Okuzeka
Aviation vocabulary · Navigation & Instruments

Altitude

Meaning in aviation, with examples

/ˈæltɪtuːd/nounCore term

In aviation, altitude means: The vertical distance of an aircraft above mean sea level, usually given in feet. Height, by contrast, is measured from the ground or the airport.

In Turkish: irtifa, yükseklik

How it is used

Used in ATC instructions and cockpit talk: 'descend to altitude 4,000 feet', 'maintain altitude', 'cruising altitude'. Higher up, flight levels are used instead.

Example sentences

  1. Fastair 345, descend to altitude 4,000 feet, QNH 1015.

  2. We lost about 300 feet of altitude in the turbulence.

Common collocations

  • cruising altitude
  • maintain altitude
  • altitude restriction
  • gain altitude
  • lose altitude
  • flight levelA cruising level used above the transition altitude, measured with the standard pressure setting of 1013 hPa and given in hundreds of feet: FL350 is about 35,000 feet.
  • QNHThe pressure setting that makes an altimeter show altitude above mean sea level. With QNH set, an altimeter on the ground shows the airport's elevation.
  • climbTo gain height. In aviation the word also names the phase of flight between takeoff and cruise, when the aircraft goes up to its cruising level.
  • descentThe phase of flight in which an aircraft leaves its cruising level and goes down towards the destination before the approach begins.
  • headingThe direction in which the nose of an aircraft is pointing, given in degrees from 001 to 360 and usually measured from magnetic north.

More terms: Navigation & Instruments

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