Since I've only begun to use real weather(AS)recently, it's taken me until now to realise that the NG's altimeter reacts to actual barometric pressure as reported in the current METAR! So, now, when I set QNH at the gate, the altimeter reads the airport altitude MSL.I have to say I received a real surge of pleasure from making that discovery! Once again I remove my(imaginary!)hat in salute to a great aircraft.Best wishes,FrankPS I bet I'm probably the last to discover this....huh? :-)

>the NG's altimeter reacts>to actual barometric pressure as reported in the current>METAR! So, now, when I set QNH at the gate, the altimeter>reads the airport altitude MSL.Gosh.Even the evil default C172 does this.It's been in FS since... well... FS5?

"evil default C172"ROFL! :-lolBut man, the statement...

Okay, guys, I'm suitably embarassed! My excuse will have to be that I'm pretty new to flight simming(FS2004 is my first sim!), and I've not played around with weather to any great extent.Thanks for putting me straight.BR,Frank

oh Frank where you been? under a rock?:-lol

Actually yes, it has been like this for a long time... and I just thought I would share a real-world story:Off course real world altimeters in real world Cessna 172s react to the pressure at the location. Once I was flying in California's Central Valley on a very stable, smooth day. The plane was in cruise, perfectly trimmed at 6,500 feet. Then I noticed it climbed slightly (maybe 25-50 feet) and I though ... hm, why is it doing that? Guess what -> the next controller on Norcal Approach gave me a higher altimeter setting, and when I reset the altimeter then the altitude came right back to 6,500.I was extactic to see that the plane actually picked up a pressure change! Now this can only happen on a very stable air day, but makes you wonder: that thin, transperent stuff that rocks you about on a turbulent day can be eerily tranquil some times.Later,- Neeraj

>oh Frank where you been? under a rock?>>:-lolSOme rocks are nice -- especially the red crystal ones that have a nice element of prysm in them. One day I hope to have a crystal of some sort with me in the flight deck of a real aircraft.

>controller on Norcal Approach gave me a higher altimeter>setting, and when I reset the altimeter then the altitude came>right back to 6,500.Actually if you flew from low pressure area to higher pressure area (in terms of altimeter setting) than you would detect a loss of altitude. Michael J.WinXP-Home SP2,AMD64 3500+,Abit AV8,Radeon X800Pro,36GB Raptor,1GB PC3200,Audigy 2http://www.precisionmanuals.com/images/forum/747400.jpghttp://www.hifisim.com/images/asv_beta_member.jpg

Well.., I am an aging rocker....:-)/Frank

Thanks, Neeraj!An interesting story, and it diverts the heat off me a little :-)BR,Frank

>Actually if you flew from low pressure area to higher pressure>area (in terms of altimeter setting) than you would detect a>loss of altitude. Yes you are right, my mistake. The altimeter either crept down or the ATC gave me a new LOWER altimeter setting. But the story is still true! Thanks for the correction.- Neeraj

You know, what does bug me about MSFS is that the pressure changes are _instant_. i.e. when it changes METAR stations, the pressure difference is applied right away, instead of gradually as you would have in real life.It's kinda unnverving when you're at cruise and there's a big pressure difference between stations - your altitute suddenly goes from 37,000 to 37,500 (or whatever).There's always room to improve in simulations, I suppose. =)- Bill

Bill,With FSUIPC registered version you have the possibility to smooth out pressure changes I have it set to change 1 mb per 10 seconds and that gives me nice smooth pressure changes.Hope it helps,

Gotta love that Peter guy! =)Thanks for the tip, I'll give it a try.- Bill

>Gotta love that Peter guy! =)>>Thanks for the tip, I'll give it a try.Or ASV/AS20045 could do it for you (without you paying for FSUIPC too).Not sure on that: AS includes wind and visibility smoothing, but i am not sure it includes pressure smoothing too.