THE VECTOR ANALOG COMPUTER

E. Stuart Perkins

Peer Reviewed

Abstract:	THE VECTOR ANALOG COMPUTER (VAC) is a new radio navigational instrument which enables a pilot (1) to fly a rectilinear course either on or off the Victor airways with no appreciable lateral displacement, (2) proceed directly to any given latitude and longitude with exact positional information at all times, (3) navigate directly to any specified holding point and then hold the pattern precisely, (4) make the transition to an ILS approach with extreme versatility, and (5) assist radar traffic controllers by providing more precise information about his aircratt’s position in the traffic picture than radar can provide. VAC offers continuous readings of position, bearing, distance, and ground speed with signal reception from only one VORTAC station at a time. After proceeding beyond the range of the VORTAC transmitter it can still navigate for relatively long distances on mechanical memory. It is a superior anti-collision device, is readily adaptable to all aircraft from helicopters to jets, and is ca pilot gable of directing an automatic indepen ently of the magnetic directional information normally required in beam guidance systems.
Published in:	NAVIGATION: Journal of the Institute of Navigation, Volume 6, Number 8
Pages:	487 - 496
Cite this article:	Perkins, E. Stuart, "THE VECTOR ANALOG COMPUTER", NAVIGATION: Journal of The Institute of Navigation, Vol. 6, No. 8, 1959, pp. 487-496.
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