PLT167: Altimeter Characteristics
What code PLT167 covers, why the FAA tests it, and how to study Altimeter Characteristics before your checkride.
Recall altimeters - characteristics / accuracy
What this means for your checkride
A pressure altimeter is an aneroid instrument that senses static pressure and displays altitude, assuming standard conditions. Its accuracy is affected by nonstandard temperature and pressure, instrument error, and static-source blockage, and its error limits are confirmed during the required inspections.
Understanding what the altimeter really measures and its errors is basic to safe altitude control, so the FAA tests its characteristics and accuracy.
Pilots trust the altimeter as exact. It assumes standard temperature, so in cold air it reads higher than true altitude, a real terrain hazard over high ground.
Where to study it
A code on your test report is an area of deficiency. An authorized instructor must review it with you and endorse that review before you take the practical test, and the examiner may revisit it during the oral. Study it until you can explain it out loud, not just recognize the answer.