Navigation in the 60s in NZ?

[gojozoom]

Hi guys,

I'm doing some research about early flight navigation methods and was surprised to learn that point-to-point navigation using VORs and NDBs were only used in the US. In Europe they'd been already using an early version of GPS that only updated every 5 minutes and wasn't as accurate as the modern GPS systems.

I'm wondering if you guys know which method NAC and SPANZ might have used in the 60s for DC-3s?

Cheers
Dan

[Ian Warren]

To my knowledge it was Radio Direction Finder and ADF , which gave of a frequency, the oldest flight charts I have here are dated in the mid 1970's and they do have VOR and NDBs, be interesting to find out when they were put in , the airport light beacon was still operational in the early 1980's and on occasion into the 1990s with the fog.

[Ian Warren]

The navigation maps I broke down scanned and made into A4 format was printed in 1978 post at flightsim.com , this has a lot old beacons not in use anymore but they still work in flight-simulation, added are the beacon frequency's that come from FlightSim 98 manual or FS5 I can't recall, they still work fine in FSX today.

[cowpatz]

Ian is probably correct. An "aural null" RDF. The antennae loop would be rotated to get a null and then this would show as a direction either to or from the radio station. If in doubt a second bearing would be taken to confirm the position. This ambiguity was later sorted by the addition of a sense aerial.
I'm sure International navigation then was by Doppler nav (Air NZ DC8s)

[gojozoom]

Thanks a lot guys, I'll stick with VOR/NDB for my flights then.

[cowpatz]

Depending on what sim platform you are using you could also try the CIVA Carousel INS unit (especially for international navigation). Probably more 70's onwards than the 60's but a good "period" unit to use rather than GPS. I'm not sure if LORAN was ever modeled in flight sim.

[Adamski]

You could always try a sextant and "dead reckoning"!!!

If you Google around, you should find links to an FS9 sextant gauge that's supposed to work with FSX and P3D - and also some instructions. I've grabbed all the info myself, but have yet to try it.

Adam.

[Ian Warren]

You could always try a sextant and "dead reckoning"!!!

If you Google around, you should find links to an FS9 sextant gauge that's supposed to work with FSX and P3D - and also some instruxtions. I've grabbed all the info myself, but have yet to try it.

That would be a bit fun playing around with even just for an education, I did notice one has recently doing the round and it look pretty good and detailed.

[SA227]

I'm sure International navigation then was by Doppler nav (Air NZ DC8s)

Weren't the DC8's Omega?

Omega was switched off the day I sat my Instruments and Nav Aids exam many years ago. There were two or three questions on the system!

[cowpatz]

I believe that Omega was a retrofit. They didn't have it when they first took delivery of the 8.
Doppler and a navigator.

[towerguy]

navigation in the 60's is no different to navigation at any other age

[Ian Warren]

It is quite interesting when 'Sir Francis Chichester' was learning the sextant around the back roads around North Auckland from one to no hands on the push bike to calibrate the Sextant .. that was a skill in itself.

[MrJohn]

Just what you were looking for, an extract from 1966 Encyclopedia of NZ relating to aviation and navigation!

http://www.teara.govt.nz/en/1966/air-tr ... rts/page-9
http://www.teara.govt.nz/en/1966/air-tr ... ts/page-10

[Ian Warren]

End of the day, flying around New Zealand if you in real time as in flight sim it is almost second nature, NBD's DEM's just adds to the accuracy.

[emfrat]

In my Classic FS9.1, my default start was Bristol Lulsgate Bottom (EGGD). Take off to the East, come round to about 335 Mag and you would pass within visual range of lots of UK places. There's a similar trick in NZ, but it is more 035 than 335, After all, it is the Antipodes