Today, I stopped into the local Hobby Lobby and picked up a new Estes altimeter for 30 bucks. Not too hard on the wallet with the prevailing discount.
Even though the device features only basic peak altitude display, I can think of a lot of applications for its use.
One that readily comes to mind is mounting it in specially built boost/glider pop-pods for the purpose of calculating a glider's sink rate based on glide duration from a given altitude.
Another project application is to marry the device up with a keychain video camera to get an idea of which point in the video corresponds to max altitude reached.
If nothing else, the device can be used merely for assessing altitude performance of my favorite sport birds.
Whatever the project, this device will see a lot of use.
Later on, I will likely spring for a more advanced altimeter that is capable of rendering complete flight profiles, but for now the Estes offering will do nicely.
