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where a 0 is 1,225 km/h (661.45 kn) (the standard speed of sound at 15 °C), M is the Mach number, P is static pressure, and P 0 is standard sea level pressure (1013.25 hPa). Combining the above with the expression for Mach number gives EAS as a function of impact pressure and static pressure (valid for subsonic flow):
TAS can be calculated as a function of Mach number and static air temperature: =, where is the speed of sound at standard sea level (661.47 knots (1,225.04 km/h; 340.29 m/s)),
T 25 is 298.15 K (= 25 °C = 77 °F), giving a value of 346.1 m/s (= 1 135.6 ft/s = 1246 km/h = 774.3 mph = 672.8 kn). In fact, assuming an ideal gas , the speed of sound c depends on temperature and composition only, not on the pressure or density (since these change in lockstep for a given temperature and cancel out).
If the speed of sound is not known, Mach number may be determined by measuring the various air pressures (static and dynamic) and using the following formula that is derived from Bernoulli's equation for Mach numbers less than 1.0. Assuming air to be an ideal gas, the formula to compute Mach number in a subsonic compressible flow is: [8]
Airspeed is commonly given in knots (kn). Since 2010, the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) recommends using kilometers per hour (km/h) for airspeed (and meters per second for wind speed on runways), but allows using the de facto standard of knots, and has no set date on when to stop.
SI, and hence the use of "km/h" (or "km h −1 " or "km·h −1 ") has now been adopted around the world in many areas related to health and safety [36] and in metrology [37] in addition to the SI unit metres per second ("m/s", "m s −1 " or "m·s −1 "). SI is also the preferred system of measure in academia and in education.
For example, = 1013.25 hPa, = 1,225 km/h (661.45 kn). The ratio of specific heats for air is assumed to be 1.4. These formulae can then be used to calibrate an airspeed indicator when impact pressure ( q c {\displaystyle q_{c}} ) is measured using a water manometer or accurate pressure gauge.
Some airspeed indicators in aircraft prior to the mid-1970s indicate in miles per hour plus knots (1 knot = 1.15 mph) or kilometers per hour (1 knot = 1.85 km/h). A primary flight display with the indicated airspeed (IAS) displayed in the form of a vertical "tape" on the left.