Buying planning tools - rulers etc
 

I wonder if anyone can help me with some information.

The guys I work with need to buy some planning tools for their nav planning room - rulers (nautical miles), protractors, attack planning rulers etc. If anyone could give me contact details for somewhere to buy this sort of stuff, I'd be very grateful.

You don't need that stuff. Get a piece of string, mark it at 9 mile intervals for 120 times (thats 2 hours for the digital watches) and place it at the start airfield. Move the string anywhere on the map, as long as the 120th minute is at the end landing point (even if it comes back to the start point) , you can go there. Flight planning should take about 10 minutes this way - about as long as it takes to boot up and log into modern planning software....

Keep the string in flying suit, and maybe a spare or another one for a different scale. Use indelible markers on the string so the flying suit can be washed without losing your planning aid.

in extremus, it can be used in-flight too.

Costs about 83 cents for the string and a buck for the marker. I believe you can claim it on tax too. Most news-agencies sell them.

For those who can't fly at 540 knots at low level for 2 hours non stop, invent another method.

..

Failing that, you could try here

afeonline.com, Europe's favourite online Pilot Shop, by Airplan Flight

Seen a Wessex loadie use the string on map method in flight, using bacon rind from his sarnie chomped to scale.:)

What's wrong with finger and thumb?

At Nav School, on one early exercise, the instructor 'confiscates' all the nav kit except for chart, pencil and chinagraph.

No straight edge, protractor or whiz wheel. The stude may improvise to draw straight lines but has to estimate distances and judge angles. They had about 10 minutes to prepare an RTB of about 200 miles.

Oddly not one stude ever thought to take a section of map and use it as a straight edge and measuring tool.

Tip of thumb to first knuckle = 1mile on a 50k and 5 on a 1/4 mil, just guess the rest.:ok:

Fold the map point to point = straight line.

As for distance - as stated use the Rule of Thumb!

1 in 60 rule
QED.

I never had problems with that sort of navigation - I hated all the measuring and logging nonsence leading to Majors, Minors, A7s and double deductions! Thats why I am a radar man!

Tsk, standards have dropped. Don't you know by just looking?

I'm also looking for similar stuff, tried all the usual suspects transair etc but it's all civy orientated, looking for something with turning circles, heading, TAS, alt, etc and such templates on it, 1:500000 and 1:50000 scale if possible. I think they are called 'strike rules' but they are tricky to come by.
Any ideas?
cheers

taxydual - thanks for the steer

but as gripen has pointed out, all their stuff is civvy orientated.

For all the useless and sarcastic answers - thanks for making the effort......not!

OK here's the section ref number for the RAF issue attack planner thingy with yer distance to run in mins for various speeds and 45 and 60deg banked turning circles, that the one?:)

REF No 6B/6605-99-110-5768

Sounds right, but who do you go to with that ref no.? Are they commercially available or is it an internal RAF thing, I'm overseas:{

Thats the puppy, Gainesy. Or at least, one of them. I have various rule(r)s with their serial numbers but don't have the contact details for where to buy them.

Try the London Name PLate Manufacturing company - www.lnp.co.uk

They make whizz wheels, plotters and the like , may be minimum orders

Good luck

Tu Chan go, you might have thought some of the answers were less than useful but take our word for it, doing without and using estimation and metal DR helps sharpen your skills and prevents mechanical, or electronic assisted, boo boos.

The actual link you need is this one:

London Name Plate

and then email them at [email protected].

One item is the 'strike rule' another is the 'Buccaneer Protractor'. Unlike the Douglas it is a substantial piece of kit complete with range scales and rotating azimuth ring. Much better for the short sighted.

Same company;6B-6605-99-620-0528-WHIZZ WHEEL/GRID CONVERSION;
6B-349,RULE1 MILL/1/2 MILL.
6B/6605-99-634-2253computer D/R Mk5a 50-800kts

Still looking?
 

Hello all,

If you're still looking for instruments, plotters, and the like, try:

- Home - Uplifting Aviation : The finest pilot supplies and equipment

Larger orders for FBOs and operators will attract discounts.

Cheers!

Small printed name on my 'Strike Ruler Mk 4' is Blundell Harling Limited, see link below;

Drawing Boards from Blundell Harling

Ref number on the cardboard cover is 6605-99-110-5768. However, the ref number on the ruler is 1680-99-6379347


I also have a 'plotter, combat mission, plu-6/c'. The NSN is 6605-00-766-6901. This is a USAF version of the Strike Ruler made by Aero Products Research Inc, Mfr's Part No FAA-215. If you Google the NSN there are other manufacturers listed.

Hope that helps
G&J

I know that the 'original' strike rule and the Buccaneer protractor were acquired at the begining of the F4/Buccaneer acquisition. It is quite likely that the RAF F4 crews had copies of the USN rules made.

I know that they visited the LNP Co to ask for a quote to make the rules. They were asked how many they wanted. A quick finger count ensued with a total to match the number of aircraft ordered and an allowance for breakage. A figure of a few hundred was reached.

A bit like the Apprentice, the company laughed and said they had been thinking in the order of 100,000. The cost of material was minimal and they could produce that number in a day. The cost was in creation of the moulds and the cleaning up afterwards.

I don't know how many were ordered in the end. I hope it was a 100k.