NaviGadget

navigation before GPS came along

Aug 31, 2006 gps navigation, misc news

Long before we were able to send any kind of satellites into the space (forget global positioning satellites) or even have long range radio communication pilots needed some guidance from the ground. This article on Air & Space magazine is a good read talking about the solution government came up with: Painting rooftop with names and arrows!

Before radio navigation was widely available to pilots of small aircraft, they got around by flying by landmarks. In unfamiliar terrain, however, it was easy to get lost, so in 1926 the government set out to promote air marking, painting the name of a local airport on a nearby building’s roof with an arrow pointing in the airport’s direction, or simply the name of the town with an arrow indicating north. Though federal aviation agencies regulated every aspect from letter size (10 to 30 feet tall) to paint (Chrome Yellow Number 4 on a black background) to distance between markers (one every 15 miles was the goal), they never lifted a brush. Labor came from the Works Progress Administration, the Civil Air Patrol, the Civilian Conservation Corps, civic volunteers, scouting organizations, and the Ninety-Nines organization of women pilots. Along with the safety benefits of guided navigation, air marking was variously touted as a job program, a scout merit badge, a commercial welcome mat, and a boon to women in aviation.