Why are nautical miles used in aviation as opposed to just regular standard statute miles? To me it would make more sense to use the same in the air as on the ground.
2006-10-03 03:47:27 · 8 answers · asked by Anonymous in Cars & Transportation ➔ Aircraft
Nautical miles are used because when aircraft first started to fly long distances, all the best maps were nautical charts. They still use it because of inertia. It works, why change?
Incidentally, nautical miles are NOT based on time or any silly thing like that. A nautical mile is a fixed distance of 1852 meters or about 6076 feet. It happened to originally be defined as the distance of one second of arc on a meridian of the planet, at sea level, but has since come to be defined by the International Standars Organization in terms of meters, like every other modern unit of distance.
2006-10-03 06:46:40 · answer #1 · answered by Berry K 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
One NM is one arc minute (not second) on a meridian (latitude) at sea level.
1NM= 1.852 Kilometers, 1.150779 statute miles, 2025.372 yards or 6076.1155 feet.
ICAO (International Civil Aviation Org.), defines the standard measurements to be used in aviation as Nautical Miles for distance, Knots (Nautical miles per hour) for speed and feet for altitude.
But the Nautical miles standard is not used by all the world, several countries including Russia use Kilometers, Kph and meters.
By the way, the US is among the minority of countries that do not use Kilometers on the ground.
2006-10-03 14:44:57 · answer #2 · answered by frankclau 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Most of the answers above are guesses. A nautical mile, 6,076 feet, is one minute of arc of latitude. There are 60 minutes in a degree, and 90 degrees from the equator to one of the poles. If you do the math you will find that this translates into 5,400 nautical miles from the equator to a pole, when measured along a meridian at the surface of the earth.
2006-10-04 01:26:53 · answer #3 · answered by Kelley S 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋
+ The simple reason is that a Nautical Mile is 2,000 yards. Yes that corresponds to arc min etc, but when doing calculations it is possible to use the NM and figure in your head, time and distance calculations so I makes all the other formulas easier to do. Try it using land miles and you will find out fast the headache.
2006-10-03 16:14:52 · answer #4 · answered by Clamdigger 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Nautical miles are based on time traveled, not distance. Most aviation maps are printed in nautical miles. It is easier to estimate where in the air an aircraft should be based on speed when that speed is equated into minutes, not miles. Also, aircraft are more commonly know as ships, not airplanes, because their basic purpose is the shipment of goods/personnel from one point to another.
2006-10-03 11:04:59 · answer #5 · answered by krodgibami 5 · 0⤊ 2⤋
It was definitely a carryover from shipping charts....remember, the original planes were limited by mountains and land strips, just like ships with channels and river depths, It made more sense to navigate that way....there were no highways when this navigation mode was entered.
2006-10-03 18:43:30 · answer #6 · answered by ha 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Nm is measured by the angle you travel, even above the earth's surface.
2006-10-03 12:11:41 · answer #7 · answered by Peter I 2 · 0⤊ 1⤋
A holdover from the days of shipping?
2006-10-03 11:30:21 · answer #8 · answered by Asher S 4 · 0⤊ 1⤋