What will Happen to you when GPS goes Down

[K_V_B]

Originally Posted by Wotname

Typo perhaps

VFR - no radios required
IFR - several radios required (comms and nav)

Indeed. I had originally written IFR twice, but now see that I only corrected one instance.
It was of course VFR.
Flying in France was interesting. One day we landed at a small field in Burgundy, taxied to just in front of the local club house, knocked and surprised the people inside who hadn't even noticed someone'd landed...

[K_V_B]

Originally Posted by barnakiel

And I got asked by another member:

"Alt without a sextant."

Grab your smarthone or any other digital camera and snap a picture towards the sun (use a filter).

Try to hold the camera 90degs to sea level, either vert or horiz.

From the camera's lens and pix count calculate the camera's lines per degs ratio.

In the image, calculate the lines from the sun to the horizon.

Convert to degs.

Here you are.

b.

To the nearest 60 nautical miles, yes. Not enough to know which side of the English Channel you're on...

[K_V_B]

Originally Posted by sailorchic34

Boy, am I late to this game. So assuming that GPS is down and my HP51G calculator with CN programs dumped too along with all my clocks and other electronics, I would get or make a protractor and stick and navigate via latitude as O' Chris Colombo did back in 1492, or I'd stop and ask for directions as Cap'n Ron would do.

Easy Peasy.

The Dutch sailing journalist Henk Bezemer did a trip to the Azores, in a 5m70 plywood boat, without any navigation equipment except for a watch.
He got there.

[Snowpetrel]

Originally Posted by K_V_B

To the nearest 60 nautical miles, yes. Not enough to know which side of the English Channel you're on...

I used a simple Kamal once. Made from a ruler and string. Got me within half a degree or so. It was flat water up in the gulf of Aden on a container ship. Not sure It would be anywhere near as good on a rolling yacht.

[K_V_B]

Originally Posted by Snowpetrel

I used a simple Kamal once. Made from a ruler and string. Got me within half a degree or so. It was flat water up in the gulf of Aden on a container ship. Not sure It would be anywhere near as good on a rolling yacht.

Half a degree still gives you a position ellipse with at least one axis of 60 miles. Probably useable in the middle of the ocean, but near the coast I'd look at the coast, and not at the stars...

[sailorchic34]

Originally Posted by K_V_B

The Dutch sailing journalist Henk Bezemer did a trip to the Azores, in a 5m70 plywood boat, without any navigation equipment except for a watch.
He got there.

Cool, alas I've never had a watch. But I do have a protractor.

[s/v Beth]

This is probably a topic for another thread, but I wonder if a managable set of navigation tools could be made out of just stuff found around the desk- ie pencils and paper, maybe glasses or beer bottle bottoms for lensing effects, etc.
The reason I wonder is after reading "Adrift" he seemed to be able to keep his latitude for a month with just a few pencils tied together.
Just wondering if a few essential things might be placed in a ditch bag...besides a GPS that runs on batteries (which is already in there)

[Auspicious]

Originally Posted by s/v Beth

The reason I wonder is after reading "Adrift" he seemed to be able to keep his latitude for a month with just a few pencils tied together.

Latitude is easy. Longitude is hard. See the movie 'Longitude' or Longitude: The True Story of a Lone Genius Who Solved the Greatest Scientific Problem of His Time: Dava Sobel: 9780802715296: Amazon.com: Books .

[colemj]

Originally Posted by s/v Beth

Just wondering if a few essential things might be placed in a ditch bag...besides a GPS that runs on batteries (which is already in there)

If you packed an epirb, you won't need to worry about knowing your latitude for a month. Your gps won't even get used.

Putting charts, sextants, timepieces, etc in a ditch bag is only good for a placebo effect on one's state of mind.

Mark

[konakoma]

Originally Posted by s/v Jedi

I'm not exactly sure what will happen when GPS goes down but I do suspect that Rocna wielding multi-hulls will take the worst of it because they don't go anywhere without it

Not sure I get the connection to a Multi hull and a Rocna-maybe 'cause I have a mono

[konakoma]

Originally Posted by Ann T. Cate

Boatie,

I'm wondering if the planes will fly with the GPS system down?

A.

We actually were able to fly our aircraft from a departure point to destination without GPS, way back in the day-mostly we listened to the baseball broadcast from the destination city on the AM dial and rode the beam in till we saw the strip (or lights at night)-and lived to tell you about it. Oh, the good old days.
Now we get all the modern electronics that give us this type of result if not careful-guess that's why we still look ahead

[a64pilot]

I fly this all the time with just a chart, sectional

[Wotname]

Originally Posted by a64pilot

I fly this all the time with just a chart, sectional

I bet you use the compass and clock also

[Ex-Calif]

Originally Posted by Wotname

I bet you use the compass and clock also

Actually not much - IFR = I follow roads.

When I was just "building time" and had to complete the requisite "dual hours" the instructor had a gas station road map.

There's I-10. We take that to I-210 and keep north. When we pass the rose bowl in Pasadena we are looking for I-5. We'll take I-5 through the grapevine - LOL...

[a64pilot]

Originally Posted by Wotname

I bet you use the compass and clock also

Yes, biggest reason I kept the 140 is that it is a simple stick and rudder tailwheel airplane that gets me back to the basics of flying. I have a VHF radio, but seldom turn it on, "modernizing" a classic like a 140 is a sin in my mind.

I'm just beginning to learn to sail, but sailing is from what I can tell similar to flying. You can I'm sure get all kinds of fancy electronic wind instruments etc., but I'm trying to learn how to read the tattletells etc. Electronics in flying mask a lack of proficiency, I think maybe the same in sailing?
I don't even have an autopilot yet From my very limited experience it seems the ratio of the amount of head sails vs the main if you get it right can have the boat essentially self steer but too much main and she wants to turn into the wind. Now that is obvious to you guys, but at my stage it's something I need to learn and I assume three things, an autopilot can mask that, but doing so will eat power (battery) and it may well be inefficient as holding rudder over has to create drag, and I'm guessing that if your not having to hold a lot of rudder to keep a course, you may even go a tiny bit faster?