Hi Joe,

I imagine that this will sound like I'm just trying to sell you an expensive
(but very nice) Winter altimeter, but... You may want to consider how the
altimeter will affect the re-sale value of the glider. As a buyer I would
shy away from gliders with non-standard altimeters and would be included to
buy a glider with a Winter altimeter - because I know it is legal and
reliable.

The low cost options do look very interesting. I'm very curious to hear how
many pilots use non-certified altimeters - and whether they are legal in
Experimental and type-certificated gliders in the USA.

Best Regards,

Paul Remde
Cumulus Soaring, Inc.

"joesimmers" wrote in message
...
I am going to build a new panel for my glider this winter and would
like to go with all small instruments.

The Altimeter is the only one that I am having trouble deciding on, I
thought I was going to need a "certified" altimeter but recently spoke
to a very reputable source and found out that a "certified" altimeter
is not required for VFR flying, so this opens my options.

I have it narrowed down to four choices listed below.


1) New Winter altimeter $900 ( A lot more than I would like to spend)

2) Used Aerosonic for $500 to $700 ( looks like a very nice
instrument, a bit heavier than the Winter)

3) UMA single pointer 20k $300 (These look very difficult to read
accuratly as the 20k is one full rotation)

4) Microtim digital altimeter from ( http://www.microtim.com/index.htm
) (This option looks very good to me, it takes up very little panel
space, easy to read, self contained long lasting battery, easy on the
wallet compared to other options)


I found a post by Mike Borgelt where he stated he was using a Microtim
altimeter and he reccomended it.

Does anyone know of any good reason not to install a Microtim?

Thanks for any advice,
Joe Simmers