12 at the top altimeters

[Dick Whittingham]

This might be a techie subject but I wonder if all the experts here could help. Has anyone seem an altimeter that reads from 0 to 12 in one revolution of the dial instead of 0 to 10?. Someone at BGS has produced a shot of Yeager's cockpit showing the top half of an altimeter reading to 12 and labelled "120,000ft". Any more of these about?

Dick

[India Four Two]

Well, there's always this one, but it's a clock :)

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c309/india42/clock_altimeter.gif

[Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaargh!]

...and you'll REALLY have problems if it starts to unwind :eek:

[India Four Two]

... nothing but the maker's name on the clock

[sycamore]

Dick, if you go to.NASA Dryden X-1 Photo Collection (http://www.dfrc.nasa.gov/Gallery/Photo/X-1), you`ll find a cockpit photo of the X-1.2 altimeters,one 3 pointer,and a log scale single pointer from 53k to 140k.Any old Tiger moth will have an original Smiths single pointer,going from 1-15 ,so they must have copied that as well!!

[SOTV]

Ready to be shot down in flames but could it have anything to do with the transition altitude in the USA being generally 12000 ft?

:confused:

[K.Whyjelly]

Ready to be shot down in flames but could it have anything to do with the transition altitude in the USA being generally 12000 ft?

:confused:


Thought it was 18000ft but standing by to be corrected

[Dick Whittingham]

But, what height is India Four Two's showing? 8250ft? 825ft? I have never seen one before and never used one and I see problems in quick interpretation. Single needle - OK, but two needles, one of which reads 4 and the other 20 at the same point on the dial? Has anyone used these?

Dick

[TheChitterneFlyer]

It's a single needle raw altimeter, indicating from 53,000 feet upwards.

[Background Noise]

I42's really is a clock - like this (http://www.flightstore.co.uk/prod/TRIN9060/)

[India Four Two]

But, what height is India Four Two's showing?BN beat me to it. It's showing 8:21:30, but of course without the third pointer, we don't know if it's AM or PM. :)

On a more serious note, and trying to get this thread back to the correct FL, Dick, can you post the original picture?

[sycamore]

Don`t you guys read-see the link in post 5....!

[India Four Two]

Sycamore, I presume you are talking about E49-00010.jpg. If so, I cannot make out the details, even on the high resolution version. I assumed (I know - it's dangerous) that Dick was referring to a better and different photo.

Perhaps you could give us a guided tour - which "clocks" are the altimeters?

[sycamore]

Sorry chaps if that seemed rude of me;I can`t get the link to work now ,but `google `dryden flight research centre`,then go `phot gallery`,then scroll for X-1, and it should have a `thumbnail` selection,and choice of resolution;clicking on that cockpit pic in hi/large should show the altimeters in top lh side of the instr.panel,as you say E49-00010.jpg; one 3-pointer normal altimeter,which,may only have gone to 50000ft,as there was nothing else capable,and then a single pointer which starts at 53k and goes to 140k .Maybe someone can down/upload it..Syc

[Background Noise]

Yes we do. But Dick asked But, what height is India Four Two's showing? 8250ft? 825ft? ie in the picture in his post. It's not an altimeter - it's a clock. It tells the time.

[Dick Whittingham]

The thread on the BGS Forum started with a post of an instrument just like India Four Two's, which I derided as being a spoof. (It was, in fact, the clock shown in India 4 2's post) Bill Chivers then directed me to a Youtube video - YouTube - Chuck Yeager Making New Records (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jlsWD1-fmIk). The title is Chuck Yeager Making New Records. There are several shots of an altimeter reading 0 to 12 in one revolution. So I have apologised and admitted that this type of altimeter does exist, but I don't like having a partial picture and would like to know the full story.

Dick

[Background Noise]

In that instrument panel there are two regular altimeters - one top left and a cabin alt bottom right - both in tens. There is another one top left which shows 140,000 as the highest marking in one sweep. (in fact it only starts at 53,000)

Also, interestingly the attitude indicator appears to have the grey at the bottom and the black at the top. (its not erected itself upside down, the figures are the right way up). I knew the russian stuff had these early on but didn't realise 'we' did too.

I42 - if you click the hi-res, once it loads you should be able to zoom in and it all becomes clear.

[aviate1138]

Just one point, the images are from a movie. Don't expect reality or accuracy in Anything in the cockpit. The altimeter would have had an electric motor whizzing the hands round and frankly I doubt if all the switch pushing has any relation to actual F-104 control. Most Directors want action/drama and care not one jot for reality.

[TheChitterneFlyer]

I gave you the answer... it's an effing altimeter; a single pointer one at that... it doesn't really indicate anything until the airplane has reached 53000 feet. Simple as that.

[Fareastdriver]

I fly with metric altimeters that have the zero at the botton and move very slowly, one third the rate of Western ones. You soon get used to it as you do with a metric HSI. 000 for North, 025 for East, 050 for South, etc.

[aviate1138]

DW said

"Bill Chivers then directed me to a Youtube video - YouTube - Chuck Yeager Making New Records. The title is Chuck Yeager Making New Records. There are several shots of an altimeter reading 0 to 12 in one revolution."

As I said previously that stuff is movie set dressing.

http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn77/aviate1138/Picture36.jpg Phony

http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn77/aviate1138/Picture37.jpg Phony

Dryden stuff is real.

http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn77/aviate1138/Picture38.jpg Real

http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn77/aviate1138/Picture39.jpg Real

[India Four Two]

aviate1138,

Thanks for posting - all is clear now.


Fareastdriver

I'm surprised your metric HSI is not calibrated in grads i.e. E 100, S 200, etc., and I expect you use the metric equivalent of the nautical mile that I stumbled on the other day - the "nautical kilometre" ;)

[Dick Whittingham]

aviate 1138

I'll second that Thanks a lot

Dick

[Capt Pit Bull]

OK... kind of a long story, but the reason the 'Right Stuff' clip was invoked back on the Bristol forums was to describe something totally different about altimeter design, namely the use of hatched areas, and it was totally coincidental that the altimeter is shown as reading up to 120k.

As mentioned above, the vast majority of that scene is historically inaccurate. In fact, the only accurate parts about it are the fact that Chuck Yeager was flying the NF-104 when it was lost, and he did get some burn injuries as a result.

But the clip does show an altimeter unwinding rapidly, a hatched area appearing as the aircraft gets low, and involves a few explosions etc that are always good for getting a students attention ;)

pb