Your Altimeter Lies

The instruments in our so-called "steam-gauge" panels are marvels of ingenuity. A collection of springs, tubing, gears, bellows, shafts and dials, their basic design predates most of the pilots staring at them. While they have, for the most part, been rendered obsolete by the latest microelectronics and air-data computers, they still work as advertised. Well, pretty much. The fact is our faithful mechanical instruments are regularly susceptible to certain errors. Too, they can fall victim to not-so-regular problems, mostly brought about through neglect or damage. The good news is many of these errors are predictable, if we take the time to understand how the instruments work and how the errors may manifest themselves.

Key Takeaways:

• Mechanical altimeters, while ingenious, are susceptible to various inherent errors (e.g., mechanical, hysteresis, installation) and require understanding for flight safety.
• Altimeter accuracy relies heavily on correct pilot input of local barometric settings and is significantly influenced by environmental factors such as changes in atmospheric pressure and temperature.
• Regular maintenance, mandatory IFR checks, and thorough pre-flight verification are crucial to minimize altimeter errors and ensure accurate altitude readings, thereby enhancing flight safety.

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