Definition
An authorized altimeter setting from a weather reporting station located away from the airport of intended operation, used when the airport itself does not have a local altimeter source available. The remote source is specified by the FAA for that airport and is applied with any required altitude adjustments published on the approach procedure.
Plain English
If your destination airport doesn't have its own current altimeter setting, you use the setting from a nearby reporting station that the FAA has designated for that purpose.
Context Anchor
Seen on instrument approach charts and in altimeter setting procedures when the destination airport does not provide a local altimeter setting.
Derivation
Remote comes from a Latin word meaning “moved back” or “far away.” Here it means the altimeter setting comes from a weather source located away from the airport where the procedure is being flown.
Why Pilots Care
An unadjusted or incorrect remote setting can produce altitude errors large enough to affect obstacle clearance or airspace compliance.
Grounding Statement
You are setting your altimeter with pressure information from somewhere near the airport, not from the airport itself.
Intuition Check
Remote does not mean the setting is sent electronically from the airplane or from a controller. It means the approved altimeter setting comes from a weather reporting site physically away from the airport where the procedure is being flown.
Example Sentence 1
The approach plate noted that when using the remote altimeter setting source from the airport 15 miles to the north, the minimum descent altitude had to be increased by 60 feet.
Example Sentence 2
The pilot obtained the current pressure from the remote altimeter setting source and adjusted the altimeter before beginning the descent.