(... snip)

So a nautical mile (actually a useful measure, being one degree of latitude) is 72.91 kiloinches or 1.852 kilometers. Can't see the wisdom of one over the other. One nM works better for me. (...)

Of course you mean one minute, not degree. Wikipedia: "A nautical mile (symbol M, NM or nmi) is a unit of distance, set by international agreement as being exactly 1,852 meters (about 6,076 feet). Historically, it was defined as the distance spanned by one minute of arc along a meridian of the Earth (north-south), and developed from the sea mile and the related geographical mile."

I wonder how it can be useful in gliding. We don't fly along the meridians, i.e. North-South all the time, do we?