NavList:

Eric: you wanted an explanation of the Vulcan Astro Form.  Part of the problem is that it's multi-functional.  It can be used for two-star sandwich fixes, Sun and planet shots, and Polaris shots, (Oh! And on the back of some, there's the same for three stars), so you don't necessarily have to fill every space in. 

To get back into practice, I've started to fill one in for the famous Vulcan Seven-Shot, Two-Star, Astro Fix. for 22.00Z last night.  The fact I'm still working on it shows just how mind boggling it is to fictionalise a star fix to make the result come out where you want it.  That's why nav-students who fiddled their astro were invariably caught out, because it's just too easy for the average brain not to make a few simple mistakes. Meanwhile, to whet your appetite, I’ve found my plumb-bob calculations on the effect of heading and speed changes on the pendulous reference during astro shots (see below).  The speed change one explains where the multiplier 6 comes from on the bottom right of the astro form.  I don’t recall anyone explaining this at the time, but maybe I wasn’t listening.  I’ve probably posted these before, but I’m afraid I don’t have Gary LaPook’s amazing legal filing system.   DaveP

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