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Aviation Glossary :: ISA  Aviation Glossary :: ISA FAA Written Test Preparation
Aviation Glossary Welcome to the Dauntless Aviation Glossary!

At Dauntless, our editorial staff maintains the web's largest unified glossary of aviation terms. This glossary is built from a combination of official, quasi-official, and proprietary sources (including original material that we develop oursselves). Uniquely, we often provide multiple definitions of a given term so that you can find that which best applies to you. In order to maximize your learning efficiency, this glossary (and similar ones for our international users) is incresingly fully integrated into our aviation learning apps, including our FAA written test prep and FAA practical test prep software and apps. If you like this glossary, you'll love them with their polished learning environments and world's best and clearest content (please do give them a try.).

ISA
ISA
Industry-standard architecture
source: Electrical Engineering Glossary
International Standard Atmosphere (ISA): Standard atmospheric conditions consisting of a temperature of 59°F (15°C), and a barometric pressure of 29.92 in. Hg. (1013.2 mb) at sea level. ISA values can be calculated for various altitudes using a standard lapse rate of approximately 2°C per 1,000 feet.
source: FAA Airplane Flying Handbook (FAA-H-8083-3A)
A model of standard variation of pressure and temperature.
source: FAA Pilot's Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge (FAA-H-8083-25A)
The International Standard Atmosphere (ISA) is an atmospheric model of how the pressure, temperature, density, and viscosity of the Earth's atmosphere change over a wide range of altitudes or elevations. It has been established to provide a common reference for temperature and pressure and consists of tables of values at various altitudes, plus some formulas by which those values were derived. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) publishes the ISA as an international standard, ISO 2533:1975. Other standards organizations, such as the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and the United States Government, publish extensions or subsets of the same atmospheric model under their own standards-making authority.

The ISA model divides the atmosphere into layers with linear temperature distributions. The other values are computed from basic physical constants and relationships. Thus the standard consists of a table of values at various altitudes, plus some formulas by which those values were derived.

For example, at sea level the standard gives

  • a pressure of 1013.25 hPa (1 atm) ( equivalent to 29.92 inches of mercury)
  • a temperature of 15 degrees Celsius
  • an initial lapse rate of ?6.5 °C/km (roughly ?2 °C/1,000 ft).
The tabulation continues to 11 km where the pressure has fallen to 226.32 hPa and the temperature to ?56.5 °C. Between 11 km and 20 km the temperature remains constant.
source: Wikitionary / Wikipedia and Related Sources (Edited)

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