302232 Alti Trak Altitude Finder

These are great and at the price I bought them, really can't be beat. They aren't made of steel so don't expect to be able to jump up and down on it and it takes some finesse to get accurate results, but once you get the hang of it it's super simple and great for students.

Works as stated. Do not find the trigger as flimsy as previous reviews led me to believe. But I do agree it is over priced for a cheaply constructed plastic device with on one moving part. But it is much better than the only other cardboard one sold on Amazon. For ppl complaining about the 500 ft or 600 ft calibration, whatever it is, you can easily multiply or divide to use any other distance you like. You know, like a 5th grader... But think about it. If your rocket is a really high flyer and your sight angle is to steep you will be off scale. That is, the little pendulum will swing past all the little marks on the side and you will be SOL for measuring. But I'm sure I we will have enough fun with it to justify the expense.

I teach Aerospace in the CAP. I used this when my cadets launched there rockets. It was great to have to record the altitude.

This product is excellent for tracking the altitude of model rockets in flight. Very accurate tool. No Trigonometry calculations needed. I will use this this tool when I launch my Apollo rockets and Gemini-Titan rocket. It will be fun and educational.

Trigger is poorly designed and too difficult to depress for most users. Students couldn't get accurate measurements due to the difficulty of depressing the trigger. Design needs to be changed. Would have returned to Amazon but missed the 30 day window.

While this isn't perfect, when used properly it's a good product. To get decent altitude estimates you really need to use two (2) at the same time, with each person 180 degrees to the other person. Both people (or one if you only have one Alti Track) should stand perpendicular the wind direction since the rockets will track into the wind. The not so good: The scale on the side reads in meters, yet they want you to use the tracker 500 feet away. It does require somewhat of a steady hand or the pendulum (which is the "instrument" in this device) will swing and give you false readings. Several people have mentioned the thin trigger and if you use this for 25+ rockets at a time, there is a good chance your finger will hurt. The good: The best altitude estimating device you can get for under $25. It's plastic and while not bombproof, it's durable enough to get dropped an not break. If you can do some simple math, you can adjust the stand off distance to whatever you want (i.e. if you stand back only 250 feet instead of the recommended 500 feet, simply divide the altitude readout in half). Sights are straightforward and with 2 minutes of instructions, most 10 year olds can use it well. This is my third set (over 30 years) and I always use two at a time, with the trackers 180 degrees apart and average the readings. Again, not a spectacular, fool proof product, but a good tool to keep in your flight box.

This altitude finder works great. Finder can calculate both the angle of maximum height and how high the rockets go in meters, but it requires you to be 500ft away from the launch pad in order to use the metric converter. If space is limited and you need to be a bit closer, you can use the angle measurement and tangent to find the height. You do have to be far enough away so the rocket doesn't go straight overhead. How it works is, you keep the trigger squeezed as rocket goes up and then release the trigger when rocket reaches apogee. It holds that measurement until you squeeze the trigger again. Good for the kids in class who shy from group work.

This instrument lacks precision--even if you do manage to get a good aim on the rocket and can hold steady enough to get a good reading, the readout in the "locked" position easily slides over a range of about 20 meters. Additionally, the product broke in my hands as I was preparing to use it. Although the digital altimeters are more expensive, I would choose one of those if I could do it over again.

Does the job it was intended for.

Works as advertised. Very easily used and fairly accurate.

Thanks