NavList:
A Community Devoted to the Preservation and Practice of Celestial Navigation and Other Methods of Traditional Wayfinding
Re: Admiral GAGO Coutinho
From: Gary LaPook
Date: 2010 Oct 19, 13:20 -0700
From: Gary LaPook
Date: 2010 Oct 19, 13:20 -0700
I don't speak Portuguese but it was easy to interpret a caption at 19:35 into the video. It quotes John Glenn as saying that on the first orbital flight a modern sextant was carried that had been inspired by the sextant created by Admiral Cortinho for aerial navigation. gl On 10/18/2010 2:43 PM, Douglas Denny wrote: > > Very interesting. Pity it does not have English sub-titles. > > I have one of these sextants. They are the first successful bubble > sextant for aviation use. Basically a marine sextant modified with two > standard type of bubble spirit level tubes: one to hold the sextant > horizontal laterally, and the other to establish vertical. > The telescope is a bifocal allowing a view of the normal index and > horizon mirrors as normal, and the bubble arrangement at the same > time. Hence the telescope views at infinity for index/horizon, and a > few cm for the bubble at the same time. Quite simple, but ingenious. > There is a battery (in the handle) and lamp system to illuminate the > bubbles. > > Douglas Denny. > Chichester. England. > ---------------------------------------------------------------- > NavList message boards and member settings: www.fer3.com/NavList > Members may optionally receive posts by email. > To cancel email delivery, send a message to NoMail[at]fer3.com > ---------------------------------------------------------------- >