On 2008-10-21, David Looser wrote:
"Arny Krueger" wrote in message
. ..

If you are worried about an airplane's altitude to the 5th digit, you
obviously need to find something else to do with your mind! ;-)

Well OK I could have read my boring novel, or attempted to watch the
in-flight movie on a really crappy LCD monitor with the sound from a pair of
cheap earphones trying to compete with the background noise level. I think
I'd rather watch the numbers!

I was stunned how bad the earphones were on my last transatlantic flight
(United). I didn't realize you could make something that sounded
that bad. Even the "free" earbuds that came with my last mp3 player
were high-end in comparison.

BTW, which part of the plane was the measurement centered at? ;-)

And, indeed, where is the reference point for the other end?

Goodness knows!, but whilst trundling around San Fransisco airport it
hovered around 42 feet, if that proves anything.

I once sat in a 747 on the ground at Kai Tak waiting for takeoff (a long
time ago) and noticed that we were apparently at -4 metres.

--
John Phillips