Pressure Altitude Calculator

Pressure altitude is the altitude your aircraft feels in the standard atmosphere, and it is the starting point for nearly every performance calculation a pilot makes, from takeoff distance to true airspeed. It is found by adjusting the field elevation for the difference between the current altimeter setting and the standard sea level pressure of 29.92 inches of mercury or 1013.25 hectopascals. When the pressure is lower than standard the pressure altitude is higher than the field elevation, and vice versa. This calculator applies the widely taught approximation of about one thousand feet of pressure altitude change for each inch of mercury, or roughly twenty seven feet per hectopascal, added to the field elevation. Enter the field elevation and the altimeter setting in inches of mercury or hectopascals, and read the pressure altitude instantly. It feeds directly into density altitude work. All math runs locally in your browser for fast, private results.