All tied up in knots
 

Can some kind fellow inform me what the equivalent of one knot is in mph?

Does a knot equal one nautical mile/hour? And is a nautical mile equivalent to one minute of a meridien?

Cheers

Yes indeed. A knot is a nmph (that's not a bizarre grunt!) and one nm equals a sixtieth of a degree of longitude (ie. the Greenwich Meridian)... I think. ATPL exams were a while ago though so if someone can confirm (or put me right)....

Knot = nautical mile per hour
Nautical mile (British Admiralty mile) = 6080 feet (=100 fathoms).

In the sailing days a knotted line was used to measure the speed through the water. In 1637 the English navigator Richard Norwood recommended the use of a line knotted at intervals of 47 1/4 feet (14.3 metres) and a 28-second sandglass; if the first knot appeared as the sand ran out, the ship's speed was 6,076 feet (1,852 metres [one nautical mile]) per hour, or one knot.

1 nautical mile is the distance subtended at the equator by 1 minute of latitude. Hence the circumference of the earth at the equator is 21600nm or 24856 statute miles.

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edited for appalling typing

[This message has been edited by Code Blue (edited 22 January 2001).]

AH64,

1 knot = 1.151 Statute mile/hr

Have a good one, Dave

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Flying is easy - just throw yourself at the ground and miss.