FAA Flight Navigator written test
#11
Gets Weekends Off
Joined APC: Sep 2010
Position: Challenger 300/350 FO
Posts: 121
My CP/boss has the qual, got it so he could fly this thing around. Guess who did most of the work? Hint: Not the gazillionaire taking the credit... Basically stood up in the front seat across the Atlantic shooting cel most of the time. Sun only, through the clouds in the daytime. Helped build it too.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3o8Je-Bgkkk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3o8Je-Bgkkk
#12
Gets Weekends Off
Joined APC: Apr 2011
Position: retired 767(dl)
Posts: 5,724
My CP/boss has the qual, got it so he could fly this thing around. Guess who did most of the work? Hint: Not the gazillionaire taking the credit... Basically stood up in the front seat across the Atlantic shooting cel most of the time. Sun only, through the clouds in the daytime. Helped build it too.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3o8Je-Bgkkk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3o8Je-Bgkkk
#14
Gets Weekends Off
Joined APC: Dec 2007
Position: Retired
Posts: 404
Had a KC-135 Navigator on the crew back in the mid 80s that had been selected for pilot training. Wanted to get the FAA Nav ticket for bar talk. Lined up an FAA navigator who also happened to be a Lt. Col. in the reserves. We had a trip from Barksdale to Hickam with a three day layover and then back to Barksdale. Fed met us in Hickam and flew the return leg with us for the checkride. Nav hit the west coast on time and on course and then it all turned to crap! Got a complete reroute to Barksdale plus picked our way through an area of thunderstorms that was not forecast. Got to Barksdale and flew an approach to published minimums in driving rain. At debrief the fed said we did good so I left to go home before he changed his mind. I am sure my old nav is still having fun showing people his FAA Nav ticket.
#15
Gets Weekends Off
Joined APC: Sep 2010
Position: Challenger 300/350 FO
Posts: 121
http://www.brooklandsmuseum.com/index.php?/explore/vickers-fb27-vimy-replica-nx71my-1994/
They flew it all around several continents, even did a few more ocean crossings without Fossett later on. They were in National Geographic magazine, pretty big deal in the aviation world at the time. And he was an active UAL 747 Captain at the time too.
#17
Gets Weekends Off
Thread Starter
Joined APC: Jun 2008
Posts: 647
There is absolutely no bragging rights about it. I am just interested in the subject. I did meet yesterday a current flight navigator. We sat down and he taught me a lot. You will be surprised at how accurate it can be. I flew last night a redeye and took two shots of two different stars. Celesial navigation for aviation is somewhat different from maritime although it is very similar. In maritime, the sailor takes his shots and then makes the calculations to find his position. You can't do that in a plane going 450 knots. So you precompute everything typically 20 minutes prior. You use the Air Almanac and H.O 249 to fill out a quick form. You make several corrections including even Coriolis force which can account for about 7-8 miles off course. I was 11 miles off course on a 1500 mile trip. That's less than 1%. Not bad, uh? Mind you I am still learning the entire process. The standard is less than 7 miles. The technique is so simple. There is nothing complicated about the process. It's just merely understanding the numbers, applying the correct addition or subtraction and making a good shot.
I use also the Astri Astro-Compass. With this device, you just calculate your LHA, put the declination of the celestial body and your latitude. What you find is your true heading. If you apply your variation, you get your magnetic heading. I come within 2 degrees of magnetic heading every single time. This process takes me less than 3 minutes to do.
Yes, there is no real world applications to it. It's just interesting. Call me a nerd.
I use also the Astri Astro-Compass. With this device, you just calculate your LHA, put the declination of the celestial body and your latitude. What you find is your true heading. If you apply your variation, you get your magnetic heading. I come within 2 degrees of magnetic heading every single time. This process takes me less than 3 minutes to do.
Yes, there is no real world applications to it. It's just interesting. Call me a nerd.
#18
There is absolutely no bragging rights about it. I am just interested in the subject. I did meet yesterday a current flight navigator. We sat down and he taught me a lot. You will be surprised at how accurate it can be. I flew last night a redeye and took two shots of two different stars. Celesial navigation for aviation is somewhat different from maritime although it is very similar. In maritime, the sailor takes his shots and then makes the calculations to find his position. You can't do that in a plane going 450 knots. So you precompute everything typically 20 minutes prior. You use the Air Almanac and H.O 249 to fill out a quick form. You make several corrections including even Coriolis force which can account for about 7-8 miles off course. I was 11 miles off course on a 1500 mile trip. That's less than 1%. Not bad, uh? Mind you I am still learning the entire process. The standard is less than 7 miles. The technique is so simple. There is nothing complicated about the process. It's just merely understanding the numbers, applying the correct addition or subtraction and making a good shot.
I use also the Astri Astro-Compass. With this device, you just calculate your LHA, put the declination of the celestial body and your latitude. What you find is your true heading. If you apply your variation, you get your magnetic heading. I come within 2 degrees of magnetic heading every single time. This process takes me less than 3 minutes to do.
Yes, there is no real world applications to it. It's just interesting. Call me a nerd.
I use also the Astri Astro-Compass. With this device, you just calculate your LHA, put the declination of the celestial body and your latitude. What you find is your true heading. If you apply your variation, you get your magnetic heading. I come within 2 degrees of magnetic heading every single time. This process takes me less than 3 minutes to do.
Yes, there is no real world applications to it. It's just interesting. Call me a nerd.
That's pretty interesting, and it sounds like you've done a pretty good job. I once met someone who navigated on the old
China Clippers, (but to South America). He said they used a combination of celestial nav and a kind of bomb sight thing during the day, which was gyro stabilized. Basically, you would lock the thing on a point on the surface, then set the gyro. After a period of time you would measure the drift, use an e6b to correct the drift.. From that you plotted your course and could tell your ground speed. Using all that equipment, they were still off by many miles and would use an AM radio station as an NDB to home in.
#20
We used to enjoy having our older AF navigators explain how LORAN, OMEGA, and CONSOLAN worked. Ocean Station November was still in use, halfway to Hawaii from the West Coast, and they would give us a radar fix. After we got INS, we would give them a fix.
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