Archived from groups: alt.games.microsoft.flight-sim (
More info?)
David wrote:
> When fling my sim and request landing ,the ATC gives out an altatude
> of 2990.this is also done in othere instances.where can I find the
> diffrent ATC codes or language that isn't covered in the flight
> school with my FS2004.thanks
The altimeter in an aircraft is effectively a pressure gauge, but instead of
being calibrated in normal pressure units, it is calibrated to show height
above mean sea level, or altitude (because pressure reduces with altitude).
In order for it to read correctly though, the altimeter needs to know what
the pressure at sea level is for your current location.
Now what ATC is actually saying is "altimeter 2990" or some other number.
That means set your altimeter to 29.90 (or whatever number is given) which
will then cause your altimeter to read the correct height above mean sea
level at the aerodrome location (note, this is NOT the height above the
aerodrome!). In other words, if you are sitting on the ground at the
aerodrome in question and your altitude is set to the pressure setting
quoted by ATC, your height readingon your altimeter is the elevation of the
aerodrome above sea level.
Hope that makes sense! If not, look in the Learning Center under "altimeter
settings".
Tim
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