Airfield Elevation

Hit shift+z a few times and it will give you 2 lines of text at the top of the screen, in that it'll have your elevation but not the airstrips.

Yes there is a simple way.

There are 3 altimeter settings, QNH, QFE and QNE which dictate what altimeter setting to use. I'll go into more detail of those if you wish, but in the real world, you can contact the ATC and ask for the QFE altimeter setting which is height above a fixed point so you descend to zero feet and field elevation is no longer applicable. Be careful you dont alter your altimeter too far out as everybody else will be using QNH. With the QFE barometer pressure entered, you have an accurate idea of how high you are.

😉

Jon, That sounds like the ticket. Can the QFE setting only be advised by ATC or can it be calculated?

Jamie4590 wrote:

Jon, That sounds like the ticket. Can the QFE setting only be advised by ATC or can it be calculated?

QFE is height (not altitude) above a fixed point. QFE can simply be worked out by somebody on the ground by changing the pressure reading until the altimeter reaches zero. This is the pressure reading you then give to aircraft in the traffic pattern (not to aircraft that are departing for another airfield or you'll cause crashes). This means that QFE can't really be worked out easily by an aircraft flying (accurately, that is) unless you just adjust your altimeter setting to minus the airfield elevation but it is far safer to just contact ATC and ask for the QFE.

QNH will be used in any other areas, and QNE above 3000ft in the UK.

😉

😀 Much better than mine.

Another "trick" is to not do VFR in non-VFR conditions hehe. If you're flying IFR you don't need to do the whole QFE thing, just fly the published approach observing altitudes and minimums 🙂

You may be interested in this gauge.

File Description:
FS2004 Gauge: TerraVue. This gauge contains a moving map display with a terrain elevation legend color-keyed to the FS9 map. The legend allows the elevation of terrain lying ahead of the aircraft to be taken into account. TerraVue can display the FS map in seven ranges from 4 NM to 160 NM. The Map mode also employs animation to show the proximity between the aircraft and ground in a graphical and digital display with indicators showing whether the distance is increasing or decreasing. The gauge can be switched to the Information mode which will display up to four individual pages of data that is created by you. These scrollable pages may contain checklists, airport diagrams, approach plates, strip charts, etc. Fully functional, free software to help quickly construct these pages is included along with an illustrated tutorial that demonstrates the simple copy/paste process that tailors these pages to include whatever data you wish. For panel or separate window installation with TerraVue Icon gauge. By Glenn Copeland

http://library.avsim.net/search.php?SearchTerm=terravue.zip&CatID=root&Go=Search

If you are wanting approach feedback to any strip you may be interested in this gauge.

FS2004 Gauge: Satellite Assisted Landing System, v9 (SALS). Using satellite data, this gauge provides glidepath/glideslope guidance into all runways inside the FS world. Approach heading and glideslope indicators are displayed during the landing phase in a fashion similar to those used with ILS and requires the same piloting techniques to keep the needles centered. Because SALS has the ability to guide an aircraft to both ends of a runway, every airport including grass strips and seaplane bases can be accessed with a high level of landing precision. In case of missed approaches, backcourse guidance is provided during climbout. Panel or separate window installation. Includes SALS icon gauge and Word doc with illustrated design parameters. By Glenn Copeland

http://library.avsim.net/search.php?SearchTerm=sals&CatID=fs2004gau&Go=Search