Naval Observatory "Celestial Navigation Data for Assumed Position and Time" data ( ) you can simulate the "page a day" almanac used in the 30s and 40s. There are certain constraints you have to place on yourself, of course - mainly not to select and shoot any celestial body that you can't see :-) Using the navigation dome (or simulating it by going to Spot View) allows you to check out what's available and not either below the horizon or obscured by clouds. Hi SPOFF,I've been using the Beaumont-Bitzer simulated bubble sextant in my M.A.A.M.-SIM DC-3 and find that it is a very good approximation of the real deal (I, too, used to do a tad of marine celestial navigation, though was never an expert by any means). In fact you can get "Bubble" attachment for a marime sextant to use when the horizon is not available.Can't imagine this explanation will make things any clearer, but I can only hope.SPOFF If you are REALLY interested, pick up the marine version and give it a try. An airplane is at some altitude ABOVE sea level and therfore one would be looking DOWN at the horizon making the measurement of the angle betweent star and the horizon incorrect.There ARE "Plastic" Marine Sextants available for "Back Yard Practice" but I know of no "Bubble" Sextants available. which you must record at the time of the shot. which gives you an artificial "HORIZON", which makes it possable to measure the angle between the star and the "Horizon".at an instant in time. I tried to download the simulated sextant yesterday and: "Page Not Available".The only essential difference between a Marine Sextant and an Avaition Bubble Sextant is the "Bubble". How you can do this in the simulator I would be willing to consider but can't at present visualise how it would work. For Air Navigation, I believe one is HO-249. There are calculations to perform, using two different published "Tables". You need at least TWO shots (LOPs) to get a FIX.ie. You have to "identify" the star you are going to use for your shot.Generating the first LOP. (No offense intended Mark) I am familiar with (and have practiced) Marine Celestial Navigation and it is not quite as simple as one might hope. I havn't tried this simulated sextant yet but I have difficulty visualizing how this can be like the real thing as to application. HI GARY: I think the term used with reference to Marks Bubble Sextant is "Simulated". Filename: dc3_bbsx.zip License: Freeware Added: 6th December 2004 Author: Dave Bitzer, Mark Beaumont Size: 991kb Mark "Dark Moment" BeaumontVP Fleet, DC-3 AirwaysTeam Member, MAAM-SIM Includes comprehensive browser-based manual and references. This gauge simulates the sextant, and the process by which one obtains a LOP, or crossing LOPs to obtain a position, or fix. This data is available from the Internet in "ready to use" form. In the tables, all times involved are GMT. In the 1940s, extensive tables of star positions were made available to air navigators to be used with sextants to obtain these LOPs. It requires a chart, and a planned course on that chart, with waypoints specified by Latitude and Longitude, an assumed time of arrival at each waypoint, and stars (including the Sun, Moon, or planets) in view. Celestial or Astronomical Navigation provides a means of obtaining Lines of Position (LOPs) from the stars. Without "landmarks", the navigators used Ded Reckoning (DR) and the stars. In the early days, however, air navigation essentially used ship navigation techniques adapted for aircraft. FS2004 Simulated Aircraft Bubble Sextant As travel by air developed and matured, navigation over long distances also developed and improved. And what's more, if you'd like radio range equipment and a driftmeter, I can tell you where to get that too! At.
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