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QFE used to be broadcast by the UK military but always in conjunction with QNH, so it was a pilots choice which he used.

In PAR approaches and now ILS where azimuth and glidepath are designed to be clear of all obstacles, I don't see a problem with QFE. There is potentially room for error using QNH in that situation by pilots getting their elevation sums wrong.

In the case of a sloping runway I would also think that using touchdown QFE fairly useful

So there's no right or wrong to this, it's simply a matter of which country you did your pilot training.



I worked for Panam ops from 1979 to 1981 and the only routes that could be remotely considered Eastern bloc were IGS. This was the Internal German Service set up after the war because Lufthansa was only permitted international routes.At the time IGS consisted of 727's

The only destination that could possibly be described as Eastern Bloc being Berlin and it's associated corridor. There were terrain clearance issues but the bigger problem was accurately navigating the corridor to avoid being shot at by the Soviets.

I hope he doesn't mind me saying this but one of our skippers was called Dave Blood. A brilliant guy but I always wondered what his passengers thought when he made his broadcast

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POTR
"Only birds and fools fly and even the birds don't fly at night"

Hmmmmm....

"Good morning, this is Captain Blood speaking, the weather is fine and we're in for plain sailing today....Aaaarrrrr...now don't mind that Parrot o' mine in the cabin..he be one of us....."

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...Some say he never blinks, and that he roams around the woods at night foraging for Merlin parts...

I think the flights were in Yugoslavia or Bulgaria, I can't remember for sure, but I also think they were charter flights, not normal routes. I wish I could remember who it was that told me the stories as you probably knew/know him. The main guy I got stories from was an F/O for his time in Germany, but when I met him he was a 777 Captain for United.

As for QFE, if you're flying an approach and don't have a radio altimeter or there's a chance it'll malfunction (read: Soviet... not really, but that was the joke) and you're flying in bad weather, using QFE makes sense for the final approach since it'll give you your altitudes for DH and touchdown just like a radio altimeter.

Also, most of the aero acts I know over here and most airshows use "hillbilly QFE" for the show. What I mean by that is the pilot(s) involved set their altimeters to "0" after lining up on the departure runway. When you're worried about things like not hitting your wingman and airspace deconfliction (read: CAF's AirSho with up to 100 aircraft in the air at once or the big flight at the end of Flying Legends), being able to just glance at your altimeter and know how high you are above death is a good thing.

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Pilots are human, so at times of extreme pressure even simple arithmetic can be difficult, anything that makes the workload easier has to be good IMHO.

Two basic principles KISS and 6P's

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POTR
"Only birds and fools fly and even the birds don't fly at night"

Just to add more confusion, when flying a sailplane and sticking around the field aka non-crosscountry flights we set the altimeters to QFE.

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Just as an aside, and I don't think anyone else has mentioned this, but here in the states, as setting altimeters to 0 is widely done by pilots doing airshow work (including myself ), it's worth noting that the Kollsman range restricts a 0 setting to altitudes under around 3K feet MSL.
Aerobatic pilots doing display work at higher elevations have not only the density altitude to deal with but as well their altimeter setting. Many will use the local altimeter setting and simply work the altimeter for their high and low numbers that way or set up for the next higher or lower thousand foot level and work that number as a base.

Dudley Henriques

Yep, mentioned it in my reply at the start of the second paragraph Dudley.

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I saw that, and I looked for about an hour, but I couldn't find that "hillbilly setting" on the altimeter ))))))))
D

I was also wondering about that hillbilly setting

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I'd just like to add one further thing. I was taught that each altimeter setting had a specific verbal description.

QFE-Height QNH-Altitude SAS-Flight Level......That was to avoid confusion, so that in talking about "height", everybody knew he was on the QFE.

....and er...something tells me these guys aren't "hillbillies"



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POTR
"Only birds and fools fly and even the birds don't fly at night"

Hehe, I bastardized the term from Ralph Royce. He made mention of the "Hillbilly Radio Altimeter" or "Red Neck Radio Altimeter" in briefing he had at either Airsho or Alliance a few years back.

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1) They probably actually get a QFE reading to set instead of just "finding Zero".
2) They sure look enough like Red Necks to me. Flying close formation at high speeds and maneuvering is something that usually has "Hey Y'all, Watch This" somewhere in it.

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I just remembered we had a similar thing in UK. Standard aerodrome zones topped at 3000', so it was only within the aerodrome zone that the QFE was set.

(edit)May have misremembered, I said QFE or QNH was pilot choice. Within the ATZ, I think QFE was compulsory.

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POTR
"Only birds and fools fly and even the birds don't fly at night"

Hey guys,

is it actually true, that with a license for ultralight aircraft you are allowed to fly a real Piper Cub? According to my information one can fly anything up to a weight of 750kg (1500lbs?) with this particular license. Since I am working at a small airport I have the opportunity to get such a license for about 1500 euros, which is very cheap. I'm sure you agree with me.
The reason why I'm asking is, because I thought I had seen a Piper Cub in their hangar. Not entirely sure though. I rarely get the chance of talking to these guys, since they're flying on weekends only.

Oh btw, I should probably mention, I'm in Germany.
I would so love to fly the Cub for real!! Please don't tell me I've been misinformed.


Icarus

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Check out my FSX videos here:
http://www.youtube.com/user/racefreak1976

Sorry to disappoint but i think you've been misinformed. I don't think any country permits fixed wing flying on an ultralite ticket.

eggloo , which is as easy for you as for me gives this link; http://www.dulv.de/

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POTR
"Only birds and fools fly and even the birds don't fly at night"