True Course 70 degrees, var. 11 degrees E., deviation 0 degrees, therefore compass course 59 degrees. Drift? A guess. I lay off 10 degrees to starboard. That will take us clear of the high ground anyhow. I put the course on the compass, 69 degrees, straighten her up for Smithy to set his gyro, and then hand over. Immediately he sits her back on her tail and we climb up into the cloud. – Pacific Flight, 1935
Thus did PG “Bill” Taylor and Sir Charles Kingsford Smith set off for Suva, Fiji, in their Lockheed Altair Lady Southern Cross. It was 1934, and navigation was based on compass, clock and commonsense, correcting for wind and using position fixes and star shots to confirm or deny where you thought you were.…
