Pivotal altitude
Encyclopedia
Pivotal altitude is the altitude
for a given ground speed
at which the line of sight from the cockpit
directly parallel to the lateral axis of the aircraft will remain stationary on an object on the ground.
A rule of thumb for calculating the pivotal altitude H given the speed in knots
is
Flight level
A Flight Level is a standard nominal altitude of an aircraft, in hundreds of feet. This altitude is calculated from the International standard pressure datum of 1013.25 hPa , the average sea-level pressure, and therefore is not necessarily the same as the aircraft's true altitude either...
for a given ground speed
Ground speed
Ground speed is the speed of an aircraft relative to the ground. Information displayed to passengers through the entertainment system often gives the aircraft groundspeed rather than airspeed....
at which the line of sight from the cockpit
directly parallel to the lateral axis of the aircraft will remain stationary on an object on the ground.
A rule of thumb for calculating the pivotal altitude H given the speed in knots
is