> Of Pat Naughtin >I was saddened to hear him count down the number of feet that his >craft was above the runway. I have no doubt that this is the >direct result of his earlier training in aircraft.
I wouldn't have expressed it like that. Astronauts do not estimate altitude, they read it from instruments. The count down in feet is a direct result of the instrumentation of the space shuttle as an aircraft. Metres are used for altitude in Eastern Europe and Asia but feet are used elsewhere. This non-SI tradition was, of course, a factor in the loss of the Mars spacecraft. Incidentally, perhaps you are aware that the US aviation industry converted from Fahrenheit to Celsius in 1996. -- Terry Simpson Human Factors Consultant [EMAIL PROTECTED] www.connected-systems.com Phone: +44 7850 511794
