HUD km/h and meters altitude

[archorn]

Is there a way to change display from knots to km and feets to meters? I checked on HUD display options and i found "metric" but it does not affect alt display. I find this confusing, and I have no clue how fast and high I fly when it shows me 195 knots and 11730 feets. Any mod perhaps or am I forced to check it on F2 view as it shows metric?

[cichlidfan]

I think you are stuck, just like there is no way to get the Russian aircraft to display Imperial units.

[GeorgeLKMT]

I guess it's not the answer you're looking for, but I believe it's the best one: Get used to it.

 

Even if this could be somehow changed on HUD, you still have the classic gauges in knots/feet. All reference materials and manuals you will be reading will display knots/feet. Maps and navigation charts as well. You're just beating your head against the wall. For decades this is what is used in aviation worldwide and it became standard. ATCs are talking to you in knots/feet/miles, majority of cockpits are like that. Wind is in knots, RWY lengths in feet, FLs/altitude in feet, distances in miles, speed in knots... You're just going to create more problems with refusing to adapt to this widely used system. I grew up with metric system, but learning the imperial system in aviation is a no-brainer.;)

Edited October 25, 2013 by GeorgeLKMT

[archorn]

Get used to it.

 

Well it looks like I'll have to. It is only thing that I don't like in that aircraft. Any way still thank you guys for replys.

[Luzifer]

You're just beating your head against the wall. For decades this is what is used in aviation worldwide and it became standard.

 

Certainly not worldwide, Russia (and China?) being the most notable exception, as well as smaller niches such as gliders in Germany which are still fully metric.

 

Of course, the point still stands for the A-10, which isn't operated with metric units anywhere. Just like you wouldn't want to operate a Russian aircraft in imperial, it just clashes with all the existing documentation elsewhere.

[Einherjer]

Russia has the feet/mile/knots system since 2011

[Wrecking Crew]

This has bugged me since forever.

 

WC

[cichlidfan]

I don't see what the big deal is. I have been converting Imperial to metric and back, in my head, for over 40 years.

[Flagrum]

I don't see what the big deal is. I have been converting Imperial to metric and back, in my head, for over 40 years.

Would be sad if you had still difficulties - after 40 years. ;p But for someone just at the beginning of these 40 years ... well ... :o)

 

It took some time for me as well to get used to it and although it is still not really a second nature for me, I find myself occassionally "thinking imperial" already. For example when planning a route for a business trip with google maps, sometimes I actually estimate distances in nm :o)

[Fifi]

It's a real pain for us metric natives users :noexpression:

 

But on other hand, an accurate simulation has to have gauges as in it is in real.

 

Cruel dilemne: Russian modules have metric gauges but incomprehensible cockpit texts, Americans have imperial but understandable texts...

I think i prefer the first one :music_whistling:

[Rongor]

It's a real pain for us metric natives users :noexpression:

No it is not. It is only a pain for those of you who want to simulate aviation but are too ignorant to get used to aviation basics. There is no simulation without the will to simulate. Measurements in aviation are imperial. Cope with it or stay grounded.

[cichlidfan]

No it is not. It is only a pain for those of you who want to simulate aviation but are too ignorant to get used to aviation basics. There is no simulation without the will to simulate. Measurements in aviation are imperial. Cope with it or stay grounded.

 

With all due respect, that is a bit harsh!

[carlos.gh]

Certainly not worldwide, Russia (and China?) being the most notable exception, as well as smaller niches such as gliders in Germany which are still fully metric.

 

Gliding uses metric system all around the world but USA and UK, even though I've known English pilots using the metric system, at least when the fly outside of UK.

Edited October 25, 2013 by carlos.gh

[Fifi]

No it is not. It is only a pain for those of you who want to simulate aviation but are too ignorant to get used to aviation basics. There is no simulation without the will to simulate. Measurements in aviation are imperial. Cope with it or stay grounded.

 

Military aviation basics at the early start was certainly not imperial for Anglo-Saxons such as Americans.

Before you get any military planes, you were flying on French planes with metric gauges mind you (remember?)

And we (the French) learned you how to fly with all the basics in metric, not imperial before you get any aerial army.

 

Anyway i'll stick to my "ignorance" and as great nations such as Russians, keep measuring in kilometers/meters/liters/kilos.

No need to impose world wide your measurement system, as you are doing for everything else.

And yes, it's a pain to always translate, when all your life you thought in metric.

Edited October 25, 2013 by Fifi

[Flagrum]

Why convert? Just fly the damn thing and get used to the imperial system :-) . It's the most widely used system in the world. What value does having a metric speed or altitude add? Absolutely nothing.

:doh:

 

Countries NOT using the metric system (according to wikipedia; http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metrisches_Einheitensystem)

 

 

And what does it add? Hrm ... it's more logical and easier to calculate with?

I.e. how many inches are in a mile? Do you know it or do you have to look it up?

How many centimeters are in a kilometer? 100000. :o)

 

 

But yes, besides that, it is standard in aviation and yeah, why not just getting used to it.:thumbup:

Edited October 25, 2013 by Flagrum
wikipedia link

[xxJohnxx]

I can live with speed and altitude as imperial units.

Speed doesn't really matter anyways, if the HUD shows 180 knots or 330 km/h doesn't make much of a change, does it?

 

Calculating knots to km/h is fairly easy.

 

Multiply by two (and subtract 10%).

 

Its definatelly arguable about altitudes, but I personally never found myselfe in the situation where I would have needed the altimeter to show meters.

 

Else deviding feet by 3 will do the job.

 

With distances its similar with speed. Better have the same units for both, else it will just get confusing.

 

The nautical units have settled in aviation in many countries and probably won't leave us too quickly. We will have to live with that.

 

On the other hand, the imperial system is just redicolous.

Kilograms, Liters, Celsius and also the Meter make much more sense in my eyes and are definatelly the way to go!

[shagrat]

Well, the whole point is: conversion is useless. If somebody would decide to measure distance for planes in frog-leaps that would neither need conversion! Fire the gun at 1.5nm range to the target would convert to 6000 frog-leaps or 6kilofrogleaps (kfl)... basically the HUD says "Fire when the number below the reticle says 1.5 or 6! The unit has no impact at all.

 

And for a people who need to calculate even "normal" numbers for lack of words for them (quatre-vingt-dix-neuf > 4x20+10+9 = 99) you make quite a fuss about a metric system that is supposed to be decimal...

 

Just as an example chinese has a straight decimal system count from one to 10 and then its: 10+1, 10+2, etc. until 20, then 20+1, 20+2 and so on! No exceptions!

And just to remind you, we (germans like Rongor) do not use the imperial system at all, we also drive on the right side of the street :D

 

Still I can drive my car in UK, and when I drive in the US I'm capable of comparing the Speedometers numbers to the signs telling 55mph... no I don't convert either my speed in mph to kph nor the speed limit. Just match the numbers!

Edited October 26, 2013 by shagrat

[Robin_Hood]

I, for one, as a French person and raised in the metric system, had a hard time adapting to the metric system on russian aircraft for LOMAC, because every single flight sim I had ever tinkered with was in imperial units, and I was used to thinking in imperial units when talking about aviation (though not in everyday life).

 

The thing is, it is not really necessary to use units that you are used to, because there is no point in comparing speeds, distances, etc... in aviation to those you are used to. It's kind of like insisting on getting astronomical distances in km instead of light-years, parsecs, au or any other specialized unit.

For the record, Americans use statute (or land) miles (~1.6 km) and mph in everyday life to measure distances and speed, and I don't see them complaining that in aviation they have to get used to nautical miles (~1.852 km) and knots ;).

 

Also, the french military pretty much uses all imperial system, for that matter (civilian planes are sometimes hybrid).

 

And please don't let this become a imperial vs. metric topic, we're only talking about aviation standards here. .

[Frostie]

On the other hand, the imperial system is just redicolous.

Kilograms, Liters, Celsius and also the Meter make much more sense in my eyes and are definatelly the way to go!

As a general measurement it has its uses.

No tape measure handy use your foot, that there is '1 ft' or say 3m (304.8mm), how about inches get your retractable fingers out, each segment of an average man's finger is '1 inch' or say 25mm (25.4mm), which one looks the easiest to use off hand for quick easy measurments, horses for courses. Personally I prefer a pint of beer over 568ml of beer, a pint sounds more like a man's drink.

 

But in engineering metric is much simpler method unless it involves working out what time the pub opens for lunch, a metric clock would be ridiculous. :)

Learning both is a must in todays world.

[archorn]

Looks like this topic is ready to lock. Thank you for explaining who an why uses metric/imperial and also its history ;) but the question was to change it in A10 which is not possible. I'm slowly gettong to use to it.

[PFunk1606688187]

For the record, Americans use statute (or land) miles (~1.6 km) and mph in everyday life to measure distances and speed, and I don't see them complaining that in aviation they have to get used to nautical miles (~1.852 km) and knots ;).

That's a really good point. Those who operate off of the North American standard are accustomed to a system that isn't based on the ubiquity of the 10 being behind everything.

 

Also, the french military pretty much uses all imperial system, for that matter (civilian planes are sometimes hybrid).

I take it you mean the Air Force only? I find it hard to believe that the French land forces wouldn't use Metric when even American forces do. That whole NATO standardized thing.

 

As for the whole Metric vs. Imperial thing, well I'm a Canadian. We're far more Metricated than the US is but our proximity requiers us to remain literate in Imperial things as well. This leads to interesting things for me. Namely I imagine the world in Km of distance, Kph of speed on land, and Celsius degrees for temperature. But if you tried to tell me you were 177 centimeters tall I'd have no idea what that is. I'm pretty crap at measuring small things in cm and the fact that a meter is too long to be of much use for anything modest in size and a cm is too short, the foot somehow finds its way into any metric mind.

 

Its certainly interesting, especially when I try and tell my mom something and describe it in metric. Her brain is still wired for Imperial.

 

I'm with many people who have no issues with imperial for aviation. Most of the flight sims I've played have done Feet for altitude, but having played a variety of different types of planes in IL2 1946 I learned that there were many ways to see things. Meters for Germans, Feet for the USAF, and of course my introduction to Knots came with carrier borne USN aircraft.

 

Why do people bitch so hard? :huh:

[secret1962]

Go look what a NM is and you'll understand why aviation uses Imperial units.

[Flagrum]

Go look what a NM is and you'll understand why aviation uses Imperial units.

is it because flying through air is the same as sailing through water?:huh: but then, why do we measure height above ground in feet and not in fathoms?:smartass:

[secret1962]

All you had to do was going to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nautical_mile and reading the following

The nautical mile (symbol M, NM or nmi) is a unit of curved length that is about one minute of arc of latitude measured along any meridian, or about one minute of arc of longitude at the equator (both at sea level). [...]

 

The nautical mile remains in use by sea and air navigators worldwide because of its convenience when working with charts. [...]

 

The nautical mile is nearly equal to a minute of latitude on a chart, so a distance measured with a chart divider can be roughly converted to nautical miles using the chart's latitude scale.

 

I think this explains it all ? It's used for navigation purposes (easily measuring distances from coordinates of point A to coordinates of point B)

[Flagrum]

All you had to do was going to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nautical_mile and reading the following

 

 

I think this explains it all ? It's used for navigation purposes (easily measuring distances from coordinates of point A to coordinates of point B)

Yeah, and all you had to do was to put that citation in your original posting. *shurg*