Hi Stearman,Stearmandriver wrote:Yup. Glad it's making sense. Practically speaking, this isn't complex, but even though the gauge documentation is very good, I agree it can be confusing until you see it in action a couple times. I was hoping a video would help.Hobart Escin wrote: What I wasn't getting is that the sextant gauge actually does all the calculations AUTOMATICALLY after you take a shot (DUH moment for me ) and returns the distance offset value which you use to plot a LOP. You explained earlier that the sextant gauge in the sim doesn't really know or care about the actual positions of celestial objects in the Flightsim sky itself, but rather acts like a trigonometric calculator using the assumed position data and observation angles you input into it. I'm finally grasping this concept (yay). You are using the tables just as you would IRL for a sextant shot in terms of expected position data for a celestial object, and after you input this data into the gauge it automatically performs the calculations right away instead of the user having to cross reference actual table data and making manual calculations. The sextant gauge is doing all the grunt work at this point to yield the value you need (again, as you explained earlier)
One thing your comment makes me I feel like I should have emphasized in the video - while I believe the gauge DOES do the calculations immediately as you say, the distance offset it returns for a result at the end very much DOES depend on your accuracy at aligning the bubble with the star. That part isn't for fun or for show - every mouse wheel click you are off changes the distance offset returned by 5nm. And it does take some practice - sometimes it'll feel like the sweet spot is between two possible positions, probably because it is. The designers did a great job with this.
Anyway, just wanted to make sure that part was clear. I've been emphasizing how easy and automated the gauge is, and all the ways it lowers workload by doing the grunt work for you, but I want to make sure you understand THAT part is important. A sloppy shot will yeild a less accurate result for sure.
I hadn't realized dynamic accuracy is actually programmed into the gauge when you take a bubble reading , wow, and I will certainly takes this into account when navigating. This just gets more fun all the time!
I wanted to ask a follow-up question about the LOP intercept procedure you described in your Flightsim thread about a flight from Oahu to Johnston Atoll. You described that a specific LOP (161-341 true) would run through Johnston at your zulu ETA over your planned offset point. I input Johnston's lat/long and the same time and date as you listed on that thread into the online Naval Observatory form, getting the exact same LOP result (yay), so I know I'm with you here in concept. What I wanted to ask is how you determined that you actually were at the intercept point toward the end of your flight? Did you simply begin taking a series of sextant shots close to your ETA at your planned offset point until you observed actually being on the 161-341 LOP to Johnston?
Also, how did you determine a proper magnetic heading to fly within the confines of either FSX or P3D? Both sims have a built-in magnetic variation algorithm that's outdated in terms of up to date RW charts, so this seems like it would be challenging!
Thanks again for all of your help and insight with this. Most fun I've had simming in a long time!