Correction for drift

Starting from a known point, the mariner with a compass could draw a line on the chart to represent a vessel’s course, then mark off the distance given by the log. The calculation of a new position was known as dead reckoning. In addition to errors in the compass and in the log, dead reckoning suffered from errors due to the drift of the water. When ocean currents were first marked on charts of the open sea and when tidal streams appeared on coastal charts, navigators could make allowance for drift. Fortunately, the currents were seldom fast and, on long voyages, often tended to cancel each other out.

The situation in the air, however, was quite different. Early airplanes flew at speeds of about 100 knots, and the air that supported them was blown over the ground by the wind at up to 40 knots. It was therefore necessary to determine the velocity of the aircraft through the air and the velocity of the air over the ground in order to find the true velocity of the aircraft with respect to the ground. This was achieved by the triangle of velocities as shown in the figure. A line was drawn to show the direction in which the aircraft was heading, the length of the line representing the distance that the aircraft would travel through still air in one hour—in other words, the true airspeed. Such a velocity line represents a vector, a quantity that embodies both magnitude and direction. From the end of this velocity vector a second velocity vector was drawn in the direction toward which the wind was blowing, its length being proportional to the wind speed. A third vector drawn from the starting point of the first vector to the end of the second vector showed the path that the aircraft was following over the ground, the length of this vector representing the true ground speed. Stated mathematically, the true ground speed was the vector sum of the craft’s air velocity and the wind velocity.

The angle between the heading of the aircraft and its track along the ground was known as the drift angle because it resulted from the drifting effect of the wind. Early aircraft were fitted with drift sights through which the aviator visually aligned a grid with the moving ground below and so determined the drift. The plotting of velocity vectors and their sums was simplified by using graphic instruments called computers before that term was appropriated for much more complex devices.

Paradoxically, higher aircraft speeds failed to eliminate the problem of wind drift, because jet aircraft fly higher as well as faster and, above 20,000 feet (6,100 metres), very narrow belts of wind—known as jet streams, which travel at speeds of 100 or 200 knots—occur under certain meteorological conditions.

Sea navigators did not follow the practice of air navigators and allow for ocean currents and tidal drifts in their initial calculations. Dead reckoning, long established as a navigational technique, continued to be used; an estimate for ocean current or tidal drift was added afterward. This practice continues today. When using dead reckoning, the navigator can sometimes find a position that can be checked by a landmark. On the other hand, the errors that are inherent in dead reckoning accumulate; when a position has been checked, the reckoning is therefore generally restarted from that position. This process is called reinitialization.

Dead reckoning enables the navigator to plot not only where the craft is but also where it will be at any future time, provided the planned course and speed are maintained. It also makes it possible for the navigator to plan the journey in its entirety, including the time of arrival at the destination. Planning is a part of all navigation; the preparation of a complete flight plan is mandatory before taking off in a civil aircraft. Space navigation is based even more completely on flight planning, and the time of landing is calculated to within minutes many weeks before liftoff.