This is a TWA training film from 1964. I sat through many of these old films during training. One of the things that made TWA training so good was the fact that all the crew members were trained to fly the same. It did not matter who you flew with the procedures were identical.

http://i.imgur.com/JBYeTCu.png

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mQlRJYhOwzg&sns=em

As you watch the old film - which was made in the old TWA training center at 1307 Baltimore in Kansas City, MO - you might wonder why the pilots set the altimeters the way they did.

Any guesses?

Lou

Lou,
Thanks for the post. I very much enjoyed the video. As to the altimeter setting, I'll have to watch again to figure out why the altimeter was set the way it was ( unless you want to tell us now).  Wouldn't you normally get the current altimeter before transition altitude and use that value while descending through 18,000? Seems they got the current alt. late in the approach.
The 707 and 727 are still my favorite passenger jet AC of all time. Thanks again.

Cheers,
Brian

LOU wrote on Mar 10^th, 2015 at 6:30pm:

As you watch the old film - which was made in the old TWA training center at 1307 Baltimore in Kansas City, MO - you might wonder why the pilots set the altimeters the way they did. Any guesses?

To make sure that the changes are working correctly and the needles are not sticking?

The reason the altimeter is set the way it was in the old training film was to eliminate any slack in the linkage. You would go below the current setting by a small amount, then slowly come up to the current setting.

http://i.imgur.com/vEcmeP1.png

Another interesting piece of trivia is that each barometric altimeter also had a thumper built into the rear of the instrument called an altimeter vibrator. The idea was that the vibrator would prevent the indicator from sticking.

http://i.imgur.com/mLEwG7Y.png

Here is a screen capture from the CS 757 overhead panel.
The 707 panel was too worn out to read.

Lou

LOU wrote on Mar 11^th, 2015 at 5:01pm:

The reason the altimeter is set the way it was in the old training film was to eliminate any slack in the linkage. You would go below the current setting by a small amount, then slowly come up to the current setting. Lou

That would have been hard to guess but makes total sense if you know the fine points of how the instrument works.
Don't want to hijack the thread but I've looked high and low for 707 performance data regarding EPR tables for climb. I've got EPR tables for T/O and cruise, but can't seem to find EPR for climb. Climb EPR data for the 727 is readily available but not the 707. Any help on this would be much appreciated. I even emailed Boeing. They referred me back to some generic 707 description site of theirs. Not what I'm looking for. You're my last hope.

Cheers
Brian

and now back to the topic.

BrianG wrote on Mar 12^th, 2015 at 1:25am:

LOU wrote on Mar 11th, 2015 at 5:01pm: The reason the altimeter is set the way it was in the old training film was to eliminate any slack in the linkage. You would go below the current setting by a small amount, then slowly come up to the current setting. Lou That would have been hard to guess but makes total sense if you know the fine points of how the instrument works.

I would never have come up with the correct answer either, but I took my best shot. ;D


BrianG wrote on Mar 12^th, 2015 at 1:25am:

Don't want to hijack the thread but I've looked high and low for 707 performance data regarding EPR tables for climb. I've got EPR tables for T/O and cruise, but can't seem to find EPR for climb. Climb EPR data for the 727 is readily available but not the 707. Any help on this would be much appreciated. I even emailed Boeing. They referred me back to some generic 707 description site of theirs. Not what I'm looking for. You're my last hope. Cheers Brian and now back to the topic.

And if Lou answers the question, it will still be off topic! ;D

Sorry Brian, I couldn't resist the opportunity to say that. It's my warped sense of humour. :D ;)

Hey Mark,
You're absolutely right. I thought about that before I posted that last remark. Good catch on your part. ;)