Lost? Never. Mighty confused? A few times. Worst instance was flying P-3 from Adak, Alaska to Moffet Field, California. Lost our inertials early in the flight and solid high level overcast prevented celestial updates. When we got within radar range of land we found ourselves off the coast of Canada. Busted their ADIZ, but did not get intercepted. Made it to Moffet without incident.
Next worst instance was flying F/A-18 back to mother at night. I wasn't technically "lost", but the ship was steaming EMCON and I lost my GPS and had no idea how to find her. Then I remembered recently watching Apollo 13 and Jim Lovell's account in that movie of trying to find his carrier in the dark after he lost all his electricals in has ancient Banshee, including his radios, instruments, and cockpit lighting. Hornets are very reliable and have back ups to their back ups, so it took a lot of circuit breaker pulling to totally darken the cockpit. But I eventually worked it out and my eyes dark adapted. Sure enough, I spotted the bioluminescent glow of the carrier's wake, just like Jim Lovell. Thanks, Jim.
Last edited by KenV; 12th Jul 2017 at 12:41.