QFE approach in Almaty..help
Hi,
I flew into Almaty last week and have a question regarding the altitudes while conducting the approach. The ATIS reported a QFE of 933. Yes, 933...not 993. I triple checked the reading and even asked ATC for confirmation. Of course, I cannot dial my altimeter down to this number.
My equipment is not that sophisticated but it allows me to put my altimeter into metric mode and read meters. I have flown in and out of Moscow several times and I usually put the given QFE in the window and fly the meters requested, i.e. maintain 500 meters. No big deal. I guess this always worked since I was given a QFE that I could dial into my altimeter.
But last week in Almaty really got my attention. The controller asked if I wanted a QFE or QNH approach. I first said QFE...until I realized that I could not simply dial in the 933 setting. So, I then asked for the QNH approach. He gave me a manageable QNH and then told me to descend to a specified number of meters...maybe 600 meters or something. Normally, meters and QNH should not go together...but there was no other choice. I did no conversion and trusted the controller was reading an accurate QNH setting.
Can somebody with some experience in this area please be so kind as to lend some advice? I have read through several posts, but many say to simply put in the QFE and fly the meters requested...fine this works great in Moscow..no prob, but in Almaty it was a different story. A 933 altimeter setting doesn't work.
Thank you