Minimum Off-Route Altitudes Based on Digital Elevation Models

This article discusses a method that clears the pilot from manually calculating the Minimum Off-Route Altitudes of a flight route. The Minimum Off-Route Altitude can be calculated for each segment of a route based on a digital elevation model of the planet. The dataset is loaded through the byte-swapping method and is stored in the computer memory. Afterwards, a search area for elevation points is drawn, and, through triangulation equations, it is possible to calculate the highest elevation in the area nearby each segment of the route. It is possible to decrease the required time to plan a flight route, for each flight hour, up to 4 minutes, as well as to eliminate all calculation errors.