bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
The Early Years of the Royal Society
Authors: Jones Harold Spencer 
Published: January 2010

This year the Royal Society celebrates the third centenary of its foundation. In this paper Sir Harold Spencer Jones, the late Astronomer Royal, who was the Institute's first President, describes the early years of the Society and shows how closely some of its work was related to navigation.For some two thousand years, until well into the seventeenth century, the writings of the ancient Greek philosophers, and in particular those of Aristotle, were regarded as the supreme fountain of wisdom and the source of all knowledge. The break with the Aristotelian dogma may be said to have started with the publication by Copernicus in 1543 of his De Revolutionibus Orbium Coelestium whereby the Earth was displaced from proud position as the centre of the Universe, fixed and immovable, and asserted to be not only rotating around an axis but also to be merely one of a system of planets revolving around the Sun as a centre. Copernicus had refrained for thirty years from publishing his theory as he knew that it would be received with ridicule, not merely because it was not in accordance with Aristotelian dogma but also because it would be held to be against the Scriptures. The Copernican theory met, in fact, with widespread opposition and more than a century elapsed before it came to be generally accepted; for long it was regarded as merely a convenient mathematical representation of the motions of the planets without any true physical basis.
The Revision of the Collision Regulations
Authors: Quick J. H. , Wylie F. J. 
Published: January 2010

This account of the recent International Conference on Safety of Life at Sea, has been written for the Journal jointly by Captain J. H. Quick, C.B.E., the Professional Officer and Chief Nautical Surveyor to the Ministry of Transport, who was a delegate to the conference, and Captain F. J. Wylie, R.N., the Director ofthe Radio Advisory Service of the Chamber of Shipping and Liverpool Steam Ship Owners' Association, who was an advisor to the British delegation. The account concentrates on those parts of the conference's work which will be of most interest to the seafarer, and in particular on the revision of the International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea.The Final Act of the conference, with Annexes, including the texts of the revised International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea and revised International Collision Regulations, will be published shortly by the International Maritime Consultative Organization, from Chancery House, London.The International Conference on the Safety of Life at Sea (1960) concluded on the 17th June. Forty-five governments had sent delegations and in addition ten other governments were represented by observers. The purpose of the conference was to revise the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (1948) and the International Collision Regulations.
Navigating the Supersonic B-58
Authors: Polhemus William L. 
Published: January 2010

This account of the problems of navigating the Hustler, the Convair B-j8 supersonic bomber, was presented at the sixteenth Annual General Meeting of the American Institute of Navigation, held at the United States Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs on 16, 17, 18 June. It is published with the kind permission of that Institute.In navigating high-performance vehicles with the precision required to get acceptable results, the individual is limited in his ability to assess all the data available about heading, speed, instrument readings, &c, and to act upon this information in sufficient time to get the job done. The same limitations apply to pilots when flight conditions approach the design limits of the aircraft. For these reasons the manual tasks required of the crew of the B-58 have been automated to the extent that transition to a missile environment seems almost complete.
Fifteen Years of Marine Radar
Authors: Wylie F. J. 
Published: January 2010

In this paper, by the Director of the Radio Advisory Service, a comprehensive survey i s made of all the main trends of development in commercial marine radar since it first went to sea in 1946. The opinions of a representative group of seamen on the value they get from radar is analysed, and finally some views of manufacturers and seamen on what the future may hold are examined. The paper was presented at the annual meeting of the Ausschuss fur Funkortung held in Kiel on 10, 11, 12 September 1960, and is reproduced with the kind permission of that body.The last fifteen years represent almost exactly the whole life of commercial radar in merchant ships; in the United Kingdom the first commercial types were beginning to go to sea towards the end of 1946. The period has been an intensely interesting one from almost every aspect of the subject and the writer is fortunate in having been associated with merchant ships, and their owners, for thirteen of these fifteen years and with the subject of radar at sea since 1936.
Some Aspects of Doppler Track Computer Navigation
Authors: Webb P. R. W. 
Published: January 2010

The doppler track computer is a navigation device which accepts inputs of ground-speed and track from a doppler radar, and computes and displays miles to go and miles transverse to a selected track. Several types are available on the market.The heading input to the doppler may be from a magnetically slaved gyro or from a free gyro corrected for Earth rate. Thus, either magnetic tracks or gyro tracks are fed to the computer. Also, navigation may be carried out with reference to airways, mercator, conformal conic, oblique mercator, or polar stereographic charts.
Manning Reductions and the Cost of Navigation
Authors: McKenzie J. S. 
Published: January 2010

This paper looks at the cost of navigation and endeavours to establish a relationship, of the type studied by Professor H. Benford, between manning and its associated cost in British shipping. Certain assumptions are made concerning the capital investment and operating costs for navigation equipment and from these the progressive savings are estimated for minimum manning and an unmanned bridge. Captain McKenzie is Managing Director of Marine and General Computer Consultancy (I.O.M.) Ltd.After some considerable investigation into the costs of marine equipment and accommodation it has been found that there is the greatest difficulty in establishing a base cost on which to examine possible reductions. Equipment, salaries, accommodation and fringe benefits vary so much from company to company and ship to ship that any comparison is meaningless. Thus we must consider some hypothetical ‘standard ship’ and define fairly closely what equipment is already on board and the average salary for staff or crew members. It seems reasonable to look at a modern ship equipped with all the devices which an up-to-date shipowner considers necessary for her operation and—more important—her safety.
The Simple Logic of Radar Avoidance Action
Authors: Inglesby J. V. 
Published: January 2010

In this paper the basic principles of avoidance action are developed. It is shown that a unique set of rules exists which will guarantee the safe passage of converging aircraft; when two are involved, if either, or both simultaneously, act according to these rules, it is impossible to have an accident whatever the situation. (This assumes inerrant assessments on the part of Controllers, and it also assumes that the uncontrolled aircraft continues on course.) The rules are consistent with the Rules of the Air. Past attempts to formulate rules are compared.The action taken by an aircraft in flight to avoid coming dangerously close to some other nearby aircraft we call ‘avoidance action’. This action may be made by the pilot should the other aircraft come within his field of view, or if ground controlled, it will be initiated by the Radar Controller. The pilot works to the Rules of the Air and the Radar Controller works to them whenever it is possible for him to do so. The Rules of the Air do not always help the Radar Controller because, in every case, except for two aircraft approaching each other head-on, one or other has the right-of-way and ‘an aircraft which has the right-of-way shall maintain its course and speed.’ This means that an aircraft which has the right-of-way must not take avoiding action. The object of this paper, therefore, is to attempt to propose a set of avoidance action rules which will assist Radar Controllers in their task.
Why an Institute of Navigation?
Authors: Hugon P. 
Published: January 2010

In this paper, which was originally published in Navigation, Paris, July 1970, the distinguished General Secretary of the French Institute of Navigation, Professor Pierre Hugon, a Gold Medallist of this Institute, examines some of the premises adopted by M. W. Richey in his paper on the Institutes of Navigation presented to the Australian Institute of Navigation in October 1969 (this Journal, 23, 99). It is interesting to note the extent to which the conclusions in these two papers differ in emphasis.Following in the footsteps of my friend Mr. M. W. Richey who, at the twentieth anniversary meeting of the Australian Institute of Navigation in Sydney on 10 October 1969, presented a remarkable address on ‘The Institutes of Navigation in the 70's’, I am impelled to state the position of the sister Institute in France by examining once again the very principles of such an undertaking and discussing its future character. This unpremeditated essay concerns a duty and a faith which, though they must not give way to doubt, are nevertheless open to question.
Distribution of Jet Streams in the North Atlantic, Europe and the Mediterranean, 1957–8
Authors: Crossley A. F. 
Published: January 2010

From an inspection of upper-air contour charts for 300 and 200 mb., the location of the axis of jet streams of 80 kt. or more has been assessed once daily over the two years 1957–8. Results are presented for each of the four seasons by means of isopleths of frequency (Fig. 1) and also by means of frequency-roses in areas of 5 degrees of latitude by 10 degrees of longitude (Figs. 2–5); each rose shows the number of occasions of direction of the axis from the eight compass points. The area covered extends from latitude 30° N. to 70° N., and from longitude 60° W. to 30° E. An Appendix contains some discussion of the technique of locating the axis of jet streams on contour charts.The characteristics of jet streams were described in a paper by Chambers in this Journal for July/October 1959. The present paper goes a stage further by giving the number of occurrences of jet streams per season over a two-year period in an area from the North Atlantic to the Mediterranean. The number of occurrences depends very much on the chosen definition, about which there is no general agreement. Whilst a jet stream may be fairly described as a fast-moving stream of air in the upper troposphere with great extension in the direction of the wind and persistence of the order of days, for statistical purposes it is necessary to be more precise. In this paper a critical speed of 80 kt. is required at the 300- or 200-mb. level in order that the stream shall qualify as a jet stream. Further discussion of this point is given in the Appendix, but any definition is largely subjective and it does not matter a great deal what definition is used provided the reader is aware of the limits to which the statistics refer.
Navigation and Communication in Project Beacon
Authors: Giesecke H. 
Published: January 2010

This paper, and the papers by Gérardin and Payne which follow, were presented at the meeting of the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Ortung und Navigation held in Dusseldorf 5–7 June 1962 and are printed with that body's kind permission. An account of the meeting was published in the last number of the Journal (16, 111).The scientific engineering review of the U.S. Task Force on air traffic control, known as Project Beacon, was completed in the fall of 1961. In their report to the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Agency, the Task Force makes no claim for originality of most of the ideas and recommendations which were presented. Consequently, many of the problems resulting from the proposed plan of action have been previously discussed. However, the very positive and specific treatment of basic principles and the presentation of clear decisions produced considerable impact. The blurred picture created by less definitive approaches has been brought into better focus. The remaining problems are reduced in number, implementation efforts can be concentrated and the probability of success has been increased.
An Experimental Airborne Computer
Authors: Payne W. R. 
Published: January 2010

The continual increase in the complexity and performance of modern aircraft give rise to the need for improved accuracy and versatility in the electronic aids available to the crew. The system described is an example of digital computing techniques applied to the problems of air navigation. Navigation was chosen as a typical problem but the flexibility of the computer would allow it to be applied to other in-flight problems, such as the calculation of fuel and air data.Dexan (Digital Experimental Airborne Navigator) is the outcome of some three years' work at the Applied Electronics Laboratories of the General Electric Company at Stanmore and the Royal Aircraft Establishment, Farnborough. The calculations performed by the computer to carry out a particular navigation process are shown schematically in Fig. 1.
Interpretation and Behaviour in using Radar at Sea
Authors: Wylie F. J. 
Published: January 2010

These two notes are the first of a series which will suggest to mariners the causes of collision at sea when radar is in use, by showing against each apparent cause an accumulation of court evidence and judgment, by isolating certain kinds of action which seem to have led to collision but have not been so regarded in every judgment and by examining certain judgments against a technically informed background.In the articles which follow, a particular judgment is examined in the light of a more precise study of true motion as a direct source of intelligence at slow speeds, of plotting when courses and speeds are changing and of the suggestion that the Crossing Rules may be applied in fog after ‘ascertainment’.
Testing a Modern Gyro-Magnetic Compass
Authors: Ackerman J. D. 
Published: January 2010

Gyro magnetic compasses are subject to a large number of errors, some of which may be eliminated, or at least greatly reduced, by careful design on the part of the instrument manufacturer and an intelligent operating drill on the part of the user. Table I shows errors under five basic headings, and allots to each error a symbol classifying it as:(a) The responsibility of the instrument manufacturer (I)(b) The responsibility of the aircraft manufacturer or its operator (A)(c) Inadequate knowledge of the geomagnetic structure of the Earth's field (K)Some sources of error in Table I are marked with an asterisk. It is these which the designers of the compass system described have endeavoured to eliminate.
III—The Rhyl–Hoylake Experiment
Authors: Colquhoun L. R. 
Published: January 2010

This paper has been written with the SRN-2 and VA-3 type of craft in mind; they are basically over water craft but with a capability of operating over land for the purpose of embarking or disembarking passengers and freight or of crossing mud flats or sandbanks. Immersed sidewall craft have not been considered since their problems are similar to those of high-speed launches. Overland air-cushion vehicles will, as Mr. Lamb has pointed out, most likely operate over prepared routes and therefore navigation should not present any problems.The main advantage offered by air-cushion craft is speed. The second advantage is its amphibious capability. Because of this an air-cushion craft can operate routes that are out of the question for any other kind of vehicle except perhaps a helicopter. An example of such a route is the proposed Rhyl–Hoylake ferry, which at low water is almost an overland route.
IV—Communications and Navigational Aids
Authors: Morgan M. 
Published: January 2010

The hovercraft will be required to move over land and water and, dependent on siting and the state of the tide, will also move over mixed conditions—land, mud, water, rocks, &c. It is a flexible vehicle and it will be capable of working in many parts of the world, and thought should be given right from the start of development to the use of aids to navigation which are self-contained.The various weather conditions it will be expected to operate in and to maintain scheduled movement will vary from daylight—fine weather and clear visibility—to night and bad weather.
V—Radio Navigational Equipment for Hovercraft
Authors: Beattie J. H. , Dennis J. N. 
Published: January 2010

1. Navigational equipment. The radio navigational equipment likely to be carried in a hovercraft will depend on the type of craft, the route or area of operation, and the economics of operation.At present the operational requirements for navigational equipment are not fully crystallized because no hovercraft is yet in commercial operation and the operational requirements may well differ from trial requirements. However, two distinct types of hovercraft could become operational soon, the immersed sidewall hovercraft and the amphibious air curtain hovercraft.
VI—Hovercraft and the Collision Regulations
Authors: Hardwick J. H. 
Published: January 2010

The preceding papers have shown that the present generation of hovercraft being used mainly on overwater routes should be considered as ships. The problems of operating these very fast craft in the same media as conventional vessels is receiving a lot of thought at the present time and perhaps a few more words on this subject would not be amiss.In framing operational rules for hovercraft it has been proposed that they obey the Regulations for Preventing Collision at Sea in so far as their size and construction will permit. This is in fact the point of view which has been put forward by the Hovercraft Operational Requirements Panel, representing Hovercraft Developments Ltd. and the industry, in their provisional British Air-Cushion Vehicle Operational Rules.If this approach is accepted, three questions immediately spring to the mind of the mariner;(1) How manœuvrable are these machines that skid around on a cushion of air? The present papers have shown very clearly how well the turning circles and stopping distances of hovercraft compare with conventional ships. Control systems have improved tremendously since the first generation of machines and they are now far more manœuvrable than ships proceeding at a fraction of their speed. Experience in driving these craft has shown that this problem causes, little trouble, and as a result of various hovercraft demonstrations their manœuvrability at speed now seems to be generally accepted as satisfactory.
A Marine Radar System Incorporating Automatic Plotting
Authors: Beattie J. H. 
Published: January 2010

The possibility of completely automatizing the navigation of merchant ships has been the subject of a recent study and prototype anti-collision radar equipment has already been engineered and evaluated. Indications are that, particularly from an economic point of view, there is little likelihood of such equipment going to sea in the foreseeable future, if it is accepted that a principle aim of any such system should be to reduce manning requirements below three watch-keeping deck officers and a captain. The main reason is that complex navigational problems exist at the beginning and end of the voyage and the presence of a trained watch-keeping deck officer offers the most economic solution to these problems. Detailed analysis of these navigational problems shows that the simple application of automatization techniques to existing equipment offers improved, standards of navigational efficiency and thus increased safety and higher productivity. A new radar plotting system, the Decca 969/ARP, is designed to assist a single watch-keeping deck officer to navigate more efficiently by automatizing certain difficult navigational tasks now performed manually.That the economic need for automatic or semi-automatic navigational equipment and the design of such equipment is a relatively complex matter is illustrated by the recent very full report issued by the U.S. Maritime Administration. It was clear by 1958 that new navigational radar equipment would be required; a design study was therefore commenced.
Use of a Doppler Navigation System and Fixes to Monitor Aircraft Heading
Authors: Grocott D. F. H. 
Published: January 2010

When trials of civil aircraft doppler navigation systems are carried out over land the pattern of results generally show a small along-track error component and a large across-track error component, whereas when the basic doppler radar is assessed, the errors over land are about ±0·2 per cent of distance gone and ±0°.2 in drift (standard deviation). It is not possible to quote system errors for all permutations of doppler equipments and compass systems but it is suggested that a good working figure for the across-track system error component would be about ±3 per cent (standard deviation), i.e. a compass error of ±1°.7. Advantage can be taken of the inherent accuracy of the doppler radar equipment to determine the heading error from a knowledge of track made good and the mean doppler drift along that track.The standard twin-channel civil doppler navigation computer combines aircraft heading with doppler drift and doppler distance gone to form a ‘computer track’ in coordinates of distance along and across a preset track and distance. The computer is, in effect, meaning the doppler drift between selected points and adding this value to an arbitrary datum (aircraft compass) to form the computer track. If we can determine the true track over the ground we can assume that the error between computer track and actual track is caused entirely by error in the arbitrary datum, i.e. heading error.
Calculating the Sun's Position for Calibration of Radar Antennas
Authors: Blicq R. S. 
Published: January 2010

Recently I was asked to assist the engineers in my company (a Canadian electronics firm) devise a method for using radiation from the Sun to check the alignment of heavy ground radar sets to within very fine tolerances. The degree of accuracy would have to be better than five minutes of arc in azimuth for search antennas, and three minutes of arc in elevation angle for height finding antennas. Solar radiation in the microwave region of the radio frequency spectrum would be used as a reference. The antenna reflector would be rotated in azimuth and elevation until maximum solar radiation was reflected into the waveguide horn and thence to the radar receiver. The moment peak detector current was obtained, the antenna would be locked in position and the exact G.M.T. noted. Normal astro-navigation calculation methods and tables would then be used to calculate the Sun's true azimuth and elevation angle, which would be compared with that measured by the antenna to determine its accuracy.Since none of the engineers had previous navigation experience, they had run into difficulties when they tried to devise a method for calculating the Sun's position to within the requisite accuracy limits.The first difficulty was the fact that most antenna calibrations would be performed by field technicians having no knowledge of astro-navigation tables and calculation methods. They would be at extremely remote radar stations across Canada and thus would not have an opportunity to ask questions if our instructions proved ambiguous.