The next time you fly.......

juergenwt · Jul 19, 2019

Next time on an airplane with nothing to keep you busy think about this. But do not panic!
Aviation’s Crazy, Mixed Up Units of Measure – AeroSavvy

ewlsey · Jul 19, 2019

It's been an issue for many years. See the case of the Gimli Glider Gimli Glider - Wikipedia. I believe the root cause was that they called for a fuel load in kilograms but were given only that many pounds, thus giving them less than half the fuel they needed.

However, we are slowly creeping toward metric. I remember routinely getting weather reports with wind speed in m/s, pressure in mB, and temps in degrees C. That was 12 years ago and inside the US. With the move to more modern navigation like ADS-B, a metric switch might be a bit easier.

thermite · Jul 19, 2019

ewlsey said:
It's been an issue for many years. See the case of the Gimli Glider Gimli Glider - Wikipedia. I believe the root cause was that they called for a fuel load in kilograms but were given only that many pounds, thus giving them less than half the fuel they needed.

However, we are slowly creeping toward metric. I remember routinely getting weather reports with wind speed in m/s, pressure in mB, and temps in degrees C. That was 12 years ago and inside the US. With the move to more modern navigation like ADS-B, a metric switch might be a bit easier.

When I was still current, surface temps and distances, Terminal Control Areas, were in degrees F and statute miles, aloft & enroute in degrees C and nautical miles. With airspeed in Knots, it wasn't a big deal. Metric, BTW, is a force-fit that doesn't fit. As usual.

Fuel for light civilian aircraft was in US gallons. "A few" years earlier, ground controlling "century series" fighter-interceptors (F100, 101, 102, 106) fuel was in pounds, Avoir. Anything works, here, so long as one knows WHICH.

The point?

It used to be gnarlier, yet, than it is now!

And that was just for the USA!

PS: Any pilot as didn't realize he was short-fueled OR over-fueled should be demoted to rear-seat navigator, single-engine rubber sandals, fixed-gear, and taxiing only at that.

"Grounded". IOW, and before an aircraft does it for him. The hard way.

moonlight machine · Jul 19, 2019

ewlsey said:
It's been an issue for many years. See the case of the Gimli Glider Gimli Glider - Wikipedia. I believe the root cause was that they called for a fuel load in kilograms but were given only that many pounds, thus giving them less than half the fuel they needed.

However, we are slowly creeping toward metric. I remember routinely getting weather reports with wind speed in m/s, pressure in mB, and temps in degrees C. That was 12 years ago and inside the US. With the move to more modern navigation like ADS-B, a metric switch might be a bit easier.

I raced motorcycles at Gimli. Track was rough but the people we met were great.

cyanidekid · Jul 19, 2019

ewlsey said:
It's been an issue for many years. See the case of the Gimli Glider Gimli Glider - Wikipedia. I believe the root cause was that they called for a fuel load in kilograms but were given only that many pounds, thus giving them less than half the fuel they needed.

However, we are slowly creeping toward metric. I remember routinely getting weather reports with wind speed in m/s, pressure in mB, and temps in degrees C. That was 12 years ago and inside the US. With the move to more modern navigation like ADS-B, a metric switch might be a bit easier.

Are you saying we are slowly inching toward the metric system?

boat_lane · Mar 23, 2020

That was an interesting read, thanks, I won't be flying anytime soon I suppose, but then next time I do, this will definitely be on my mind.

Milland · Mar 23, 2020

boat_lane said:
That was an interesting read, thanks, I won't be flying anytime soon I suppose, but then next time I do, this will definitely be on my mind.

Just don't take any cruises...

DDoug · Mar 23, 2020

"As the plane drew near the runway, it became apparent that the aircraft was coming in too high and fast, raising the danger of the 767 running off the runway before it could be stopped. The lack of hydraulic pressure prevented flap/slat extension that would have, under normal landing conditions, reduced the stall speed of the aircraft and increased the lift coefficient of the wings to allow the airliner to be slowed for a safe landing. The pilots briefly considered a 360-degree turn to reduce speed and altitude, but they decided that they did not have enough altitude for the manoeuvre. Pearson decided to execute a forward slip to increase drag and lose altitude. This manoeuvre is commonly used in gliders and light aircraft to descend more quickly without increasing forward speed, but it is practically never executed in large jet airliners outside of rare circumstances like those of this flight. "

He slipped a 767...god love him....

cyanidekid · Mar 23, 2020

thats pretty amazing, a good read, thanks. what's almost as amazing is that they flew it out TWO DAYS later, after "minor repairs"!

bryan_machine · Mar 23, 2020

I've seen this before of course (having done a private cert) - but it looks like the missed some of the best ones. The formal handbooks give rules of thumb for things like temperature change with altitude, and it's in °C per 1,000 feet. Like measuring torque with Kilogram-feet or newton-inches. Works fine, just kind of weird....

trevj · Mar 28, 2020

I know, from my delving into the rabbit hole of old watches, that Metric was legal for use in Trade in the US of A, a lot earlier than the 1975 date given, like by a matter of a century or so.

What wasn't measured in decimal millimeters in a watch, was likely defined in Lignes. So not inches either. This at a time when the US was at the forefront, exporting quality watches to the world.

Legal for trade, and widely accepted, not always the same thing, though.

The Canuckstanian Gubbermint tried to eradicate the inch back in the 1970's as well, and rapidly found themselves sticking both Inch and Milimetric measurements in to the curriculum, as the trade schools were finding that the students needed (lets all make a surprised face!) to know how to deal with the existing weights and measures in the world that was essentially laid out in not-metric.

ZackJones · Jun 25, 2020

An interesting fact, I never heard that there is a problem mixed up units of measure :confused:

DDoug · Jun 25, 2020

ZackJones said:
An interesting fact, I never heard that there is a problem mixed up units of measure

An interesting fact #2....Your not fooling anyone here spammer.

ZackJones · Jun 29, 2020

digger doug said:
An interesting fact #2....Your not fooling anyone here spammer.

It's too bad you think so. I don't think it's right to give an immediate assessment. You want to make sure, let's talk.

DDoug · Jun 29, 2020

ZackJones said:
It's too bad you think so. I don't think it's right to give an immediate assessment. You want to make sure, let's talk.

You a spammer, plain & simple.

Go Away

ZackJones · Jun 30, 2020

It's a shame you're showing such "hospitality"

rabler · Jul 10, 2020

digger doug said:
He slipped a 767...god love him....

I once slipped a C172rg from 5000 ft to sea level on a contact approach to a coastal airport near a mountain range after the localizer was shutdown while enroute IFR. My passenger was a bit green on landing. I imagine some of the passengers on that 767 thought that slip meant it was all over. At least that 767 didn’t need to worry about uncovering the fuel tank ports.

ngarry243 · Aug 6, 2020

I think the transition to a metric measurement system is inevitable. In the end, it's not a matter of personal preference, but of passenger safety. In addition, nowadays all spheres of life are trying to make a standardization.

EricLa · Sep 7, 2020

Thanks, but no thanks.

DDoug · Sep 8, 2020

ngarry243 said:
I think the transition to a metric measurement system is inevitable. In the end, it's not a matter of personal preference, but of passenger safety. In addition, nowadays all spheres of life are trying to make a standardization.

Spamming allot these days ?

The next time you fly.......

Stainless

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