NavList:
A Community Devoted to the Preservation and Practice of Celestial Navigation and Other Methods of Traditional Wayfinding
Byrd Sextant (or should it be "de Florez sextant")
From: Bill Morris
Date: 2009 May 30, 02:45 -0700
From: Bill Morris
Date: 2009 May 30, 02:45 -0700
I recently acquired and restored to working order an early aeronautical sextant of the type used by Commander Richard Byrd on his claimed flight to the North Pole in 1926 (see attachment). This used a linear rather than a circular bubble and cannot have been very easy to use, least of all in the air. For those interested in the instruments of navigation, I give some historical details and an account of the instrument on my blog posted today at www.sextantbook.com ,under the heading of "Aircraft Sextants". Luis de Florez claimed priority of invention over Byrd, but the more famous name of Byrd has stuck with the instrument. Bill Morris Pukenui New Zealand --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ Navigation List archive: www.fer3.com/arc To post, email NavList@fer3.com To , email NavList-@fer3.com -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---