In operations over water the airman is confronted with one
serious danger--the risk of losing his bearings and his way. For
instance, many attempts have been made to cross the North Sea by
aeroplane, but only one has proved successful so far. The
intrepid aviator did succeed in passing from the shore of Britain
to the coast of Scandinavia. Many people suppose that because an
airman is equipped with a compass he must be able to find his
way, but this is a fallacy. The aviator is in the same plight as
a mariner who is compelled from circumstances to rely upon his
compass alone, and who is debarred by inclement weather from
deciding his precise position by taking the sun. A ship
ploughing the waters has to contend against the action of cross
currents, the speed of which varies considerably, as well as
adverse winds. Unless absolute correction for these influences
can be made the ship will wander considerably from its course.
The airman is placed in a worse position. He has no means of
determining the direction and velocity of the currents prevailing
in the atmosphere, and his compass cannot give him any help in
this connection, because it merely indicates direction.
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