Plan position indicator
![Image of a thunderstorm line (in dBZ) seen on a 0.7-degree elevation PPI (NOAA)](/Images/godic/202502/03/Sturmfront_auf_Doppler-Radar-Schirm4510.jpg")
![Diagram showing the evolution of the height above ground, in kilometers, with the distance to the radar for the 24 PPI angles used on the Canadian weather radars (curved lines)](/Images/godic/202502/03/Radar-angles4510.png")
![A photograph of an H2S PPI display taken during an attack on Cologne. The annotations were added later for post-attack analysis. The Rhine River can clearly be seen.](/Images/godic/202502/03/H2S_Display_Cologne4510.jpg")
![Simplified animation of a Plan Position Indicator radar display](/Images/godic/202502/03/Radar24510.gif")
The plan position indicator (PPI), is the most common type of radar display. The radar antenna is usually represented in the center of the display, so the distance from it and height above ground can be drawn as concentric circles. As the radar antenna rotates, a radial trace on the PPI sweeps in unison with it about the center point.