETERS
Electronic Flight Displays (EFDs) do things a little differently.
Altimeter readings are generated by an Air Data Computer
(ADC), which uses the same static air input to measure altitude.
However, the static air never enters a diaphragm the same way
it does in a traditional altimeter. "The ADC computes the
received barometric pressure and sends a digital signal to the
PFD to display the proper altitude readout"
MAJOR COMPONENTS OF ALTIMETER

Case
A standard altimeter for general aviation comes
in a 31/8” diameter case. This is a standard-size
case for most general aviation indicators. It is
important that the altimeter case be airtight as
the case contains the static pressure input. A
leaky case will cause the indicator to give
erroneous readings. There is one pressure input
on the back of the case.
This input is the “STATIC PRESSURE” input and
is connected directly to the static port on the
aircraft, which is exposed to the outside
atmosphere.
MAJOR COMPONENTS OF ALTIMETER
Aneroid and Mechanical Linkage Assembly
An aneroid is essentially a balloon made of very thin
metal. Typical metals used for this purpose are copper
or brass. The aneroid, when first manufactured is
sealed at precisely 29.92 InHg which is the standard
atmospheric pressure for a standard day at sea level.
Because the aneroid is sealed at this specific pressure,
any change in the pressure surrounding it will cause it
to either expand or contract in a manner that is
directly proportional to the change in the surrounding
pressure.

This expansion and contraction are relayed to the

pointer via the mechanical linkage assembly. It is
important to note that the aneroid is extremely
delicate. Very fast changes in altitude can and will
damage the aneroid.

The Mechanical Linkage Assembly is comprised of a

link, several types of gears, glass jewels, pivots, a
hairspring, and a bimetal assembly.
 MAJOR COMPONENTS OF ALTIMETER

 Dial and Pointer Assembly

The dial and pointer assembly contains the
readout information for the pilot. A typical
three-pointer altimeter has, as the name
would imply, three-pointers. These are
connected to the aneroid via the gears. There
is also the main dial with major indices
numbered 0 thru 9. The 0 indices is located
at the 12 o’clock position on the dial. The
numbers 1 thru 9 are then linearly distributed
around the dial face. Each main indices is
Diagram showing the face of the "three-pointer" sensitive
subdivided by 4 minor indices, which are
aircraft altimeter displaying an altitude of 10,180 ft
(3,100 m).
equally spaced.
Reference pressure of about 29.92 inHg (1013 hPa) is
showing in the Kollsman window
MAJOR COMPONENTS OF ALTIMETER

 Barometric Dial and Setting Assembly

Behind the main dial is a sub-dial. The sub-dial
is viewable at the 3 o’clock position on the
main dial.
This opening is called the “Kollsman Window”.
The reading in the Kollsman Window is
settable via the barometric adjust knob which is
located, on modern altimeters, in the 7 o’clock
position of the instrument face.
Older altimeters will have the barometric adjust
knob located at the 6 o’clock position.
 CONNECTIONS AND NOTEABLE FEATURES
The static port is located on the side of an aircraft and
functions as a small air inlet. Its purpose is to measure
static air pressure, also known as barometric pressure.
The pressure within the static port is collected and then
utilized by the altimeter.
In situations where an aircraft has more than one static
port, there is usually one located on each side of the
fuselage. With this positioning, an average pressure can
be taken, which allows for more accurate readings in
specific flight situations. An alternative static port may
be located inside the cabin of the aircraft as a backup
for when the external static port(s) are blocked.

PITOT-STATIC INSTRUMENTS
CONNECTIONS AND NOTEABLE INFO
 How does an Altimeter work?
A standard altimeter contains a stack of sealed aneroid wafers
with an internal pressure of 29.92" Hg. These wafers expand
and contract based on the static pressure inside the casing of
the altimeter. This static air enters the casing through a tube
attached to the static ports on your airplane. The chamber is
otherwise sealed, so only static air from directly outside the
airplane enters the chamber.
"A higher static pressure presses down on the wafers and
causes them to collapse. A lower static pressure (less than
29.92" Hg) allows the wafers to expand“.
Mechanical linkages connect the movement of these wafers
to needles on the interior face of the altimeter. Compression
of the wafers translates to a decrease in altitude, while
expansion translates to an increase in altitude.
CONNECTIONS AND NOTEABLE INFO
 Every .1" Hg is equivalent to 100 feet in
altitude. So, let's say you took off with an
altimeter setting of 29.96" Hg. 150 miles
into your flight, the pressure dropped to
29.70" Hg. The altimeter would be off by
approximately 260 feet in altitude if you
didn't make any adjustments.
CONNECTIONS AND NOTEABLE INFO
 Reading The Altimeter
Reading a standard 3-hand altimeter is easy.
The long pointer measures altitude in intervals
of 10,000 feet (2 = 20,000 feet).
The short, wide pointer measures altitude in
intervals of 1,000 feet (2 = 2,000 feet).
The medium, thin pointer measures altitude in
intervals of 100 feet (2 = 200 feet).
CONNECTIONS AND NOTEABLE INFO
 Most radio altimeters can measure height
from 2,500 feet agl down, though many do
not display radio altitude until you're nearer
to the terrain. The radio altimeter is the
heart of the ground-proximity warning
system, which is required on all airliners.
The GPWS sounds its loud "pull up"
command if the radio altimeter measures a
low altitude and the airplane is not
configured for landing with gear and flaps
out.
 NOTED ERRORS
Compressibility error becomes significant at altitudes above 10,000 feet (3,000 m) and at airspeeds
greater than 200 knots (370 km/h).

Many aircraft altimeters cannot be adjusted above 31.00 “Hg. When an aircraft's altimeter
cannot be set to a pressure setting above 31.00 “Hg, the aircraft's true altitude will be higher than
the indicated altitude on the barometric altimeter.
 NOTED ERRORS
Pitot-static errors
Blocked static port
One of the most common causes of a blocked static port is airframe icing. A blocked static port
will cause the altimeter to freeze at a constant value, the altitude at which the static port became
blocked.
 NOTED ERRORS
Instrument Error
Once in flight, it is very important to obtain frequently current altimeter settings en route. If you do not reset your
altimeter when flying from an area of high pressure into an area of low pressure, your aircraft will be closer to the
surface than your altimeter indicates. An inch error in the altimeter setting equals 1,000 feet of altitude. To quote an old
saying: "GOING FROM A HIGH TO A LOW, LOOK OUT BELOW“
Inherent Altimeter Errors:
• When the aircraft is flying in air that is warmer than standard, the air is less dense and the pressure levels are
farther apart
• When the aircraft is flying at an indicated altitude of 5,000', the pressure level for that altitude is higher than
it would be in air at standard temperature, and the aircraft is higher than it would be if the air were cooler
• If the air is colder than standard, it is denser and the pressure levels are closer together
• When the aircraft is flying at an indicated altitude of 5,000', its true altitude is lower than it would be if the
air were warmer
UPGRADGES
The potential for 5G signal interference with radio altimeters in
airplanes flying into and out of U.S. airports continues to alarm
airlines around the world, as the Federal Aviation Administration
refuses to budge from what the industry calls arbitrary deadlines
for upgrades to cockpit avionics.
The FAA deferred a previous July 5 deadline for airlines to
either modify or install new radio altimeters in their airplanes
after telecommunications giants Verizon and AT&T again agreed
to suspend plans to activate 5G signals in the so-called C-Band
within two miles of affected airport runways. The temporary
reprieve for the airlines stands to end for some airplane models
—including many operated by regional airlines—at the end of
the year. Others, including commercial aircraft operated by most
major airlines, face a deadline of July 2023, when another 19
telecom companies expect to activate their 5G networks to the
full capacity authorized by the Federal Communications
Commission (FCC).