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A Community Devoted to the Preservation and Practice of Celestial Navigation and Other Methods of Traditional Wayfinding
Re: Vernier Scale on Box Sextant
From: Francis Upchurch
Date: 2016 Sep 12, 01:18 -0700
From: Francis Upchurch
Date: 2016 Sep 12, 01:18 -0700
I have a Francis Barker, circa 1970s in very good condition.
I've been test driving it against my Astra B. See attached photos.
I do have difficulty reading the Vernier accurately, .I get -1°21' with the eye of faith, but I wonder what I would get in a bouncing open cockpit Tiger Moth? Perhaps anything between 20-23'?
I think everyone seems to agree that Chichester used a Box sextant on his crazy Tasman flight? Not sure what make?
The only advantage I can see is the smaller size, but I find the Astra much easier to use and read.Not sure how a good 1930 sextant would compare?
I like the Francis Barker but would have taken the full sized sextant on any voyage requiring consistent accuracy in less than ideal conditions.
Best wishes
Francis
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