{"id":16703,"date":"2018-05-15T10:05:46","date_gmt":"2018-05-15T14:05:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hartzellprop.com\/?p=16703"},"modified":"2018-05-31T09:29:00","modified_gmt":"2018-05-31T13:29:00","slug":"altitude-measured-aviation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hartzellprop.com\/altitude-measured-aviation\/","title":{"rendered":"How is Altitude Measured in Aviation?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Altitude is most generally defined as the vertical distance between a reference point and an object. In aviation, however, measuring altitude is far more complicated. When discussing altitude as it applies to aviation, it\u2019s important to be clear about which kind of altitude you\u2019re talking about. Follow this guide to learn more about the five different types of altitude used in aviation<\/a> and how they\u2019re measured.<\/p>\n

Indicated Altitude<\/strong><\/p>\n

The easiest type of altitude to remember is indicated altitude, which refers to the measurement indicated on the altimeter in your aircraft. An altimeter measures the atmospheric pressure at the aircraft\u2019s flight altitude and then compares it to the pressure value set by the pilot. Failing to correct for pressure changes in flight will affect the accuracy of the altimeter reading.<\/p>\n

True Altitude<\/strong><\/p>\n

True altitude refers to the height of an aircraft above sea level. This type of altitude is measured in terms of \u201cfeet above mean sea level,\u201d using an average sea level since actual sea level is variable. Area forecasts commonly use true altitude to report cloud height and VFR sectional charts express terrain figures and clearance altitudes in terms of feet above mean sea level.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Pressure Altitude<\/strong><\/p>\n

Pressure altitude is a measurement of the aircraft\u2019s altitude above a standard datum plane, and is indicated by setting the altimeter to 29.92. For pilots flying at an altitude above 18,000 feet, setting the altimeter to 29.92 is required to establish a standard for the aircraft. Pressure altitude is also used in many flight planning calculations, including determining takeoff and landing distances.<\/p>\n

Density Altitude<\/strong><\/p>\n

Pilots who fly in warmer climates and\/or in high elevations know that density altitude<\/a> plays an important role in an aircraft\u2019s performance. Density altitude is pressure altitude corrected for nonstandard temperature conditions, which include pressure, humidity, and temperature that\u2019s outside the norm. Density altitude decreases in colder weather when the air is more dense, helping to give the aircraft\u2019s wings more lift and enabling the engine to generate more power. In warmer weather or higher elevations, air density decreases. This causes density altitude to increase and may impair the aircraft\u2019s performance. Air that is less dense may result in reduced propeller efficiency and as a result, reduced thrust. Pilots should exercise caution when preflight planning on hot and humid days and adjust for decreased density altitude to avoid accidents during takeoff or landing.<\/p>\n

Absolute Altitude <\/strong><\/p>\n

Absolute altitude refers to the actual distance the aircraft is flying in relation to the ground and is expressed in \u201cfeet above ground level.\u201d This type of altitude is generally determined using a radar altimeter, which measures how long it takes radar signals to reach the ground and reflect up to the plane. While absolute altitude is primarily used by large aircraft and not smaller aircraft, most weather reports express cloud cover in feet above ground level.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Altitude is most generally defined as the vertical distance between a reference point and an object. In aviation, however, measuring altitude is far more complicated. When discussing altitude as it applies to aviation, it\u2019s important to be clear about which kind of altitude you\u2019re talking about. Follow this guide to learn more about the five […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":726,"featured_media":16222,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[142,191,93,162,227,129],"class_list":["post-16703","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog","tag-flying","tag-flying-tips","tag-pilots","tag-propellers","tag-safe-flying","tag-summer-flying"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nHow is Altitude Measured in Aviation? - Hartzell Propeller<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Have you ever wondered how altitude is measured in aviation? Follow our guide to learn about the five types of altitude in aviation.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/hartzellprop.com\/altitude-measured-aviation\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How is Altitude Measured in Aviation? - Hartzell Propeller\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Have you ever wondered how altitude is measured in aviation? Follow our guide to learn about the five types of altitude in aviation.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/hartzellprop.com\/altitude-measured-aviation\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Hartzell Propeller\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/HartzellProp\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2018-05-15T14:05:46+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2018-05-31T13:29:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/hartzellprop.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/GettyImages-820943180.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2123\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1412\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Kern Patton\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@HartzellProp\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@HartzellProp\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Kern Patton\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hartzellprop.com\\\/altitude-measured-aviation\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hartzellprop.com\\\/altitude-measured-aviation\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Kern Patton\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hartzellprop.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/deef57ef7cfc97dda2ae76f3caa1cd05\"},\"headline\":\"How is Altitude Measured in Aviation?\",\"datePublished\":\"2018-05-15T14:05:46+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2018-05-31T13:29:00+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hartzellprop.com\\\/altitude-measured-aviation\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":487,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hartzellprop.com\\\/altitude-measured-aviation\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hartzellprop.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/GettyImages-820943180.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"flying\",\"flying tips\",\"pilots\",\"propellers\",\"safe flying\",\"summer flying\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Blog\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hartzellprop.com\\\/altitude-measured-aviation\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hartzellprop.com\\\/altitude-measured-aviation\\\/\",\"name\":\"How is Altitude Measured in Aviation? - Hartzell Propeller\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hartzellprop.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hartzellprop.com\\\/altitude-measured-aviation\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hartzellprop.com\\\/altitude-measured-aviation\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hartzellprop.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/GettyImages-820943180.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2018-05-15T14:05:46+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2018-05-31T13:29:00+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hartzellprop.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/deef57ef7cfc97dda2ae76f3caa1cd05\"},\"description\":\"Have you ever wondered how altitude is measured in aviation? Follow our guide to learn about the five types of altitude in aviation.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hartzellprop.com\\\/altitude-measured-aviation\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/hartzellprop.com\\\/altitude-measured-aviation\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hartzellprop.com\\\/altitude-measured-aviation\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hartzellprop.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/GettyImages-820943180.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hartzellprop.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/GettyImages-820943180.jpg\",\"width\":2123,\"height\":1412,\"caption\":\"Chugach Mountain range under cloudy skies provides a majestic back drop to a seaplane as it prepares to land at Lake Hood in Anchorage, Alaska.\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hartzellprop.com\\\/altitude-measured-aviation\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hartzellprop.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"How is Altitude Measured in Aviation?\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hartzellprop.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hartzellprop.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"Hartzell Propeller\",\"description\":\"Airplane Propeller and Aircraft Propeller Systems\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hartzellprop.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hartzellprop.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/deef57ef7cfc97dda2ae76f3caa1cd05\",\"name\":\"Kern Patton\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/61af25dd033e5c3251ab748687d5ea00077b453746a4ca59f60711b9b3b85746?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/61af25dd033e5c3251ab748687d5ea00077b453746a4ca59f60711b9b3b85746?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/61af25dd033e5c3251ab748687d5ea00077b453746a4ca59f60711b9b3b85746?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Kern Patton\"},\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hartzellprop.com\\\/author\\\/kern-patton\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"How is Altitude Measured in Aviation? - Hartzell Propeller","description":"Have you ever wondered how altitude is measured in aviation? Follow our guide to learn about the five types of altitude in aviation.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/hartzellprop.com\/altitude-measured-aviation\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"How is Altitude Measured in Aviation? - Hartzell Propeller","og_description":"Have you ever wondered how altitude is measured in aviation? Follow our guide to learn about the five types of altitude in aviation.","og_url":"https:\/\/hartzellprop.com\/altitude-measured-aviation\/","og_site_name":"Hartzell Propeller","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/HartzellProp","article_published_time":"2018-05-15T14:05:46+00:00","article_modified_time":"2018-05-31T13:29:00+00:00","og_image":[{"width":2123,"height":1412,"url":"https:\/\/hartzellprop.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/GettyImages-820943180.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Kern Patton","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@HartzellProp","twitter_site":"@HartzellProp","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Kern Patton","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/hartzellprop.com\/altitude-measured-aviation\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/hartzellprop.com\/altitude-measured-aviation\/"},"author":{"name":"Kern Patton","@id":"https:\/\/hartzellprop.com\/#\/schema\/person\/deef57ef7cfc97dda2ae76f3caa1cd05"},"headline":"How is Altitude Measured in Aviation?","datePublished":"2018-05-15T14:05:46+00:00","dateModified":"2018-05-31T13:29:00+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/hartzellprop.com\/altitude-measured-aviation\/"},"wordCount":487,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/hartzellprop.com\/altitude-measured-aviation\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/hartzellprop.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/GettyImages-820943180.jpg","keywords":["flying","flying tips","pilots","propellers","safe flying","summer flying"],"articleSection":["Blog"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/hartzellprop.com\/altitude-measured-aviation\/","url":"https:\/\/hartzellprop.com\/altitude-measured-aviation\/","name":"How is Altitude Measured in Aviation? - Hartzell Propeller","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/hartzellprop.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/hartzellprop.com\/altitude-measured-aviation\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/hartzellprop.com\/altitude-measured-aviation\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/hartzellprop.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/GettyImages-820943180.jpg","datePublished":"2018-05-15T14:05:46+00:00","dateModified":"2018-05-31T13:29:00+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/hartzellprop.com\/#\/schema\/person\/deef57ef7cfc97dda2ae76f3caa1cd05"},"description":"Have you ever wondered how altitude is measured in aviation? Follow our guide to learn about the five types of altitude in aviation.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/hartzellprop.com\/altitude-measured-aviation\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/hartzellprop.com\/altitude-measured-aviation\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/hartzellprop.com\/altitude-measured-aviation\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/hartzellprop.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/GettyImages-820943180.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/hartzellprop.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/GettyImages-820943180.jpg","width":2123,"height":1412,"caption":"Chugach Mountain range under cloudy skies provides a majestic back drop to a seaplane as it prepares to land at Lake Hood in Anchorage, Alaska."},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/hartzellprop.com\/altitude-measured-aviation\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/hartzellprop.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"How is Altitude Measured in Aviation?"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/hartzellprop.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/hartzellprop.com\/","name":"Hartzell Propeller","description":"Airplane Propeller and Aircraft Propeller Systems","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/hartzellprop.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/hartzellprop.com\/#\/schema\/person\/deef57ef7cfc97dda2ae76f3caa1cd05","name":"Kern Patton","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/61af25dd033e5c3251ab748687d5ea00077b453746a4ca59f60711b9b3b85746?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/61af25dd033e5c3251ab748687d5ea00077b453746a4ca59f60711b9b3b85746?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/61af25dd033e5c3251ab748687d5ea00077b453746a4ca59f60711b9b3b85746?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Kern Patton"},"url":"https:\/\/hartzellprop.com\/author\/kern-patton\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hartzellprop.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16703","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hartzellprop.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hartzellprop.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hartzellprop.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/726"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hartzellprop.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16703"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/hartzellprop.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16703\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":16729,"href":"https:\/\/hartzellprop.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16703\/revisions\/16729"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hartzellprop.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/16222"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hartzellprop.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16703"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hartzellprop.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16703"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hartzellprop.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16703"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}