Busted Again!

[Guest crashproof]

I was just outside EDDM at 10000 when I was told to watch my altitude which should be 10000.I checked and was at 10000. QNH was 989.Again I was reminded. Checked again. Four times in all I was told to check it. He even stated the QNH which was exactly as I had it.Even my co-pilot said altimeter check twice.At the end of the flight, he also said I`d been off course. This wasn`t mentioned at the time and the only time I`d been off course was at ATC instructions.I think I`d prefer to be working in ATC!crashproof

[jd 57]

what was the transition level?

[Guest crashproof]

Well I was in Europe and down to 10000, I assumed that 10000 would be the transition level in that area. The guy gave me the QNH of 989, which is what my gauge was set to.crashproof

[Guest Scott Campbell]

On the RC controller's page, what are the TL's set to? RC knows nothing about Europe or anywhere else. It only knows what you tell it.

[Guest crashproof]

Right, I`m with you now. They`re set for 100 which I believe translates as 10000.crashproof

[Guest Scott Campbell]

Okay. If the TL is 100, then you DON'T change to QNH. You change to local pressure BELOW the TL. So even though control is telling you the pressure, ignore that unless you are flying below the TL.

[PeteP 2]

They`re set for 100 which I believe translates as 10000.crashproof,No, I'm afraid it doesn't - entering 100 actually gives you a Transition Altitude of 9000ft! The confusion is caused by the incorrect way in which the non-US system of Transition Altitudes has been implemented in RC. To get the correct changeover from altitudes to Flight Levels a small workaround is required.To get the correct input for the controller page, look up the published Transition Altitude(s) of the airfield(s) required, add 1000ft then convert this figure to FL format. For example, if you flew from Manchester (EGCC) which has a Transition Altitude of 5000ft to Amsterdam (EHAM) which has a TA of 3000ft, you would input 60 for departure and 40 for arrival. Doing this will give you the real-world procedure of altitudes (QNH) up to 5000ft and FLs from FL60 upwards on departure and FLs down to FL40 on approach with altitudes (QNH) at 3000ft and below.In your original example, if you wanted to use altitudes up to and including 10,000ft, you need to input '110' on the controller page. Pete

[Guest crashproof]

Well, you seem to be saying that there are a whole lot of new figures which I should be taking into consideration for each flight.My flying is nearly always in Europe and up to this flight, I`ve always adjusted my altimeter at 10000. I believe this is the transition altitude in Europe. I`ve made a good many flights with RC, including many to the same destination and I`ve never been corrected regarding my altitude.I remember reading in another post here, a user was told to enter 100 in the options sheet. This was for Europe. Are you now saying that this figure varies with every flight?I find this whole subject very confusing, but thanks for trying to explain it to me.crashproof

[PeteP 2]

I remember reading in another post here, a user was told to enter 100 in the options sheet. This was for Europe. Are you now saying that this figure varies with every flight?Ok, let's go back to basics. First, there is no such thing as a standard European Transition Altitude of 10,000ft or any other altitude for that matter. Each country has it's own system designed to meet local requirements and there are often variations within a country. Take the UK, for example. Here, the Transition Altitude is 3,000ft but airfields in the London and Scottish TMAs use 6000ft, Manchester TMA airfields use 5000ft and Birmingham uses 4000ft. Airfields in other countries have similar variations to account for local conditions - for example, Amsterdam, as I mentioned in my previous post, has a TA of just 3,000ft but Innsbruck (LOWI) has a TA of 11,000ft, the difference being explained by in the surrounding terrain!Well, you seem to be saying that there are a whole lot of new figures which I should be taking into consideration for each flightYes, I am but what you do about it depends on how realistic you want to be. There's nothing to stop you using 10,000ft or any other altitude as a TA in RC but, if you want to get close to real-world procedures, you'll need to set the controller page in the way I explained in my earlier post. The only thing you need to know is the TA for your departure and arrival airfields. These Transition Altitudes are published on SID, STAR and instrument approach charts. These charts for European airports are now widely available from several sources. You could try the Eurocontrol EAD site at http://www.ead.eurocontrol.int/ for real-world charts. Also, I find the various VATSIM sites a mine of information as far as charts and local procedures go. Try the VATSIM Europe site at www.vatsim-eur.org which will give you access to all the European VATSIM country sites which have chart downloads.As I've mentioned, RC will work quite happily with any TA but, if you want to try a bit of "real as it gets", then have a go at setting the correct TA using the workaround I explained earlier.Pete

[Guest Scott Campbell]

Crash,It is also good to repeat Pete's first post, that what you actually enter into RC's controller page is the TL not the TA. The good rule to use, as Pete said, is to use the TA and add 1000', then enter that as a Flight Level (100 ~= 10,000' for instance).Then when you fly, set your altimeter to 1013mb (29.92 in/hg) AT AND ABOVE THE TL, and to QNH/Local Pressure BELOW THAT FLIGHT LEVEL.In your initial post you said you have TL set to 100, so the problem you are having is that you set to QNH at FL100 (you said 10,000' which is incorrect). You should still be at 1013/29.92 at FL100 and not set to QNH until you are flying below FL100. Don't be confused by the controller telling you the local pressure. It doesn't matter what that is until you are under the TL.In the real world the TL varies with temperature and whatnot. In the FS world just use TA + 1000' for TL. For RC's purposes, set TL to whatever the chart says TA is + 1000 divided by 100. So if the chart says an airport's TA is 3000, set the TL, as Pete says, to 40. Then set your altimeter to 1013/29.92 AT AND ABOVE THAT, or local BELOW THAT (3900' for RC/FS purposes).As Pete says, you only really need to worry about each control sector's TA/TL if you want complete accuracy. Otherwise, set to whatever you want. In RC, you have only the departure and arrival airports' and general Center/Control TL to worry about, not the entire route.Does that help?

[Guest crashproof]

Well,thanks for all the feedback. I`ll keep on trying and hopefully I`ll get there in the end.crashproof