NavList:
A Community Devoted to the Preservation and Practice of Celestial Navigation and Other Methods of Traditional Wayfinding
From: Brian Walton
Date: 2026 Sep 21, 07:15 -0700
Josiah D,
I now fly a C172, and have extensive CN experience in aircraft and boats. Buy an A10. A Mk IX is four times too big for a C172.
Sit outside your house, and try taking a single sun shot, and record the UTC time and sextant value. Find out from Navlist's Data- US Clone what the result should have been. It will take many practice goes before you get consistent results. Try planning some single shots a few hours ahead, and see what you get. You will get an idea of index error and backlash.
Pre-plan shots when the sun is visible from your seat in rhe C172, stopped, engine off. Everything has to be ready beforehand.
Unless you fly from a desert, or desert island, don't try this airborne without a competent assistant, or have ATC, an autopilot and TCAS. Averaging and windscreen errors come later. Good luck !
Brian Walton
