Converting the Beaufort Scale to knots - the Corlett Scale
If you're planning a sea crossing, the Coastguard can be a useful source of met information, though wind speeds in maritime forecasts are always given with reference to the Beaufort Scale. These can easily be converted to knots, though not being round numbers, some of these are not easy to remember. The Corlett Scale simply involves rounding up or down by 1 or 2 knots, so that with the exception of Force 1, which is unlikely to bother most aviators anyway, all are multiples of 5:
Force 1 = 02 kts call it CALM
Force 2 = 05 kts call it 05
Force 3 = 09 kts call it 10
Force 4 = 13 kts call it 15
Force 5 = 19 kts call it 20
Force 6 = 24 kts call it 25
Very few recreational pilots are likely to be flying in much over force 6, but the scale can be extended right up to Hurricane Force. For completeness, here's the rest:
Force 7 = 30 kts call it 30
Force 8 = 37 kts call it 35
Force 9 = 44 kts call it 45
Force 10 = 52 kts call it 50
Force 11 = 60 kts call it 60
Force 12 = 64 kts call it 65
Regards
Rattus
Last edited by Rattus; 28th March 2008 at 21:22.
Reason: Eddited for speling