Transition Altitude

[Fokker-Jock]

After 11 years since my first solo-flight, I was asked the other day a question I couldn't answer. Being a proffessional pilot and previously a flight-instructor, I was amazed that the question hadn't occured to me before. So please, can someone answer this question with 100% certainty ;

What are the rules and procedures for determining Transition altitude around an airport ?

I though about surrounding terrain, but that lead me nowwhere as MSA sometimes is higher than TA.

It's not fixed either, at least not in europe as it is in the US. In Norway where I resides we have all from 3000' to 7000'
In Tromsø (northern norway) MSA is 7900' if I'm not too wrong, and TA 6000'. Leveloff altitude in the SID is FL70. Please take these numbers with a truckload of salt, what I do remember from flying there was that when following an SID, one had a climb limitation streching above TA given in feet, and it was therefore not possible to set QNE-settings at TA if flown correctly.

So what are the procedures for determining TA?

Anyone ?

[Captain Stable]

TA is not determined by anything other than regulation. It is shown on plates, and does not bear any relation to MSA or lowest cruising altitude, or QNH or anything else.

[gorky]

if nothing on app charts it s 5000 feet MSL or 3000 feet above ground.
in france!

[OzExpat]

TA is 20,000 feet in the Port Moresby FIR. As all approach procedures commence significantly below this altitude, there was no justification to show TA/TL in official approach charts. It is, of course, declared in the AIP and enshrined in the new Civil Aviation Rules that will become effective in 2004.

[Trader]

Thats a question I have thought about as well. In Canada the transistion is 18000'. Say you have a tansition at 5000' and, for the sake of arguement, the MEA is also 5000'. IF the altimeter setting is below 29.92 and you level at 5000', set 29.92 (as required) you would be BELOW the MEA of 5000'.

Unless of course the MEA in Europe takes into account the transition altitude and the use of 29.92 (and assumes altimeters are set at 29.92)

[hptaccv]

just for the sake of it:

In Germany, the transition altitude is determined by the current QNH. The requirement ist that the TA is 5000' agl, and the Transition Level at least 1000' above. For standard atmosphere it'd be FL60.

e.g.
If the current QNH ist 1000hPa this leads to a difference in actual altitude of approx. 390' (1hPa approx. 30'). If FL60 is kept as TL then the actual difference would only be 610', so the TL is raised to FL70 (giving us a spacing of 1610' between TA and TL). Vice versa, if the QNH were to read unlikely 1047hPa (equals 1020' ) the TL would be FL50.

always happy transitions...

[Fokker-Jock]

Thanks for the answers, However I believe they have raised more new questions.

Since TA is determined by regulations as some said, what are the rules then ?

And in germany or wherever, the TA is fixed not dependent on QNH as another one wrote. You are talking about Transition Level which is another different story.