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(Some countries task their air forces to fly without navigation aids during wartime, thus still requiring a navigator’s position). Most civilian air navigators were retired or made redundant by the early 1980s.
In the olden days there used to be a navigation officer in commercial airlines who had the tasks of navigation and radio communication. But, in modern commercial airliners there is no navigation officer.
What happened to Flight Engineers?
While providing an excellent training ground for entry-level pilots, the flight engineer’s position is no longer needed with today’s technology. Any manual controls required are now within the reach of the two pilots. There are no longer any US-based passenger carriers operating fleets that require flight engineers.
Why does the flight back take longer?
The reason it took so much longer to fly back is the jet stream, a river of fast-moving air high up in the sky. The jet stream over the United States never stays in one place – it tends to move farther south and blow stronger in the winter, and to move farther north and not blow as strong in the summer.
In the 1920s, when the earliest U.S. airmail carriers flew, pilots would navigate at night with the aid of bonfires strategically placed on the ground. These bonfires and arrows were used in conjunction with pilotage and dead reckoning, and were followed by more advanced radio navigation systems.
Do 747s still have flight engineers?
“It’s more work” than today’s largely automated airplanes,” Jakyl says of the -200 variant of the 747, “but it’s a lot of fun.” So much more work, in fact, that the airplane still utilizes a third member of the flight crew — known as a “flight engineer.”
What is the role of a professional flight navigator?
The Professional Flight Navigator, like the professional Radio Operator, both crew members on over water airline flights have long been forgotten in civil aviation. The Navigator on board aircraft had there origins at sea where the need for accurate position was needed by ships travelling long distances on the ocean.
What happened to the human flight navigator?
On October 1, 1962, TWA flew its first two Atlantic Crossings without the use of a human navigator, relying instead on duplicate Bendix Doppler computers operated by the pilots. So began the demise of the human flight navigator. Just the day before these flights TWA furloughed 37 of its 55 navigators.
The Doppler was thoroughly tested and the most damaging thing to the navigators was the pilots report on the ease of Doppler Navigation. So began the demise of the Flight Navigator.
During the war years aerial navigation developed into a sophisticated science. Early aerial navigation methods grew into the development of radio navigation aids, and progressed into the sophisticated satellite navigation of today.