Inertial Navigation Old Timers/Experts

[Chris Scott]

Hey 411A,

You're right about 2001-09-11: I was also flying that day. It's not a case of being ungrateful; more of not wishing to take America’s generosity for granted.

Presumably there was no reason for turning GPS off after the Twin Towers, but one can think of plenty of scenarios that might make it essential: so many dodgy people are using it these days. And taking it for granted.

Quote from Wikipedia:
Following the September 11, 2001 attacks, the United States Government wrote to the European Union opposing the [Galileo] project, arguing that it would end the ability of the United States to shut down GPS in times of military operations.
[Unquote]

No doubt we are developing a European system, forget, but is it available now, and how many of us (will) have the necessary equipment?
Quote from Wikipedia:
On November 30th, 2007, the 27 EU transportation ministers involved reached an agreement that it [Galileo] should be operational by 2013.
[Unquote]

Bearing in mind that even the current triple-mix IRS positions seem to drift by up to about 1 knot (1 nm per hour of flight), it would seem politic to keep those DME stations running worldwide for the time being, not to mention the VORs and ILSs. [And Droitwich ].