Unbelievable Facts

Bush said:

An example of relying on gadgets.
During the Gulf War some sailors were having navigation issues as the US Defense Force was tweaking the GPS readings and at times totally shutting down the systems to disrupt the Enemy.
During a conversation with a fello Yachty around that time apparently some of the crew on a vessel were telling the Skipper that he was off course.
Skipper said he`d been using a sextant for a long time & that he knew what he was doing and where he was.
Turned out the old captain was correct and spot on course.
Gadgets are only good when they are working.

Click to expand...

Moneybox said:

I'm trying to get my pilots license. To go anywhere beyond Cue I will have to get my cross-country endorsement that includes navigation without the fancy EFB's (electronic flight bags}. We used to navigate by map long before GPS came about so I don't think it'll be too difficult but we have to be proficient in an obsolete form of navigation. I guess maps don't suffer too badly from flat batteries or power surges unless it's a direct lightning strike in which case navigation might be the least of your problems. Of course there are areas such as Mount Magnet just 80km down the road, an area where the compass cannot be relied upon.

https://www.casa.gov.au/operations-...gulations-using-efbs#Requirementsforallpilots

Click to expand...

Bush said:

Apparently we have Magnetic Pole Shifts that would cause me Compass concerns if i was a Night Flyer.
Celestial Navigation in an Aircraft at Night now that would be interesting.
The amount of people i have met that do not know how to utilize the Southern Cross.
In any event though every form of navigation has some moments of potential error whether it be vision & weather , false magnetic influences or faulty equipment.
When in doubt trust your instincts.
Magnetic North comes naturally with me but finding my way through a City street maze i find tobe a Nightmare.

Click to expand...

davsgold said:

View attachment 15518

Click to expand...

Bush said:

An example of relying on gadgets.
During the Gulf War some sailors were having navigation issues as the US Defense Force was tweaking the GPS readings and at times totally shutting down the systems to disrupt the Enemy.
During a conversation with a fello Yachty around that time apparently some of the crew on a vessel were telling the Skipper that he was off course.
Skipper said he`d been using a sextant for a long time & that he knew what he was doing and where he was.
Turned out the old captain was correct and spot on course.
Gadgets are only good when they are working.

Click to expand...

jetz1984 said:

That’s right. I recall during the Gulf War my husband and I met some fisherman who couldn’t find all of their lobster pots. This was in the ocean off the SA coast, near Robe. They had trouble finding their lobster pots because they normally found them using satellite GPS positioning but as said, the US Defense Force were tweaking the GPS readings and quite often totally shutting down the satellite GPS system to annoy the Taliban and to make it difficult for them to trace ground troops.

Click to expand...