Aircraft altimeter

An aircraft altimeter shows the how high in the air the aircraft is flying. As a leader, you influence how high you and your company will perform. In a continuing series, UTDI president Greg Schinkel shares the link between flying and leadership.

Knowing your altitude is important when flying

Most aircraft are equipped with a pressure altimeter. The altimeter determines how high the aircraft is by the difference in pressure. To make an accurate reading, the current barometric pressure at ground level needs to be entered. Before takeoff the pilot of a small aircraft receives the barometric pressure for the airfield. Once this adjustment is made, the altimeter will read the actual ground elevation of the airport. As you travel cross-country, you reset the altimeter from time to time so that you get accurate readings of your actual height above the ground. This is important for clearing obstacles. Flight into terrain (the ground) is a major cause of flying accidents. For aircraft traveling above 18,000 feet, the altimeter is set at the standard pressure of 29.92 so that all aircraft traveling at higher altitudes will stay within their designated airspace. This is important when you have 1,000 feet of vertical separation of large airliners. Fun fact: Airliners travel at odd-numbered altitudes when traveling east and even numbered altitudes when heading west.

Supplemental oxygen helps you thrive at higher altitudes

A small aircraft without a pressurized cabin can fly as high as 10,000 feet in the daytime without the need for supplemental oxygen. At night, the maximum ceiling drops to 5,000 feet before oxygen is required.

In life and business it is important for the leader to reset their personal altimeter and the altimeter of the company or organization. It is also important to know when you and others might need some supplemental oxygen to thrive at these higher altitudes. In a business setting, oxygen might be in the form of additional training or coaching to sustain maximum performance.

Warning: Fly high enough to avoid crashing into the mountain range

Ask yourself, “How high are the obstacles and challenges that must be overcome?” What kind of thinking and behavior is keeping you and or your organization flying too close to the ground? On the positive side, what thinking and behavior supports the ability of the organization to climb higher? A fun fact: The highest point on earth is Mount Everest which is 8840 meters or 29,035 ft above sea level.

Organizations that hit turbulence may need to descend or climb to achieve smooth air

Every organization plateaus at times. A pilot who encounters turbulence at one altitude will ask for clearance to either climb or descend to smoother air. For some organizations, it may be necessary to descend, regroup and reengineer before climbing to higher altitudes. For other organizations smooth air can be achieved by climbing and pushing for greater performance now.

The link between attitude and altitude

You may have heard the expression, “Your attitude determines your altitude”. In an aircraft attitude describes whether the aircraft is pointing up or down, and with the right amount of power, the aircraft can reach higher altitudes with a climbing attitude.

Examples of negative thinking that keeps us close to the ground

• We tried that before and it doesn’t work
• I can’t do that
• Focus on only the risk, not the reward

Self-talk and communication that supports high altitude performance

• Let’s build on our strengths and see where it takes us
• We haven’t done it before but things have changed so let’s try again
• Imagine what things will be like when we succeed
• We won’t know unless we give it a shot
• Think of all the past successes that we achieved even though we hadn’t done it before
• Let’s figure out how to do it
• What will it take to reach the next level

Let Unique Training & Development help you and or your organization achieve high altitude performance. Check out our information or give us a call and see how we can help. (800)622-6437, (519)685-2116, info@uniquedevelopment.com.

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