A method of determining the air gap distance between an air bearing pad and an apparatus floating on the air bearing pad comprises coupling a first probe to the air bearing pad; coupling a second probe to the apparatus floating on the air bearing pad, wherein the first and second probes provide the capacitance level between the air bearing pad and the apparatus; converting the capacitance level to a frequency; converting the frequency to a voltage level proportional to the air gap distance; and calculating the air gap distance based on the voltage level.