"Thomas Schoene" wrote in message
ink.net...
John Carrier wrote:
On its first pass, the Super Hornet screamed along at more than 650
miles an hour, just 96 feet above the main runway. Soon it circled
back, touched down on the tarmac for an instant, then went into a
steep climb, afterburner roaring, and disappeared in the skies.

SNIP

You're sure now. Not 95 feet, not 97, but precisely 96 feet?

I'd bet it's a radar altimeter value from the aircraft's flight data
recorder (yes, newer military aircraft do have FDRs). Probably written up
in the incident report.

Never seen a radalt that read to single digits. T-45 airborne data recorder
(probably similar to F-18) get radalt in tens of feet, pressure alt in 20's.

R / John