FlightDesk Aero / Question bank / PPL · Meteorology / Flying from high to low pressure
PPL · EASA 050 · The atmosphere
Flying from high to low pressure
You set QNH 1020 hPa before take-off and fly at an indicated 3 000 ft towards an area where the QNH is 1005 hPa. You do not reset the altimeter. Ignoring temperature and using 30 ft per hPa, what is your altitude above sea level there?
Explanation
The altimeter holds you on the pressure level that is 3 000 ft above the 1020 hPa setting. Where the sea-level pressure is lower, every pressure level sits lower too, so you descend with it while the altimeter still shows 3 000 ft. From high to low, look out below. In the formula, h_ind is the indicated altitude and h_true the true altitude, in feet; QNH_set is the value on the subscale and QNH_local the QNH where you are.
Step by step
- Pressure difference: 1020 − 1005 = 15 hPa.
- In feet: 15 × 30 = 450 ft, the amount the altimeter over-reads.
- 3 000 − 450 = 2 550 ft above sea level.
Why not the other answers
- 3 450 ft puts the error the wrong way. Flying into lower pressure, the altimeter over-reads: you are lower than it shows.
- 3 000 ft assumes the altimeter still shows your altitude. It only does with the local QNH set; with 1020 hPa left on the subscale it reads 450 ft too high.
- 2 985 ft takes the 15 hPa as feet. Each hPa is about 30 ft.
Tip. Set the new QNH as soon as you get it from the flight information service or ATC. Over high ground this error can take away your whole terrain clearance.
Original questions written by FlightDesk Aero and aligned with the EASA syllabus. They are not questions from the official EASA exam bank.