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That old Whiskey Compass helped me more than once to get back out of the hills during a sudden and unannounced snow blizzard while up in a J3 Cub on skis. Also had an anxious afternoon many years ago waiting at an Air Force Base for my {student} wife to return from her first cross country during which she was held for hours at Quebec by ATC and then a stupid Controller released her to resume her flight home the last 200 miles, INTO A DAMN BLIZZARD. When she arrived back finally, it was night and vis was almost zero in that damn Storm. I didn't so much as see her C150 on the runway until she appeared on the taxi way through the snow. What saved her bacon that night were the hours spent in my old J3 with only the whisky compass and a very cool head that stayed cool. Her instructor back then knew what a compass was for, and made damn sure she knew also.
Radios and Sat. equip. are nice, but a well used compass will never screw you up. I have never had one fail on me. When you are caught up there,the lowly compass can [if and only if you are accustomed to it] save you a lot of embarrassment. It is not there as a legal requirement without reason. Granted it is not worth much in the crowded skies of the US, especially close in to larger city groups, but out in the bush country things may get different in the event of a power failure. Expect it always.
Ron Hynes Alberta, Western Canada
-------Original Message-------
Date: 12/30/05 03:03:39
Subject: Re: [COUPERS-TECH] Whiskey Compass
Roger.
I bought my N3330H with the compass mounted to the windshield center post. I
was using the bracket that the vertical card compass come with.
I was seriously bouncing my head on that thing every time I made it in or
out of the plane and first thing was to remove the compass.
By looking at the pictures of the original coupes, I found that panel mount
would be an alternative. Of course what I did not know back then is that
the first Ercoupes did not have a starter nor an electrical system.
But not having too many options to mount a compass in a Coupe, I left the
compass in the panel.
I doubt that accuracy to a degree is needed with a compass. Nor can I
imagine to adjust your compass to that accuracy while flying . Any upper
wind will force you to correct your heading, otherwise you are blown off
course. A 5 mile upper wind makes for a few degrees . Ok. OK. I can see that
one can visually align his plane over a road going east to west and compare
it with the compass heading. Compared to this method, an outdated wind rose
on an airport will give you more accuracy in ALL directions.
back to the panel mount. I left it in there, because I don't get hurt
anymore when moving in the cockpit, it looks better (more original), it is
the last means of navigation (GPS, VOR, Compass - in that order) and it is
an instrument meant to give you the opportunity to hold a course. That's it.
I am positive that when your compass becomes your last means of navigation,
you will surely NOT have a flight plan handy with the upper winds calculated
into every leg. And even if so. I did fly for quiet some time just by
compass and I did calculate a flight plan for every leg, it seldom worked
out like calculated. I ended up comparing my position with the map and
estimated a heading that would bring me back on course. There goes the
accuracy of your compass when you fly estimated headings.
From experience , I can tell that the main thing that affects the compass is
the starter. It sits just under the cowling very close to the firewall. The
magnetic field, when actuated should make every compass go wild , regardless
where mounted.
The generator is not that much of an issue. More important are radios and
VOR receiver as well as GPS that are panel mounted. They affect your
compass. But that's why you can compensate for installation error.
The only problem is that in an even of a total electrical failure, you will
have the electrical system shut off. With that , your installation error is
going away and so the accuracy of your compass again.
Hartmut
----- Original Message -----
Sent: Thursday, December 29, 2005 10:23 PM
Subject: [COUPERS-TECH] Whiskey Compass
> advice in this forum.]----
>
>
> My compass is mounted in the centre of the panel, and is subject to
> interference from sources forward of the firewall (I believe). Does anyone
> know of a bracket that will allow me to mount it on the windshield brace?
> Or should I replace the compass with one already attached to a bracket? Or
> should I make up a bracket myself and get it signed off? If I make one up
> myself, it would be nice to have a model to work from. Does anyone know
> what it should look like?
> Roger: 415C, Ser #3639, a work in (slow) progress.
>
>
> ---------------------------------
> Find your next car at Yahoo! Canada Autos
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