DC-9 Navigation
A thought crossed my mind recently having no experience with DC-9's at all...
How do they navigate? Northwest has loads of DC-9 10's, 30's, 40's etc... in use domestically. I know they are equipped with VOR/DME tracking equipment and an Autopilot able to track radials, but is this all they use? What about intersection fixes on the airways, do they take distances and bearings to determine when they are over the fix? It seems far too crude for this day and age.
Alternatively, do they have INS equipment aboard and a coupled autopilot? I havent seen any evidence of it in pictures i have seen of DC-9 flight decks.
If they did at some stage have a navigation system upgrade, when was such a system offered?
Early nineties saw even more airlines using DC-9's in modern airway structures, for instance Valujet.
Any comments/answers greatly appreciated. Thanks all.
Best Regards, Rob Minter