GPS How did we manage before

[Piers]

BEA used Decca. On the few times I was in the cockpit, the position on the rolling map would suddenly jump, whereupon the pilots would re-fix the system, seemingly saying to the Decca "no, were're no there, we're here." So who knew better, the pilots ot the Decca!

 

[Piers]

Re: GPS How did we manage before

I will not admit to that on the grounds ... but, it reminds me of a colleague who landed his VC10 at Sharjah military airport instead of Dubai (bit to the South). Oops. Pax off, coaches down to Dubai, engineers came out from London to lighten the aircraft (short runway), and it was ferried back to LHR.

All the way on approach, Sharjah had been saying we can't see you, but he had his eyes fixed on the airport believing it to be Dubai. It was only after he'd touched down and asked for taxy instructions that the penny dropped when tower said, hesitatingly, "but no-one has landed, and there are no aircraft on the runway...".

Colleague left BOAC soon afterwards...

 

[Piers]

Re: Very good job my father not around ...

...and I was a CAA Instructor and Type Rating Examiner at the time, as well as a pilot for BOAC!

 

[Guest]

Who invested in ....

British West Indian Airways .... BWIA .... or better known as : Better Wait In Airport or Britains Worst Investment Abroad ... /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[Guest]

how old do yopu think we are !!!

I remember the Loran and the 'top-hat' oscilloscope display,

Decca with spinning dials, master red green .... etc. miss one - count 'em again !!! Decca errors .... at 0200, fishing boats and shite around ... in eng. channel - got time to look in book ????

The only real god-send of Transit - was compass error calcs and dr for sights .... a treat.

Anyone remember the Omega system ... supposed to give worldwide position coverage ?? What ever happened to it ?? We had charts and agreement to test / report on its working years ago on one ship ....

Most were longing for a Tamaya Sight Calculator when I was around in latter period of my ship days ... but I invested in a Texas Ti59 ..... read magnetic card, had pre-programmed modules for just about all walks of life etc. It still works today - except for battery pack of course !!! Half the price, twice the power etc. etc.

 

[AndrewB]

[ QUOTE ]
Wot nobody recalling the joys of the RDF, or even the original decca system with those three spinning dials and the charts with three channels on them - did anybody ever bother with the book with the fixed decca errors?

[/ QUOTE ]My memory's failing, was it the old Decca system where you had to count the endless dahs and dits? Dah, dah, dah, dah --- "No I don't know where skip put his cup" --- dit dit dit, "Oh b*gger!"

 

[Piers]

No, that was - er - blow, can't remember!

But there was a transmitter at Quimper.

 

[graham]

I remember groping about off Watchet harbour in mist when we came across a Hillyard double ender making his way in purposefully using the latest black magic "Decca".We followed him in and chatting in the pub found out the chap was a retired policeman.My mum allways said to ask a copper if I got lost.

When they became affordable I had a dinghy decca with one waypoint This made me the envy of our club cruising fleet some would follow me blindly on the strenghth of it!Little did they know that whenever the engine was started it would lose the plot and if we didnt keep a good "ep" then we could not restart the decca at all.Modern Black Magic may be much safer but not half as much fun.

 

[cass123]

Was that not CONSUL or something like that. ????

 

[Piers]

YES - thank you !!!!!

 

[cass123]

Re: GPS How did we manage before

Built and set up during WW2 to assist U-boats crossing Biscay if my memory is correct.

 

[peterb]

[ QUOTE ]
Was that not CONSUL or something like that. ????

[/ QUOTE ]

Could have been, but you needed a similar count on the 'VHF lighthouses' that were going to be set up all round the country. In the end I think that only four were set up; Anvil Point and Scratchell's Bay covering the western entrance into the Solent, and North Foreland and Calais covering the eastern English Channel. Channel 88, IIRC.