On Mar 10, 10:52*am, fredblair wrote:
My question had nothing to do with 'cheating'. *I am an Instructor and
I will be responsible for teaching members how to properly use these
new devices to obtain their badges. *My question was just a question
of fact: if the GPS altitude shown in the IGC file is going to be
accepted as the altitude of the flight, then why do we worry about
pressure altitude? *I thought the whole idea of approving the
'position recorders' was to eliminate the need for the more expensive
units that include a calibrated pressure sensor.

A couple of posts after this, makes a statement that we will still
need pressure altitude, since that is what is in Sporting Code 3.
Isn't the new Sporting Code going to be re-written to eliminate the
pressure altitude requirement.

The Sporting Code currently in effect through September 30, 2012 still
requires that pressure altitude evidence be provided along with GPS-
derived position data for Silver and Gold badges. If a badge flight
is to be flown using a local NAC approved "position recorder" which
does not record pressure altitude, then a barograph must also be
carried, and both the GPS flight data and the barograph trace must be
submitted for any badge legs. As of October 1, 2012, IGC flight data
from an approved position recorder containing GPS position data and
GPS altitude will be all that is required for these badge legs, no
more barograph. Again, due to concerns that during a normal summer
soaring day a gain of height measured by pressure altitude requires
climbing to a higher actual elevation, than the (more accurate) GPS
altitude measurement, an extra margin was added in an effort to
equalize things. So, as of October 1, a climb to 1100M (as measured
by GPS) will suffice for claiming Silver altitude using a GPS-only
position recorder, no need to worry about pressure altitude. 1000M
(as measured by pressure altitude) will continue to be acceptable when
using an approved flight recorder, a position recorder which records
pressure altitude, or a position record and barograph. I know this is
a bit confusing, but believe me, getting Silver and Gold badges will
be easier and cheaper from October on...

Marc