What GPS?

[paulpost]

Thanks for all the answers .I found on craigslist a Garmin 176c for $100 with some maps loaded Florida and the Bahamas what is more that I need. This model has been discontinued but looks like a big screen TV comparing with the handheld ones.
Looks like a zip lock bag will do in my little inflatable.
Thanks again
Paul

 

[Gilldiver]

My father was a WWII navy flyer (PBY, Venturas, PBM's) and my Father in law was a B-17 crewman as Engineer/Top Turret with 50 missions out of North Africa and Italy. Both always liked the good old "Iron Compass" (railroad tracks) when things got interesting over land.

Over water it was compass, time, and hope.

 

[matt_unique]

That was a different era eh? I've only flown as a Private Pilot and when I was flying regularly GPS were still not widely used. I never used one in an aircraft...just compass, heading indicator aligned to the compass/departing runway, and VOR. Technology is cool....

 

[Charlie99]

Over water it was compass, time, and hope.

Amen. I have vivid memories of pre-GPS days.

Headed from Halifax to Norfolk our ship ran for 2 days at 25kts, about half of that in heavy fog. For two days we were running strictly on dead reckoning (compass, time, and hope), unable to either see land on radar or to get a celestial fix. No reliable loran fix, and Omega as usual plotted us at 3 different positions 100 miles apart, depending upon which stations we used. Our best fix was noting when we crossed the 1000 fathom lines of the Baltimore Canyon and with that I moved our estimated position over 20 miles. Of course, at that same time our ballistic submarines had super-duper inertial navigation systems accurate to a few feet, but they were too expensive for surface ships.

GPS can spoil you very fast.

 

[The Kraken]

Needle, ball, airspeed, altimeter, magnetic compass , watch/clock . . . and hopefully, an accurate map.

the K-opter Pilot

 

[Hank49]

Needle, ball, airspeed, altimeter, magnetic compass , watch/clock . . . and hopefully, an accurate map.

the K-opter Pilot

....and water towers with the town's name on them. That's a great one....simple common sense.

 

[Nemrod]

If they had GPS in those missing Navy bombers we would not have to endure over and over all the Bermuda Triangle crap.

N

 

[Nemrod]

....and water towers with the town's name on them. That's a great one....simple common sense.

More than once I have landed and looked in a phone book. When all else fails.

N