Altimeters are important navigation instruments for aircraft and spacecraft pilots who monitor their height above the Earth's surface. Skydivers and mountaineers also use altimeters to pinpoint their location in the sky or on the ground. The most common types of altimeters are barometric.

What are the two most common types of altimeter used?

The two main types are the pressure altimeter, or aneroid barometer, which approximates altitude above sea level by measuring atmospheric pressure, and the radio altimeter, which measures absolute altitude (distance above land or water) based on the time required for a radio wave signal to travel from an airplane, a ...

What is an altimeter write its two uses?

A radar altimeter measures altitude more directly, using the time taken for a radio signal to reflect from the surface back to the aircraft. ... The radar altimeter is used to measure height above ground level during landing in commercial and military aircraft.