The Learning Never Stops!
Aviation is complicated business, and it can be deadly if not undertaken with the right mindset. Our goal here at Code 7700 is to prepare you to avoid the day you will need to Squawk 7700, but if that day ever comes, to prepare you to deal with it competently.
Our Latest Update
Having started my big airplane career with a cockpit crew of four, then three (lost the navigator), and then two (lost the flight engineer), I must admit to being a bit agnostic about the debate for going back to three pilots on the flight deck. On the one hand, it is another person to worry about. On the other hand, when things go wrong, having a third pilot up front can be a life saver. Take the example of United Airlines Flight 1175. Case Study: United Airlines 1175
Our Previous Update:
My first book on navigation was issued to Air Force navigators in 1972 and had this to say about celestial navigation: “When the ground is not visible and a position cannot be established ·with other methods, celestial observations offer the only available aid to dead reckoning.” Of course, those days are long gone. So that begs the question: why bother learning it? I offer basic celestial concepts here to show how it used to be done in hopes that it can help a modern navigator’s “big picture” view of the task at hand: getting from here to there. I think having a cursory understanding – which is all I am providing here – will make you a better navigator when the GPS doesn’t seem to be up to the task. Celestial Navigation
An Index of Previous Updates
If you remember seeing something on "Homeplate" in the last two years, you will find it here, in a list of recent lead stories. Lead Stories . . .
