Simviation Forums

I don't know about you lot, but every time I watch a news broadcast, weather report, documentary, etc....
I just wish...as an English-speaking sort of bloke from the "old-school", all the various measurements were giving in "Imperial";....feet-height, miles-distance, pounds-weight, gallons-liquid, fahrenheit-temperature, etc....

I can never get my head around all this funny; "Metric" stuff.... ...!

Just watched a fascinating Motorcycle documentary tour on the TV....and all the kilometres, kilograms and centigrade references in the program are a completely foreign language to me, and leave me totally baffled as to their values!

Any other "English-speaking-ones" out there who still prefer the old measurement system?

....or am I now on my lonesome, with good Queen Victoria?... ...!

Imperial v Metric!

Paul....mine's a Pint!... ...!

...I dread the day when all our road signs show; "Kilometres" instead of "Miles"!.... ....!
We might even be forced to drive/ride on the wrong side on the road!... ...!

All of the government and institutional projects that I'm involved in have blueprints with metric measurements. 9 times out of 10 we just convert them to feet and inches.

A few months back I saw a post where someone griped that the temp outdoors was 35. Didn't think nothin' of it too much til I saw the neighborhood they were referring to..........Brisbane! Or was it Melbourne?

It took me years to get used to The Celsius scale.
I still think in inches and feet.

A pint will always be a pint.

Anthin.

U4EA.It may have been me who posted 35 degrees.
It was Canberra.

Anthin.

Getting used to metric was a pain and I still wouldn't call myself a metric man. I think Manhood will always be imperial


Rest assured though, those that were born into it have a much more sensible system.

That's an interesting word there. Can't relate to metric distances, it's gotta be in miles or I'm lost. But lately, and Fozzer will understand this, I've had to use both metric and English for certain small measurement when working on my guitars or scoping out new ones, for ex, the scale lengths are given in one or the other, like 648mm or 25.5", or neck widths given as 43mm or 1.693". These spec are common with guitar makers and are both meaningful to us guitarists, and quite frankly, it's important to understand and be able to convert one to the other.

And temperature. Gotta have Fareinheit, or however it's spelled. Fahrenheit, that's it.

So I can relate to and visualize both simultaneously small measurements. But a kilometer? OK, I think that's like 5/8 of a mile, but that conversion ain't gonna do me a whole lot if I'm on the road going somewhere. And what's a kilogram weigh? No "weigh" I can grasp that.

"OK, let's have a liter of beer here." Nah, it just don't wash verbally.

We have Napoleon Bonaparte to thank for the metric system. He didn't come up with it, but when he was emperor of France after deciding europe had too many different weights and measurement systems, he set up a commission to create a unified standard system. Being at war with the British Empire meant their system was outright rejected for consideration.

I too am an inches, feet, miles and fahrenheit adherent but I have to admit that if taught from infancy the metric system is easier to learn.

I was at school during the change over. I also had to convert imperial to metric in a lot of school books. Give me metric any time, base 100, it does not get any easier.

Matt

I was exposed to the Metric System in school when I was younger, but it was working in the Bicycle Industry where I was inundated by it.

expat wrote:I was at school during the change over. I also had to convert imperial to metric in a lot of school books. Give me metric any time, base 100, it does not get any easier.

Matt

When I was at school, Queen Victoria's Great Aunt was my Maths/Arithmetic Teacher.

She taught me Imperial measurements, and how to tie my shoe-laces...

No problems now, with Pounds Shillings and Pence, Feet and Inches, Pounds and Ounces, Rods, Poles, Perches, and Chains...
...and how to tie a double bow... ...!

Kilograms and Kilometres leaves me stone cold... ...!

Paul...Old School.... ...!

Money: I hate folks sounding the letter "P", with reference to "Pence"... ...!

Hi Fozz....
I help a builder friend of mine from time to time and we are both of a certain age. We tend to use what ever is closer on the tape measure depending on what we are doing. It might be 7 7/8 inches or 20 cms, but as long as we both agree it's all good.

Zaph...

I guess it's all about what you're raised with as to what you're comfortable using but I'm with the Fozz on this one. BUT I also agree with Matt that centi, milli whatever is a lot more precise as far as "communicating" measurements either orally or in writing unless you're talking "1000's of an inch" which is used in most aviation maintenance references on this side of the Atlantic. I've worn out a couple of micrometers doing aircraft structures work. Matter of fact the thickness of sheet and extruded aluminium used on aircraft is in 1000's of an inch, most common being 32 or 40 thousands of an inch (Boeing anyway).

Hawkeye07 wrote:I guess it's all about what you're raised with as to what you're comfortable using but I'm with the Fozz on this one. BUT I also agree with Matt that centi, milli whatever is a lot more precise as far as "communicating" measurements either orally or in writing unless you're talking "1000's of an inch" which is used in most aviation maintenance references on this side of the Atlantic. I've worn out a couple of micrometers doing aircraft structures work. Matter of fact the thickness of sheet and extruded aluminium used on aircraft is in 1000's of an inch, most common being 32 or 40 thousands of an inch (Boeing anyway).

1000's of inches.... ...!

Lots of inches!

.... ...!

I think you missed out the "th's", Hawk!

40 thousand[ths] of an inch!

A very thin inch!

For aluminium sheet we used; 14, 16, 18, 20, 22-gauge thickness.
(Cooking foil is really thin...Ideal for roast chickens, and Boeing Airframes!).

Paul.... ...!

I've got a feeling about gauges!.... ...!

Fozzer wrote:

expat wrote:I was at school during the change over. I also had to convert imperial to metric in a lot of school books. Give me metric any time, base 100, it does not get any easier.

Matt

When I was at school, Queen Victoria's Great Aunt was my Maths/Arithmetic Teacher.

She taught me Imperial measurements, and how to tie my shoe-laces...

No problems now, with Pounds Shillings and Pence, Feet and Inches, Pounds and Ounces, Rods, Poles, Perches, and Chains...
...and how to tie a double bow... ...!

I have to say that due to doing to a school that wanted to save money and had us converting everything, inches, feet, yards, chains, furlongs, leagues, atmospheres, etc don't pose a problem for me, but for example:
Working out skin damage on a Boeing, in thousandths of an inch, it is so much easier doing the maths in metric. Fortunately, Bill gives both metric and imperial values to play with.....

Matt