Numerical exercise · ~2 min a run · free
Aviation Unit Conversion
Feet to metres, kg to lb, knots, litres and more.
Session mode
Difficulty
Auto sets the level from your recent results: up when you are acing it, down when it is too hard.
How to play
- 1Read the value and the target unit; the factor is shown for you.
- 2Convert in your head and round sensibly.
- 3Pick the closest correct option.
See a worked example
Convert 8,000 ft to metres, given 1 ft = 0.3048 m. Before touching the arithmetic, decide which way the number must move: a metre is bigger than a foot, so the count of metres must be SMALLER. That one decision removes the most attractive wrong answer on every item in this exercise, because the divide-instead-of-multiply option is always offered. Then estimate: 0.3048 is close to 0.3, so expect roughly 2,400. The exact answer is 8,000 x 0.3048 = 2,438 m, and the estimate already told you which option to look for. Bigger unit means fewer of them; smaller unit means more of them. That sentence answers the direction question for every conversion you will ever meet.
Aviation mixes metric and imperial constantly. Convert the units that fill pilot tests and the flight deck, with the conversion factor given each time.
About this test
About this test
What this test measures
This measures speed and accuracy applying conversion factors between the units aviation actually mixes: feet and metres, knots and kilometres per hour, litres and US gallons, kilograms and pounds. Making these instant removes a common, avoidable source of error.
How to improve your score
- Memorise the core factors cold: 1 nm is about 1.85 km, 1 foot is about 0.3 m, 1 kg is about 2.2 lb.
- Learn a quick approximation for each, then refine, knots to mph is roughly times 1.15.
- Practise both directions of every conversion, not just the one you find easy.
Good to know
Good to know
Learn the big three
The factor is given each time, but knowing 1 ft = 0.3048 m, 1 NM = 1.852 km and 1 kg = 2.205 lb makes you far faster. For a quick gut check, 1 metre is roughly 3.3 ft and 1 kg is roughly 2.2 lb.Round, then pick the closest
Options are spaced so a sensible rounding lands on one answer. Convert to two significant figures first, and only refine if two options sit close together. Fuel volume to mass uses density, here about 0.80 kg per litre for Jet A-1.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need to memorise factors?
Do I need to memorise factors?
Why does conversion matter for pilots?
Why does conversion matter for pilots?
How is fuel volume converted to mass?
How is fuel volume converted to mass?
Training for an airline assessment?
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