Mystere IV A
January 7, 2003, 03:24 PM
As for boarding aircraft on the left ....
Do you know why all western, and now former eastern, aircraft have :
- altimeters graduate in feet,
- and speedometer in knots ? </font color>
Fly High :windsock:
:pilot_2:
Docent75
January 7, 2003, 04:05 PM
No I don’t, but that doesn’t stop me from hazarding a guess. The first navigators had been taught marine navigation. If you are using a macerator chart knots makes a lot of sense since the vertical edge of the chart is your distance scale. “Feet” probably reflects the dominance of US and British aircraft after WW2. My father had a seas story about riding in a French C-47 while making a GCA, and having to having to work English and SI measures, but I don’t recall which system was on the aircraft and which was on the radar. It just may be a sea story too.
Mystere IV A
January 7, 2003, 04:12 PM
Well you got it right Docent75.
In fact the first ones who started to put instrument on aircraft were former navy guys and as they were used to those units, they just got the instruments from the navy and adapted them.
Congrats !
Fly High :windsock:
:pilot_2: