JET NAVIGATION MADE EASIER

Aeronautical Chart Service

Peer Reviewed

Abstract:	Since the introduction of jet aircraft into the United States Air Force, a new chart requirement has been recognized, but to date, has not adequately been answered. Here is a story that may illustrate the requirement. A B-45 left the Los Angeles area for Langley Air Force Base. At 38,000 feet, he encountered tremendous tail winds of 150 miles an hour. His navigation was being accomplished on 1:1,000,000 scale WAC charts. The B-45 is equipped with an automatic pilot that is designed to hold the aircraft on any given altitude. When updrafts were encountered, the aircraft would dive back to its desired altitude. At 38,000 feet, the B-45 rides critically close to the math limitations in airspeed. Therefore, when encountering updrafts, it often dives past the math limitation. During this particular flight from Burbank to Langley, the pilot found that he was covering his charts with such rapidity that a majority of his time was spent replacing or removing charts from the chart case. On several occasions when searching for his new chart, the aircraft encountered updrafts and immediately passed the math needle limitations. The pilot, in turn, dropped his charts on the floor of the cockpit to disengage the automatic pilot in time to prevent damage to the aircraft. Even under conditions where these updrafts were not encountered during the flight, the pilot suffered considerable difficulty by merely trying to keep up with his charts.
Published in:	NAVIGATION: Journal of the Institute of Navigation, Volume 2, Number 7
Pages:	246 - 247
Cite this article:	Service, Aeronautical Chart, "JET NAVIGATION MADE EASIER", NAVIGATION: Journal of The Institute of Navigation, Vol. 2, No. 7, 1950, pp. 246-247.
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