Explaining navigation technologies and all the jargon that surrounds those tools to non-pilot family and friends

[waynemcc999]

As a pilot, have you ever wanted a brief video that would explain navigation technologies and all the jargon that surrounds those tools to non-pilot family and friends?

In this video, my good friend Levi and I take to the skies to compare old-school aviation tech with cutting-edge avionics, and the results might surprise you. Plus, we’ll explore the modern systems, like ADS-B, that are revolutionizing convenience and safety in the cockpit. My short recap will lead you to Levi's full video... on how vintage tech and modern avionics coexist and complement each other.

[Boatguy]

I flew from San Francisco to Auckland on Pan Am and they had four officers on the flight deck. Since they were introduced as Captain, FO, then second officer and third officer, I had to ask. All four were pilots, but one acted as FE and the fourth as navigator!

Inertial navigation was fairly common at that time so I was surprised, but they were still using celestial! We did find Tahiti for a fuel stop. I also had a friend who was a navigator in the Air Force during Vietnam who used celestial.

I learned celestial navigation using HO 249, the sight reduction tables for air navigation which we used for sight reduction when sailing to Hawaii.

With all due respect, this bubble sextant is vintage aviation navigation tech!

Damn, where did put my hourglass?

[waynemcc999]

Russ, now that's very cool! As a sailor, of course you're on top of this celestial stuff.
Thanks for posting the sextant,
Wayne

[dmloftus]

Good video Wayne. BTW, Amelia Earhart's copilot, Fred Noonan, was a world renowned celestial navigator but couldn't find Howland Island. I'll stick with my GPS! An interesting fact - GPS was only supposed to be for the military, but Reagan opened it to the public after KAL007 was shot down by the Russians Sep 1, 1983. Unfortunately, my father-in-law was on that flight. My wife is still nervous getting on planes 40 years later.

[waynemcc999]

David, good info on Noonan and Reagan, but sorry about your father-in-law.
All the best,
Wayne

[Steve]

Good video Wayne. BTW, Amelia Earhart's copilot, Fred Noonan, was a world renowned celestial navigator but couldn't find Howland Island. I'll stick with my GPS! An interesting fact - GPS was only supposed to be for the military, but Reagan opened it to the public after KAL007 was shot down by the Russians Sep 1, 1983. Unfortunately, my father-in-law was on that flight. My wife is still nervous getting on planes 40 years later.

My squadron was deployed to Misawa, Japan when KAL007 was shot down. Our Ready Alert aircraft launched for SAR, which fairly quickly became a Search and Salvage mission. We used to fly that Red Route 20 all the time in the P3. We had inertial and loran, but always crossed checked with celestial nav and radar of the Russian coastline to ensure that we stayed clear. As the Squadron Flight Surgeon, I was on Crew 8 (ASW Maniacs). I got a lot of stick time (our missions were up to 13 hours) and among other duties like coding the Mode 4, I often got to do the cel shots.

A lifetime ago...

Me left seat in P3C somewhere over the Pacific in 1984