CONSTANT COMPASS HEADING FOR GREAT CIRCLE NAVIGATION, AND THE N-1 COMPASS SYSTEM

LeRoy D. Allen

Peer Reviewed

Abstract:	The advent of high speed aircraft and the probable extension of normal operating routes through polar areas has brought about certain navigational problems which have been the subject of numerous studies and considerable development. The use of the earth’s magnetic field as a directional reference has become increasingly dedifficult. In the area of the magnetic poles, the strength of the horizontal component of the earth’s magnetic field decreases to the extent that magnetic compasses become unreliable. As aircraft velocities increase, the rate of crossing isogonic lines at any location on the earth’s surface may reach such a high value that correction for change in variation to magnetic compasses will be difficult to maintain. This difficulty increases upon closing the magnetic or geographic poles where isogonic lines are more closely spaced.
Published in:	NAVIGATION: Journal of the Institute of Navigation, Volume 3, Number 9
Pages:	325 - 333
Cite this article:	Allen, LeRoy D., "CONSTANT COMPASS HEADING FOR GREAT CIRCLE NAVIGATION, AND THE N-1 COMPASS SYSTEM", NAVIGATION: Journal of The Institute of Navigation, Vol. 3, No. 9, 1953, pp. 325-333.
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