[azalemeth]

The main argument for imperial units in aviation I have seen relate to the fact that one nautical mile is almost exactly one minute of latitude on earth, and one knot is one nautical mile per hour, and therefore an aviator who may experience a total electrical failure and is left with his "six-pack" of unpowered, passive-only instruments could navigate with a wristwatch and paper chart relatively accurately.

I'm not saying I agree with it, but it is at least understandable!

[filmor]

The nautical mile is a sensible unit for anyone trying to navigate with charts (which, in the worst case, could happen to pilots). Feet, on the other hand, are nonsense.