Astrodome (aviation)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The astrodome (arrowed) on a Warwick B/ASR Mk 1
An astrodome is a hemispherical transparent dome fitted in the cabin roof of an aircraft to allow the use of a sextant during astro-navigation.[1]
Prior to the introduction of electronic means of navigation the only way to fix an aircraft's position at night was by taking star sights using a sextant in the same manner as that used by marine navigators for hundreds of years on board ships. To do this requires a 360-degree view of the horizon and the astrodome was devised to allow an uninterrupted view of the sky from horizon to horizon.
Astrodomes were prominent on multi-engined aircraft of the Second World War, such as the Liberator and Dakota, as a considerable part of their operations and other flying were carried out at night.
References
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike; additional terms may apply for the media files.