Global Aviation Magazine : 60 Years of the Hercules
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Thought these may be of interest - apologies for the poor quality, they are screen grabs from an old VHS video.
First up -inverted 'L' dz markings through the goggs
LZ / strip through the goggs - usual markings were 'box plus 1' or 'box plus 2'- the box was a touchdown zone -(500 ft ?) plus 1 or 2 lights at the far end-could be horribly disorientating during the final approach.
The flight badge - the 3 white splodges represent the inverted 'L' from pic 1
First up -inverted 'L' dz markings through the goggs
LZ / strip through the goggs - usual markings were 'box plus 1' or 'box plus 2'- the box was a touchdown zone -(500 ft ?) plus 1 or 2 lights at the far end-could be horribly disorientating during the final approach.
The flight badge - the 3 white splodges represent the inverted 'L' from pic 1
It was the trip working up Gladys as Captain when we met one of his brothers who was doing a bit of freelance work at our destination. I seem to recall making the crew bus stop at a village so I could buy some chilies of certain death from a bloke in the marketplace and then slowly introducing them into my in-flight rations. We ended up using my GPS because ATC cleared us to a place that wasn't on any of the charts we carried.
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Many thanks Mal Drop for the clarification ... DECCA ... Would that have been Moving Map DECCA ... talk about steam driven technology if it was 
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TANS (Tactical Air Navigation System) was indeed a Helicopter system that was fitted to the Dominie (as well as Sea King and Navy Lynx amongst others).
Quintessentially it was an air data computer with a Doppler Radar feed and a True Air Speed feed (hence the lage 'temperature bulb' on the starboard side of the Dominie's nose) that replaced the earlier 'steam driven' mechanical GPI from the early '80s onwards. It gave a digital read out of the aircraft's position.
Unfortuanately, in the Dominie, it was only as good as the Doppler feed (from the Vucan Mk I which had a drift rate of around 2-3 miles per hour) exacerbated by the Student's interpretation of the Ecko 190 radar.
It was replaced with an all digital system (and colour radar) during the Dominie Avionics Upgrade of the mid '90s.
Quintessentially it was an air data computer with a Doppler Radar feed and a True Air Speed feed (hence the lage 'temperature bulb' on the starboard side of the Dominie's nose) that replaced the earlier 'steam driven' mechanical GPI from the early '80s onwards. It gave a digital read out of the aircraft's position.
Unfortuanately, in the Dominie, it was only as good as the Doppler feed (from the Vucan Mk I which had a drift rate of around 2-3 miles per hour) exacerbated by the Student's interpretation of the Ecko 190 radar.
It was replaced with an all digital system (and colour radar) during the Dominie Avionics Upgrade of the mid '90s.
The closest we got to having a moving map was if I drew a picture of a sad kitten on it.
On one Cyprus double-header (AKT-LYN-AKT on the build-up to GW1 extended crew duty day of 21-hours which yielded in excess of 140 flying hours a month for some lucky souls), I was given a very Paddington Bear stare when I decided to festoon the Nav Station with paper chains made out of out-of-date charts. Using the Nav curtain as a Jedi cloak also lost its novelty when done for the umpteenth time flying into another yet another gritty-red-eyed sunrise somewhere over Crete...
On one Cyprus double-header (AKT-LYN-AKT on the build-up to GW1 extended crew duty day of 21-hours which yielded in excess of 140 flying hours a month for some lucky souls), I was given a very Paddington Bear stare when I decided to festoon the Nav Station with paper chains made out of out-of-date charts. Using the Nav curtain as a Jedi cloak also lost its novelty when done for the umpteenth time flying into another yet another gritty-red-eyed sunrise somewhere over Crete...
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talk about steam driven technology
The Decca doppler 62M was fine, and fed 9476 and 9478 series solid state computers. These computers used Hybrid technology ie 'Analogue using Digital techniques' as the manuals described it. They were a vast improvement on the GPI 4 which was a real analogue device full of ball and cone resolvers and in use by much of the RAF at the time.
There was a lot to be said for the 'old school' techniques we were still taught at Nav Training in the 80s. When I graduated I could have taken a Lancaster to any target in Germany but would not have recognized a Tornado parked-up on the ASP even if given a snazzy BAE Systems brochure and with a chap walking behind me shouting 'it's the pointy one without props' through a megaphone.
AA62 # 1125,
Re racking the Doppler ? As I recall many times a pull of the boxes (particularly the F comp) and a swift "drop test" on the galley floor usually made the Nav a "happy chappy" again. From a GEs point of view Omega never went wrong, if it did, no fix was available, Loran was, well, loran, and the advent of satnav etc must have been a real bonus for the Navs. Despite the fact that it ultimately led to their demise on Albert. One thing I do know is that all involved on the 'K' did their very best to make it all work, and sometimes made it work 'despite' shortcomings. From a GE point of view a "buggers muddle", but strangely well tamed by the Nav fraternity. Respect as they say.
Smudge
Re racking the Doppler ? As I recall many times a pull of the boxes (particularly the F comp) and a swift "drop test" on the galley floor usually made the Nav a "happy chappy" again. From a GEs point of view Omega never went wrong, if it did, no fix was available, Loran was, well, loran, and the advent of satnav etc must have been a real bonus for the Navs. Despite the fact that it ultimately led to their demise on Albert. One thing I do know is that all involved on the 'K' did their very best to make it all work, and sometimes made it work 'despite' shortcomings. From a GE point of view a "buggers muddle", but strangely well tamed by the Nav fraternity. Respect as they say.
Smudge
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Would I be correct in assuming that this is the DECCA Doppler 62 Controller ?
PS. If it is ... It's not me holding it ... right
... But a guy on YouTube who has an interest in doing video "Tear Downs" on antique Nav kit to see how it works
And if you have the constitution ... here is the link to the video
https://youtube.com/watch?v=fcoR8plMMK8
PS. If it is ... It's not me holding it ... right
... But a guy on YouTube who has an interest in doing video "Tear Downs" on antique Nav kit to see how it works And if you have the constitution ... here is the link to the video
https://youtube.com/watch?v=fcoR8plMMK8
Last edited by CoffmanStarter; 13th Aug 2014 at 19:42.
oh Dear Coff,
I rather suspect you may have to await a reply while ex K Navs change their underwear
My introduction to OP Granby:
On 16 Aug 1990, as we arrived at AKR, en route to UK, with a load recovering kit from a previous deployment in Nairobi, we were stopped, offloaded , reloaded and sent off to I believe Dharhan, where the mightiest airlift I had seen in my life was underway. While we were being offloaded, a Kiwi Albert arrived next to us, and their Captain came over and said hello, with the chuckle inducing question "I don't suppose O'Meagan is your Captain?". On re arriving at AKR my crew was cleared to return to LYN, whilst I was detailed with another GE to "pick up" frames headed into the Gulf, and get off them again at AKR. I spent a month doing that from my records accumulating some serious hammock hours. That was useful as TASF Akrotiri required us to support them when we weren't doing trips East, and we had a deal with the VC10 GEs to give them some help when available. All in all an interesting, if tiring time. Despite the fact that GW1 was the premature end of my career, I can't help but think that for the Herc fleet, many improvements in operating techniques and Nav kit were hastened and proved useful. Certainly, I for one learned the value of team spirit, camaraderie, call it what you will.
Smudge
I rather suspect you may have to await a reply while ex K Navs change their underwear
My introduction to OP Granby:
On 16 Aug 1990, as we arrived at AKR, en route to UK, with a load recovering kit from a previous deployment in Nairobi, we were stopped, offloaded , reloaded and sent off to I believe Dharhan, where the mightiest airlift I had seen in my life was underway. While we were being offloaded, a Kiwi Albert arrived next to us, and their Captain came over and said hello, with the chuckle inducing question "I don't suppose O'Meagan is your Captain?". On re arriving at AKR my crew was cleared to return to LYN, whilst I was detailed with another GE to "pick up" frames headed into the Gulf, and get off them again at AKR. I spent a month doing that from my records accumulating some serious hammock hours. That was useful as TASF Akrotiri required us to support them when we weren't doing trips East, and we had a deal with the VC10 GEs to give them some help when available. All in all an interesting, if tiring time. Despite the fact that GW1 was the premature end of my career, I can't help but think that for the Herc fleet, many improvements in operating techniques and Nav kit were hastened and proved useful. Certainly, I for one learned the value of team spirit, camaraderie, call it what you will.
Smudge
Last edited by smujsmith; 13th Aug 2014 at 19:53.
That's the along and across display (at one time our primary readout driven by the C12 gyro-magnetic compasses and the 62M Doppler). I think it's also Miss August in my K Nav Playmate of the Month calendar from 1992.
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I rather suspect you may have to await a reply while ex K Navs change their underwear
*unless of course substantial headwinds necessitated reporting points every 5° longitude.
Coffman,
we had the Decca moving map bit when we first got the Herc. One of my early pics shows it perched on the top of the panel. Prone to lane jumping etc and not a lot of use for blind dropping as we discovered. Soon dispensed with.
we had the Decca moving map bit when we first got the Herc. One of my early pics shows it perched on the top of the panel. Prone to lane jumping etc and not a lot of use for blind dropping as we discovered. Soon dispensed with.