On 2017-04-03, Tauno Voipio  wrote:

> On 3.4.17 17:29, Martin Gregorie wrote:
>
>> Nope - I wouldn't have a clue about my weight and height in Imperial
>> units, but then NZ went metric before the UK did - and did it faster,
>> cheaper and with a lot less hassle than happened here. It was quite a
>> shock to arrive here and have go back to using outdated Imperial units.
>>
>> Small side note: actually, I do use some of the old units due to the
>> pervasive ICAO influence on aviation. As a glider pilot I measure speed
>> and rate of climb in knots, altitude in both feet and meters and distance
>> in km (because the Silver, Gold and Diamond badges measure distance in km
>> and height in meters).
>
> In aviation, there is some sense in distances in nautical
> miles (1 arc minute on great circle) and speeds in knots.
>
> Altitudes are measured in feet. The explanation was that
> on the altimeter 1000 m / revolution was too coarse and
> 100 m / revolution too fast.
>
> Vertical speeds are measured in feet/minute.
>
> As a born metric system user, I see aviation as a huge
> mess of all kinds of units, especially as American made
> aircraft have the manuals in inches and pounds.

At least we finally switched temperatures to Celsius
(Canada got there long before the U.S. did).

The one that keeps me scratching my head is the way visibilities
are reported in statute miles, while everything else is in
nautical miles.

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