FS2002 gives coordinate info in deg, min, sec format. I found a calculator program on the internet that converts into decimal format (I need decimal format so that can do calculations more easily). How do these values (in decimal format) translate into meters or feet?Thanks, Christine.

Christine, maybe this is what you're looking for[http://www.decimaldegrees.com/]I understand the math isn't all that complicated, but extremely tedious see e.g. [http://www.uwgb.edu/dutchs/UsefulData/UTMFormulas.HTM])RegardsRat

Hi Christine,> How do these values (in decimal format) translate into meters or feet?quoting [1]:"...by definition, one nautical mile subtends one minute (=1/60 degree) of arc,..."So if you've got a distance in decimal degrees, you can multiply by 60 and get the result in nautical miles.From there to feet or kilometers:nm to km: multiply with 1.852nm to feet: multiply with 6076.1155As was mentioned above, there are a lot of calculators and converters on the net, but sometimes it's nice to do it by "hand"; sure is better for understanding the principles behind, even if some formulas (like in the above link) make the gears in my brain smoke.RegardsOliver[1]: makes an interesting read; even I grasped something about spherical trigonometry

Translating angular measurement (radians/degrees) into linear measurement (meters/feet) normally involves some sort of projection. The simplest is probably an azimuthal projection, where a plane surface is placed tangent to the earth's surface at the point of interest. Angular positions are then projected onto the plane surface, and calculations can be done in linear measurements.To provide better standardization, uniform projections are normally used, such as UTM or the state plane coordinate system (US). For conversions, check out GeoTrans 2.2.4 here:http://earth-info.nga.mil/GandG/geotrans/index.htmlscott s..

I'll throw one more link into the mix:http://williams.best.vwh.net/avform.htmCheck "distance between points"...Best,sg

>"...by definition, one nautical mile subtends one minute>(=1/60 degree) of arc,...">>So if you've got a distance in decimal degrees, you can>multiply by 60 and get the result in nautical miles.This is true, but if we are dealing with a lat/long format then it only works when measuring along lines of longitude, between lines of latitude. This works because the lines of latitude are parallel. So, if you want to know the distance from 10 degrees north to 12 degrees north, then you take: 12 - 10 = 2 degrees2 degrees * 60 minutes = 120 minutes = 120 NM "almost"It doesn't work out to be exactly right since the earth isn't exactly 21,600 NM, but it is "close enough for government work".Of course, it is impossible to determine distance between longtudinal lines, since they are not parallel. However, using a compass, or any piece of paper, you can quickly find the distance between any two points on a navigation chart by measuring the distance against the latitude scale on the chart. So, for the purposes of FS, you would probably need some sort of calculator to determine distances between two points (unless you have a chart).- Martin

d=2*asin(sqrt((sin((lat1-lat2)/2))^2 + cos(lat1)*cos(lat2)*(sin((lon1-lon2)/2))^2))EDIT> hmmm. All that and not one accidental smiley. Go figure.

Thanks for all the replies, everyone. I'm still not sure how to apply the calculations. I should have given more detail about what I'm trying to do in my original question. First, the distances I'm trying to calculate are quite small so I don't need to account for the curving of the earth....I'll just assume a flat plane. Here is an example of two points (in decimal format) that I need to know the distance between: Point 1: Long -87.831505, Lat 42.984665Point 2: Long -87.83128045, Lat 42.98464722Now, the difference between the two longitude points is 0.00022455. How do I figure out how this translates into feet (or fraction thereof)? I tried converting things and applying different formulas but I only ended up confusing myself. I think there must be something I'm missing. I need the simplest way to do the conversion and in a form that I can put in an Excel spreadsheet. Thanks again, Christine.

Great description:http://mathforum.org/library/drmath/view/51722.htmlOnline calculator:http://www.wcrl.ars.usda.gov/cec/java/lat-long.htm

x = 18 my = 2 md = 18.11 m???scott s..

I'm guessing you're missing at least one point of the two needed to calculate distance between...???scott g..)