Real-Life Communication
Flight navigators must be excellent communicators. "You have to
be able to explain yourself to the pilot and the flight engineer," says Bob
Hawgood. He worked as a flight navigator for two commercial airlines.
He
says that they would often pass little written notes between them to make
sure there were no misunderstandings in the cockpit. You must also master
a good deal of lingo in this field.
A flight navigator visits your
school to give a presentation on his career. Unfortunately, he only uses lingo
when he speaks about his career. Here is what he says:
"Technology
has made the job of flight navigator much easier since the days of Fred Noonan.
Thanks to the GPS, we just have to punch in the longitude and latitude of
the place we want to go to, and we are off. But some things have not changed.
We still talk in knots, we still have to calculate the point of no return
and we still have to know the ins and outs of celestial navigation. Technology,
after all, can break down during the worst circumstances."
Here are
the definitions for some of the terms he used. Rewrite what he said, using
the definitions to show you understand each term.
Definitions:
1.
Fred Noonan -- A famous navigator. He and Amelia Earhart disappeared under
mysterious circumstances over the Pacific Ocean in 1937 while trying to fly
around the world.
2. GPS -- Global positioning system. A worldwide
radio-navigation system based on 24 satellites and their ground stations.
GPS uses these "man-made stars" as reference points to calculate positions
accurate to within a few meters.
3. Longitude -- Imaginary
lines on the Earth used to measure points on the globe east or west of the
prime meridian at Greenwich, England. Greenwich is longitude zero. Meridians
of longitude are measured in degrees, minutes and seconds. The distance per
degree of longitude is about 69.18 miles at the equator and zero at the North
and South Poles where the meridians converge.
4. Latitude --
Imaginary lines used to measure points on the globe north or south of the
equator, which is latitude zero. Navigators use this grid to pinpoint exact
places in relation to the equator and the prime meridian. Latitude is measured
in degrees, minutes and seconds. A degree measures about 69 miles.
5.
Knot -- A measure of speed used in air and naval navigation. One knot
is equal to one nautical mile per hour.
6. Point of no return
-- Point of the flight where a plane can no longer return to its departure
point. Once it reaches this point, a plane must continue towards its destination
because it will have not enough fuel to head back.
7. Celestial
navigation -- The traditional method of navigation. It relies on the sun,
moon and stars.