Le niveau de vol zéro

English translation: flight level 0/standard pressure

16:56 Apr 18, 2018
French to English translations [PRO]
Aerospace / Aviation / Space / Airplane Pilot (USA English)
French term or phrase: Le niveau de vol zéro
Context: Le niveau de vol zéro est celui où la pression atmosphérique est égale à 1017,2 hpa (29,92 pouces de mercure).

This sentence is from the 'Basic altimeter setting procedures' section of the Enroute section of the Burundi AIP.

I understand that this phrase literally translates as "zero flight level", and that it is essentially the same as saying "sea level" in the context of a standard atmosphere/pressure. Also, I can see that this sentence seems to relate to the standard pressure setting of 29.92 inHg. American pilots don't use the term "zero flight level" though, and "sea level" just doesn't make sense in context. Can anyone help me put this in American pilot lingo, please? Thanks!
Stephen Levine
United States
English translation:flight level 0/standard pressure
Explanation:
You can say "flight level 0", though it gets only a couple of thousand hits:

"In this example, flight level 0 happens to be 200 feet above aerodrome elevation or 200 + 100 = 300 ft (30.5 + 61 = 91.5 m) above mean sea level due to the fact that the atmospheric pressure is greater than standard."
http://atm.airport.ir/documents/799481/2253088/Cir 026.pdf/a...

Or you could say "standard pressure":

"Aircraft operating at higher altitudes (above 18,000 feet) set their barometric altimeters to a **standard pressure** of 29.92 inHg or 1,013.2 hPa (1 hPa = 1 mbar) regardless of the actual sea level pressure, with inches of mercury used in the U.S. and Canada. The resulting altimeter readings are known as flight levels."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inch_of_mercury


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Note added at 6 hrs (2018-04-18 22:57:10 GMT)
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I think it should be 1013.2, not 1017.2. Don't want to cause any plane crashes!
Selected response from:

philgoddard
United States
Grading comment
1 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



Summary of answers provided
4 +1flight level 0/standard pressure
philgoddard


  

Answers


5 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +1
flight level 0/standard pressure


Explanation:
You can say "flight level 0", though it gets only a couple of thousand hits:

"In this example, flight level 0 happens to be 200 feet above aerodrome elevation or 200 + 100 = 300 ft (30.5 + 61 = 91.5 m) above mean sea level due to the fact that the atmospheric pressure is greater than standard."
http://atm.airport.ir/documents/799481/2253088/Cir 026.pdf/a...

Or you could say "standard pressure":

"Aircraft operating at higher altitudes (above 18,000 feet) set their barometric altimeters to a **standard pressure** of 29.92 inHg or 1,013.2 hPa (1 hPa = 1 mbar) regardless of the actual sea level pressure, with inches of mercury used in the U.S. and Canada. The resulting altimeter readings are known as flight levels."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inch_of_mercury


--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 6 hrs (2018-04-18 22:57:10 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

I think it should be 1013.2, not 1017.2. Don't want to cause any plane crashes!

philgoddard
United States
Native speaker of: English
PRO pts in category: 46
Notes to answerer
Asker: Having looked into this a bit more now, and based on the way other countries (UK) deal with this section of the AIP in English, I'd guess that the purpose of this sentence is simply to indicate that Burundi follows the normal ICAO convention of determining all flight levels based on the standard pressure (altimeter) setting. "Flight levels are measured with reference to atmospheric pressure of..." seems like a reasonable translation of the whole sentence to me. Does that make sense to you, or have I taken too many liberties? Regarding the number typo, you are correct! How lax some folks are with their proofing! You'll have to take that up with the Burundi CAA though. Don't worry, four millibars shouldn't kill anyone, and even a dumb pilot should know what the standard pressure setting is without referencing the AIP. :) Thanks for the help, gents!


Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Ronald van Riet: being a pilot, I would definitely go for "flight level zero". Additional note: the lowest flight level is different in different countries, in The Netherlands it is the next flight level above 3500 ft above ground (known as the 'transition altitude')
8 hrs
  -> Thanks!
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