3 ms·
> So that when kph/mph is heard a pilot knows they're referencing ground speed, whereas knots is air speed. Who is using MPH/KPH in the course of flying a plan
by mulmen 5y ago
> So that when kph/mph is heard a pilot knows they're referencing ground speed, whereas knots is air speed.
Who is using MPH/KPH in the course of flying a plane? Why would this ambiguity resolve to “that must be ground speed”? Why would there be ambiguity in a speed readout at all? Surely context and procedure should disambiguate this rather than units?
- jcrawfordor 5y agoI'm not actually sure where that quote came from, but yes, there's not likely to be much confusion. Ground speed is usually displayed by some kind of computer, could be a glass panel or just an aviation GPS unit, and is usually marked "GS" or "Kts Ground." And it's sort of considered, philosophically, to be more a navigation thing than an actual flight instrument, since you only really pay attention to it in flight if you're doing navigation calculations.
- mulmen 5y agoThat quote came from the post I replied to originally. Beyond that I’m unsure of the source.