Multimedia Gallery
- Navigation Methods: Dead Reckoning
Lt. Micajah G. L. Claiborne's remarks about navigation observations during the expedition.
Parrots, Fiji (Aprosmicturs splendens, Aprosmictus personatus)
Celestial navigation innovator and instructor
Lindbergh carried (but did not use) a drift meter like this on his flight to Paris in the Spirit of St. Louis.
Lindbergh relied on this type of compass in the Spirit of St. Louis to maintain course on the way to Paris until it malfunctioned.
Pipe, Oregon Territory
A sketch by Charles Wilkes during the U.S. Exploring Expedition.
Pontella, Indian Ocean (Pontella speciosa, Pontella detonsa ?, Pontella princeps, Pontella fera, Pontella valida)
Aircraft equipment locates signals from a ground station. Typically, a needle points toward a station, giving a bearing relative to the direction the aircraft is headed.
Antennas create four “beams” that aviators locate by listening to audio signals. When the signals overlap into a constant tone, the aviator is “flying the beam.”