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==QNH== | ==QNH== | ||
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/QNH QNH] is a brevity code for "atmospheric pressure at sea-level". It is needed when starting or landing an aircraft, when it is important to have the [[#Indicated altitude|indicated altitude]] as accurate as possible. | |||
* | The code QNH is used in: | ||
*the pilots request for the "atmospheric pressure at sea-level". In their reply [[ATC]] will repeat QNH followed with the pressure. | |||
*automatic weather reports via [[ATIS]]. | |||
If there is neither [[ATIS]] nor [[ATC]] available you can find the QNH value in Environment=>Global Weather. | |||
QNH is | To use a barometer (i.e. your [[altimeter]]) as a tool to measure the altitude, it must be corrected for weather influences. For this task, every airfield is equipped with an accurate barometer. By combining this value with the [[#True altitude|true altitude]] of the airfield, they can calculate the barometric pressure at [[Mean Sea Level]], the QNH. It will transmit the QNH via [[ATC]] and [[ATIS]] and with that piece of information the altimeter in the aircraft can be corrected for weather influences and will display an altitude close to the [[#True altitude|true altitude]] of the aircraft. This way the [[#Indicated altitude|indicated altitude]] will be quite accurate for a ''certain area around the airfield'' as long as the ''weather remains stable''. | ||
It is vital to set the altimeter to QNH when using a height map, so that the [[#Indicated altitude|indicated altitude]] can be compared to the [[#Elevation|elevations]] on the map, which is of special importance during the approach to an airfield. There have been dramatic accidents where pilots were flying using [[#Pressure altitude|pressure altitude]] during descend instead of the [[#True altitude|true altitude]], making the height map of the area almost useless. In bad visibility mountains have not been noticed and the ground was higher as expected. | |||
==Elevation== | ==Elevation== |
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