01-04-2011, 11:25 AM
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Master Modeler
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Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: Fairbanks, Alaska
Posts: 6,507
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Originally Posted by ECayemberg
BEC: Good find on those kits!
I am near completion of my "Alpha Project"...I need to update this thread or start a new one: Link -SNIP- Provided instructions were very close, but not exact, to this: Link
Hope this helps a bit. |
Eric, thank you for posting the Metric Alpha instructions! They serve to illustrate one of the reasons (although it certainly wasn't the only one) why metrication met such resistance in the United States. The instructions use centimeters exclusively, which leads to an "unnecessary necessity" to use decimal fractions; for example, STEP 1 says "Measure 0.6 cm from one end of the engine holder tube and punch a slot for the forward end of the engine hook."
It is much easier to use only millimeters (which is the standard practice for metric engineering drawings and metric architectural drawings) because no fractions are needed in most cases, just whole numbers. Also, no unit symbols are used on such drawings, only the numbers--all dimensions are assumed to be in millimeters unless otherwise indicated. Model rocket plans from other countries usually use this "millimeters only--no unit indication" format.
In addition, studies of the metrication implementation processes of several countries, most notably Australia, have shown that countries that used the millimeter as the default unit of length had much smoother and trouble-free transition periods than those (such as the United Kingdom) that used the centimeter as a replacement for the inch. |