
NavList:
A Community Devoted to the Preservation and Practice of Celestial Navigation and Other Methods of Traditional Wayfinding
From: Howard G
Date: 2021 Dec 2, 22:29 -0800
Hi Folks
Just found this site and great to see this skill of old has a lot of following.
Am ex RNZAF navigator well skilled in the use of celestial navigation day and night with a aeronautical sextant - though I left in 1988 - and now just want to re learn the old skill with a marine sextant. (though would love to get an old aero one with a false horizon)
Have all my old notes and tables and even some old Hughes and Moires tables from WWII - dad was a Bomber Command pilot on Wellingtons and Mosquitoes had had these from that era.
Plastic Davis 25 marine sextant is under the Xmas tree and new tables and books to brush up on astro in the mail.
I am 100 km inland in Australia 2800 ft up so I do not have a natural horizon so ordered a Davis version from from Amazon.
I see a plate of molasses would have done the trick.
Very keen to get back in the driving seat with astro though bit sad it cannot be used at night only at dawn, dusk and day.
So my question - my 1st question ís it possible to shoot the stars at night with a marine sextant ( I couldn't find any definitive on this) but the German U Boat navigators claimed to be able to do this but can not find any info.
Interested as being able to shoot 3 star fixes a real joy in flying.
Looking forward to reading contributions on this forum.
Howard G