How do you find the limits of areas on a chart?

Mxsmanic wrote:
Robert M. Gary writes:

The sectional chart is used with a plotter. The plotter measures
distance and can figure direction.

I googled for this and found only software.

I presume you mean the mechanical arm-like device that I've seen being
using with flat charts on tables in movies? Certainly that might be
useful, but what about during flight? Chart tables would be awkward
in the cockpit (although large aircraft with navigators might have
them).

Two answers. First, when I'm flying my Mooney around at near the speed
of sound I just have a rough idea of where the airspace is and use ATC
and the GPS to avoid it.
However, when I fly the J-3 (and when I first started flying) I carried
a small plotter. You can use it in flight. In fact I'm required to make
sure my students can use it in flight for navigation and diversion. You
can use it in flight.
I still carry a small plotter in the pocket of my seat. I have multiple
scales on it so I can use it for IFR charts too but it also works for
sectionals.

I have one that has a Wizwheel built in and I use it regularly. Its
easier for me to figure TAS using the wizwheel then puching numbers
into the GPS to computer it. The Wizwheel is still a close friend of
mine. When I flew the GPS, the Wizwheel, my watch, and my plotter were
the *only* navigation tools I had.

-Robert, CFII

Robert M. Gary writes:

Two answers. First, when I'm flying my Mooney around at near the speed
of sound I just have a rough idea of where the airspace is and use ATC
and the GPS to avoid it.

What type of Mooney is it? I didn't know there were any that could
approach the speed of sound.

However, when I fly the J-3 (and when I first started flying) I carried
a small plotter. You can use it in flight. In fact I'm required to make
sure my students can use it in flight for navigation and diversion. You
can use it in flight.
I still carry a small plotter in the pocket of my seat. I have multiple
scales on it so I can use it for IFR charts too but it also works for
sectionals.

I looked up "chart plotter" on Google, but I don't seem to be finding
any mechanical devices, just software for PCs and the like.

I have one that has a Wizwheel built in and I use it regularly. Its
easier for me to figure TAS using the wizwheel then puching numbers
into the GPS to computer it. The Wizwheel is still a close friend of
mine. When I flew the GPS, the Wizwheel, my watch, and my plotter were
the *only* navigation tools I had.

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?

--
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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) :

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E6B

As an aside, I have spent a lot of effort trying to determine if
"wizwheel" or "whizwheel" was the original slang term. I preferred the
former, but I'm finding more evidence for the latter... derived from
"whiz" kids instead of "wizard" users. Not set in stone though.

Kev

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

Mxsmanic wrote:
What is a Wizwheel? It sounds almost like a slide rule.

it is. You have basically two main designs still in use,
the E6B style and the ones like the CR5; the difference is
mainly in the way you compute the wind triangles (I use
both, because I enjoy slide rules in general, but frankly,
the plain E6B is more intuitive IMHO; the CR models also
allow more complex computations, but for practical purposes
the plain ol' aluminum E6B works fine (and doesn't melt when
left on the dashboard);

Slide rules are obsolete now,

No they are not; well, ok, you are half right he they
are considered obsolte but it's a darn shame. You can spot
miles away engineers who did learn with slide rules from
those who didn't, but I digress.

Does anyone still use them for aviation?

I do; never runs out of batteries, always there, and easy
to use;

--Sylvain

On Thu, 02 Nov 2006 21:12:54 -0800, Sylvain wrote:

Mxsmanic wrote:
What is a Wizwheel? It sounds almost like a slide rule.

it is. You have basically two main designs still in use,
the E6B style and the ones like the CR5; the difference is
mainly in the way you compute the wind triangles (I use
both, because I enjoy slide rules in general, but frankly,
the plain E6B is more intuitive IMHO; the CR models also
allow more complex computations, but for practical purposes
the plain ol' aluminum E6B works fine (and doesn't melt when
left on the dashboard);

Slide rules are obsolete now,

No they are not; well, ok, you are half right he they
are considered obsolte but it's a darn shame. You can spot
miles away engineers who did learn with slide rules from
those who didn't, but I digress.

Does anyone still use them for aviation?

I do; never runs out of batteries, always there, and easy
to use;

Seen this?

http://www.antiquark.com/sliderule/s...l-n909-es.html

Don

Don Tuite wrote:

Seen this?

http://www.antiquark.com/sliderule/s...l-n909-es.html

this is wrong on so many levels :-))

thanks for the link!

--Sylvain

Don Tuite wrote:
Seen this?

http://www.antiquark.com/sliderule/s...l-n909-es.html

Boy does that bring back memories!

BTW, I still use my pocket-size plastic circular slide rule on occasion
because the back of it has the periodic table of the elements and the
plastic insert has a whole bunch of conversion constants for length, area,
mass, force, volume, velocity, flow rate, pressure, energy, and a bunch of
common physical constants and common equations.

"Sylvain" wrote in message
t...
You can spot miles away engineers who did learn with
slide rules from those who didn't

Yeah, we have greyer hair -- what is left of it...

Sylvain writes:

No they are not; well, ok, you are half right he they
are considered obsolte but it's a darn shame. You can spot
miles away engineers who did learn with slide rules from
those who didn't, but I digress.

This particular aviation use is a good example of situations in which
slide rules still have advantages, but unfortunately these situations
are rare.

I do; never runs out of batteries, always there, and easy
to use;

True for slide rules in general, but they seem to have disappeared
just the same. People like new and shiny gadgets.

--
Transpose mxsmanic and gmail to reach me by e-mail.