Paul Hanson wrote:
Why do metric variometers read in m/s, instead of kph
when the metric airspeed is in kph? Would it not make
more sense to use kph on the vario too so quick mental
L/D calculations could be done (for those who do not
use a flight computer etc to think for them)?

Well, altitude is usually measured in meters, and meters/second is the
preferred SI unit for speed. Which does bring up a related mystery.
When I was first flying gliders in the northeast US from the late 60s
through the mid 70s, pretty much all of the ASIs were in MPH and the
varios were in FPM. When I restarted flying gliders in California
during the late 80s, pretty much all of the ASIs and varios were in
knots. Was this a regional thing, or did some sort of cataclysmic shift
take place while I was off doing other silly things?

Marc