Neat Stories, Short Quotes

A few good stories are part of a larger collection or web page. I've extracted a few here so you don't have to search for the key parts.

C-130 gets home via sextant

A while ago, the US Navy stopped teaching navigators how to use a sextant. I expect that was a sensible decision. It's better to spend the time and money on something with higher paybacks. From
RISKS DIGEST, Volume 19: Issue 76, May 1998

On the other hand, this is a good story. From RISKS DIGEST, Volume 19: Issue 75, May 1998

30+ years ago (1968?), the brother of a Navy navigator friend (also a Navy nav) was assigned to VX-6, the Navy C-130 squadron that provided logistics support out of Christchurch, NZ, for the annual wintering-over expeditions to the Antarctic. On one trip, after departing the ice shelf in a near white-out for a return trip to Christchurch, and climbing out to VMC [Visual Meteorological Conditions] on top of an apparently endless cloud deck, the aircraft suffered a TOTAL and complete electrical failure. No AC no DC (after batteries depleted), no comm, no nav, no nothing; VMC on top with all directions NORTH. Well, using just his periscopic sextant, HO-214 (the Air Almanac), and a chart, he was able to continuously shoot the sun to get a True Bearing to the sun, work backwards, and compute headings to fly to Christchurch... The aircraft arrived successfully, and he was awarded a Navy Commendation, etc. All done with a sextant and chart. Nice work.

There is also a good poke fun at the AF story here: THREE WAYS TO THE ICE

   Follow a Navy Connie
   Follow a Navy Herc, or
   Hire a Navy Navigator

More C-130 lore. Flight testing of the ski version, Major Charles E. Fitzwater, USAF (long)