Aviation Watches

"Teacherjh" wrote in message
...
|
| Sweep second hands are better than digital. In fact, digital watches are
| inferior in most respects.
|
|
| Why? Timing an approach with digital, I start the timer and wait for 3:18
to
| show up. Timing it analog I have to count and remember the number of
times the
| second hand went around, or remember which little tic mark the minute hand
was
| on. Digital is drop dead simpler.
|
|
| You can use a dial watch to determine direction
| and estimate distances.
|
|
| how?

Were you never a Boy Scout? :-)

To measure distance, you can use a dial watch as a crude sextant to get an
idea of, say, how wide a river is.

Watch method. You can also determine the direction using a watch. The steps
you take will depend on whether you are in the northern temperate zone or in
the southern temperate zone (and whether you have a conventional or digital
watch). The northern temperate zone is located between 23.4o north and 66.6o
north. The southern temperate zone is located between 23.4o south and 66.6o
south.

Northern Temperate Zone (conventional watch)
1.. Place a small stick in the ground so that it casts a definite shadow.
2.. Place your watch on the ground sot that the hour hand points toward
and along the shadow of the stick.
3.. Find the point on the watch midway between the hour hand and 12
o'clock and draw an imaginary line from that point through and beyond the
center of the watch. This imaginary line is a north-south line.
NOTE: If your watch is set on daylight savings time, then use the midway
point between the hour hand and 1 o'clock to draw your imaginary line.

If you carry a digital watch, simply draw a conventional watch face on the
ground with the hands indicating the proper time (as shown on your digital
watch) - following the same steps as listed above.