Navagating across the pond before GPS

[ATRCAPT]

Read "Fate is the Hunter".

 

[328dude]

You can still do it without UHF as well. Did it last year.

 

[johnnyb]

one carousel 9 way point INS that drifted at least 1 mile per hour

Man I was dragging a 747 classic across with one of these just 3 years ago ( and our tolerances were 3 miles drift per hour).

 

[Pat Fabin]

Don't forget OMEGA/VLF!

 

[AA717driver]

Now all we do is basically follow a computer's instruction. Takes the skill out of being an aviator, along with the respect.

You STILL have to be able to fly an airplane. If you want to be a button-pusher, you can. You'll be worthless as tits on a boar but you'll still get to brag that you're a "pilot" in the bar.

Automation is a tool. You control it. Don't let it control you. Even A320's can be hand flown...TC

 

[freightdogfred]

Don't forget OMEGA/VLF!

Ahhh..yes, I was wondering when somebody would bring that up. Many crossings with those old Tracor 7800's, MNPS certified +or-5 miles, 95 % of the time. (provided there was no solar activity.) More than once at about 30 west one would start heading north, and the other south-Split the difference and start dead reckoning. Compass heading, drift angle, airspeed and time, just like old Lucky Lindy.

 

[Phaedrus]

Speaking of sextants and LOPs...that reminds me of breaking up the boredom by popping hard boiled eggs out the top of the sextant port trying for a direct hit on the vertical fin of the 130.

 

[tomgoodman]

Where am I?

And there was "Ocean Station November", a ship anchored about halfway to Hawaii, which could give you a radar fix from his (approximately) known position. I think there was an "Ocean Station Papa" in the mid-Atlantic as well.
A truly ancient radio navaid was "Consolan", sort of a super, over-the-horizon ADF. One old navigator said it would tell you which half of the world you were in.

 

[Donsa320]

And there was "Ocean Station November", a ship anchored about halfway to Hawaii, which could give you a radar fix from his (approximately) known position. I think there was an "Ocean Station Papa" in the mid-Atlantic as well.
A truly ancient radio navaid was "Consolan", sort of a super, over-the-horizon ADF. One old navigator said it would tell you which half of the world you were in.

Ah yes Consolan. We tried it a few times in Europe. Not worth much. But we could tune in the teletype stations on Iceland on our ADF receivers while we were still on the ground at Prestwick. They were very powerful, but no ident.
I believe the ocean station ships did not really anchor. They were to stay in a rather large area and they did it by steaming into the wind and current to the edge of their area and then drifting back across it to the other side. As I recall they transmitted some coded info on their NDB signal which let you calculate roughly where within their area they really were.

DC

 

[Donsa320]

Read "Fate is the Hunter".

Yep and in the movie "The High and the Mighty" the radio altimeter they use is the one I referred to for use with the driftmeter. That is why it was at the navigators station, not in the panel. Gann got most things right. In "Fate..." Gann also makes remarks about chasing seniority numbers in hopes of beating them. Usually futile!.

DC