Mxsmanic wrote:
What is a Wizwheel? It sounds almost like a slide rule.
Slide rules are obsolete now, but they were (and remain) extremely
well suited to some of the types of calculations that pilots and
others must do rapidly under less than ideal conditions. Does anyone
still use them for aviation?

Yes, it's usually required by instructors. See this entry (I wrote the
history section) :


Called a Whiz Wheel, because either only a "Whiz" could figure it out, or
because, once it is figured out, you said.. GeeWhiz.. that was easy..

A "WhizWheel" or E6B is nothing more than a circular slide rule.
In Jr High, when it was time to learn slide rules, I had problem with it. A
very wise math teacher handed me a circular slide rule and the instruction
manual and suggested I take it home for the weekend. Come Monday morning
math class, I was solving the problems before any one else.

When it came time for pilot training, they introduced the E6B. Ah Ha... I
knew what that was.. this is going to be easy.

BT