| Name: | Description: | Size: | Format: | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 498.51 KB | Adobe PDF |
Advisor(s)
Abstract(s)
Two Portuguese navigators crossed the South Atlantic in the beginning of the 20th century. They developed and used for the first time scientific methods of astronomic navigation when flying out of sight of land. A new model of sextant that could be used to measure the altitude of a star without the need of the sea horizon was developed. Another instrument called "path corrector" was introduced to calculate graphically the drift of an airplane and the direction of flight, taking into account the intensity and the direction of the winds. For the very first time in the history of the aviation the crossing of the South Atlantic had been achieved, and using an instrument that enabled an airplane's position to be precisely determined by astronomic navigation when flying out of sight of land.
Description
Keywords
Aircraft Navigation Aeroplane History of Aviation Gago Coutinho Aviation Planets Celestial Navigation Flight Altitude Pilot Licence Astrolabes
Citation
Barata, J.M.M., Mendes, A.L.M., Morgado, C.M.P., Neves, F.M.S.P., Silva, A.R.R. The Origins of Scientific Aircraft Navigation 45th AIAA/ASME/SAE/ASEE Joint Propulsion Conference & Exhibit, Denver, CO, EUA, 2-5 agosto, 2009 DOI: 10.2514/6.2009-5022
Publisher
American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics Inc