Multimedia Gallery
- Topic: Navigating In The Air
An astrodome provided an enclosed area from which a navigator could take sightings.
After her near-miraculous rescue in the middle of the Atlantic, Elder took to Vaudeville at an extravagant salary. A movie dramatization of "The American Girl's" flight fell through, but Elder landed starring roles in two Hollywood features and soon amassed a fortune of $250,000. Unfortunately, her fame faded quickly and other female aviators with more experience quickly eclipsed her. By the late 1930s, she was largely forgotten until salacious details from one of her divorce proceedings would again appear in the papers.
A standard military drift sight through the World War II and early Cold War eras.
One of the first effective models of bubble sextant for aeronautical use.
These aircraft served as flying classrooms for training U.S. Army Air Forces navigators in World War II.
Earhart used an antenna similar to this later model in her attempt to locate Howland Island.
"Black box" refers to more than just a flight data recorder for accident investigations. It often refers to electronic components in an aircraft that monitor or control flight or that support communication and navigation.
Most navigators in the Army Air Forces started as pilot cadets who “washed out” of pilot training, often in a PT-17, such as the one seen here. Good math skills were considered essential for those who made the transition to navigator.
