Re:Tampa Airport: Moving magnetic poles forces runway changes
by jcl on Friday January 07, 2011 @10:23AM
(#2079750)
The explanation I have read is that it is a "wet compass" (a ball floating in liquid), which was abbreviated "W compass", which is pronounced "whiskey compass" in the NATO phonetic alphabet that pilots use. I doubt whiskey was ever used to fill them, since even water would have worked better in terms of cost, transparency, evaporation, or boiling point.
Re:Tampa Airport: Moving magnetic poles forces runway changes
by pdx on Friday January 07, 2011 @10:37AM
(#2079792)
I suspect it would have been freezing point that was most important, and whiskey was a readily available source of low freezing point liquid.
Re:Tampa Airport: Moving magnetic poles forces runway changes
by DanielBMarkham on Friday January 07, 2011 @12:27PM
(#2080191)
I've read that as well.
Just trying to share a little FBO-lore. It's common to tell the whiskey compass story in the fashion I have. http://iflyasa.com/2009/10/11/whiskey-compass/
I was aiming for tone, not accuracy. There are all sorts of topics that pilots discuss with great vim and vigor. I was trying to convey that feeling. Looks like I missed the boat.
Re:Tampa Airport: Moving magnetic poles forces runway changes
by pavel_lishin on Friday January 07, 2011 @10:05AM
(#2079707)
"We wouldn't be lost if Bob here hadn't drank the compass."
Re:Tampa Airport: Moving magnetic poles forces runway changes
by ZoFreX on Friday January 07, 2011 @10:58AM
(#2079859)
I doubt any pilot would forget their grid north / magnetic north conversions. I hope not, anyway. That stuff got drilled into us in the cadets.
Trivia note: I believe the standard compass is called a "whiskey compass". Not sure why. Probably because if that's all the nav gear you got working you'll probably be using copious quantities of whiskey after landing. (Actually if memory serves I believe the early compasses floated in whiskey. No doubt this practice did not last very long. I think they use kerosene now)