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Subject: Re: astrocompass still in use
From: Paul Hirose (paulhirose@XXX.XXX)
Date: Wed Sep 25 2002 - 14:38:23 EDT
Robert Eno wrote:
>
> The astrocompass is still in use in Arctic Canada; in fact according to
> one of my contacts in the airline industry, its use -- as a backup system
> for maintaining a heading -- in small aircraft such as twin otters, is
> still mandatory.
Where would it be mounted?
When I first worked on B-52s in the early 80s they still had the MD-1
astrocompass. It was totally automatic. A little astrodome about the
size of a coffee cup was on top of the plane, and contained the "eye".
The MD-1 gave precise heading and also functioned as an automatic
sextant, continuously displaying your intercept with respect to the
nav system's present position. It long predated the microcircuit era;
the equations were solved with vacuum tubes, differentials, synchros,
etc.
Someone is selling a Mk II on eBay. Auction ends Oct 1. No bids yet.
It's a "reserve" auction so no telling how much the seller really
wants for it.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=717713573
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