Finningley based JP5 nav training sortie back in the 80's. Having flown eastwards through the Lichfield corridor ATC helpfully gave us a cloudbreak to VMC below. Student (and I) didn't monitor our single DME and happily turned north to follow the A1 back to base. Only after a few miles did we realise that the road signs passing below were blue and not green - yep, we were following the M1 rather than the A1. No harm done but a good learning exercise all round.

Must have been a useless git if he needed a talking TACAN in the back of a 90KIAS Chipmunk.....:hmm:

Directional Consultant, Talking Tacan, 500lbs of wasted fuel space.

RAF navs must have some broad shoulders :}

I'm not biased. I have nothing against navigators. I just wouldn't let my daughter marry one.

But 42 years ago I did marry a Navigator's daughter.......

Likewise, but only 37 years ago! :)

We had a visit by some Armee de l'Air helicopters to our squadron at Odiham. They were fine until they couldn't find these large canals on their maps.

(Blue= motorways in UK; canals on the continent.)

Remember an F-111 on it's way to do a flypast at Barton, somehow ended it doing it at Manchester

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.

Our tradition was that Ferdinand Magellan was "the great navigator" for having circumcised the globe. :8 The sarcastic earning of that moniker indicated navigation of less than great quality. Magellan was the call sign assigned to one of my squadron mates who flew to Bimini rather than Andros Island for an ASW exercise.


His defense, per the standard, was that "we weren't lost, but we were temporarily disoriented -- and then fuel state became a problem."

Landing at the wrong airfield is something done by many. An early F111 visited Cottesmore to show off the aircraft we hoped to buy vice TSR2.

It made its approach from the wrong direction: "You put Wittering in the system and it goes to Wittering"

Reminds me, I also approached Gaydon from the wrong direction in The Lanc but that is a different story - someone had hidden the M1.

15 years RN Observer before becoming a professional pilot. First solo x-country in a PA-28 go 30 miles from A-B and call up for help. Damn this steering and driving at the same time is only for supermen! Forward 48 years and with synthetic vision and magic FMCS it's all so ho-hum these days!
Go back to 1963. Basic nav training at Hal Far, Malta. Low level up the west coast then fix on South West corner of Gozo. Clockwise out to the west using DR nav. Must find and apply 3 new winds. Did so and actually arrived back on top, on time. Am I good or what? What! Got 16%! I had applied all the winds reciprocally!

Never forget that navigator is an anagram of vaginarot:)

@crab:
As a helo pilot in the USN, we never had navs in our squadrons.
This was good for morale. *ducks*

Navs were OK, you just had to treat them like computers and punch the information in:)

Of course, he didn't quite do that - got stopped a bit short in the Philippines ...

I remember going the wrong way at Goose. As we approached the building the Canuk base was on the right. After my quota of Bacardi I had forgotten we had gone around the back before going in. On leaving I turned left.

Heading for some lights I ended up at the wrong end of the base. Checking North I retraced my steps along the taxiway and took a short cut through the tanker NLZ. At one point a truck approached but turned away.

Either my green lounge suit rendered me invisible or they thought the paperwork of picking up another limey drunk was not worth it.

Good job it wasn't in the winter PN or at least I hope so, it were bluddy cold there.

I remember my very first Nav groundschool lesson on the JP at Linton. Jag Mate instructor walked in and said; "I was lost once....or was I a second late?🤔"

Walked out, that was the end of lesson one!

'Twas in ATC at Leeming late '60s. Preston Centre (as was) on blower in state of high dudgeon. There is a JP doing aeros in the middle of the airway (Amber "?") ... Can't contact him ... Have had to stop takeoffs at Manchester ... Is he one of yours ?

Called suspect. "Get a Practice Fix !" - Our Bloggs all right - he'd put his FL on his compass instead of his hdg - and flown that !

Red faces all round .....