Mental math question

Jesus. I start my BFR tonight. This thread is killing me.

Not that it will matter, probably, but it's kind of intimidating.
 
killbilly said:
Jesus. I start my BFR tonight. This thread is killing me.

Not that it will matter, probably, but it's kind of intimidating.
Click to expand...

It's not very intimidating once you've done some of this stuff a few times.

Really.

It's just that in this thread, you have a former F-14 driver, a C-5 driver, and a PhD candidate from MIT's physics department discussing the nuances of this stuff.

For the mortals among us that have to do math at this level every day, it's not very complicated. You do it a few times and you start to figure it out quickly.
 
jtrain609 said:
It's not very intimidating once you've done some of this stuff a few times.

Really.

It's just that in this thread, you have a former F-14 driver, a C-5 driver, and a PhD candidate from MIT's physics department discussing the nuances of this stuff.

For the mortals among us that have to do math at this level every day, it's not very complicated. You do it a few times and you start to figure it out quickly.
Click to expand...

That's reassuring.

Also makes me want to re-enroll in school and possibly take developmental meth...
 
juxtapilot said:
Here's one for you geniuses... How do you solve this? It's not in the mental math book unfortunately.
You are on the 090 radial at 20 DME. What heading would you fly to go direct to the 60 DME fix on the 190 radial of the same VOR?
Click to expand...

CaptBill said:
The way we used to do problems like that in the Navy is actually pretty easy. You can even do it on a piece of paper. Imagine a compass, RMI or VOR and draw the 090 and 190 radials (The VOR, RMI or compass will be the center of your paper). Since 60 miles is 3 times the length of 20 miles, the 60 mile mark will be 3 times the distance from the VOR as the 20 mile mark.Take a straight edge and connect the two points (the 20 and 60 DME points). Then, slide the straight edge over the direct center of the compass, RMI or VOR at the same relative angle as you just established connecting the two points. The edge of the straight edge will now line up on the outer heading numbers to show you the heading you need to fly to connect the 090/20 and 190/60 points. You should be able to get it within a few degrees. Then, compensate a little bit for the wind and you'll nail it. Try it a few times, it gets easier.
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I had this exact question on the DL exam today. Needless to say the pencil trick worked perfectly. I think the answers were something like 219, 170, 345, an 270... Pretty simple. Thanks for the advice @CaptBill!
 
juxtapilot said:
I had this exact question on the DL exam today. Needless to say the pencil trick worked perfectly. I think the answers were something like 219, 170, 345, an 270... Pretty simple. Thanks for the advice @CaptBill!
Click to expand...

With answers like that, one would think you could figure it out just by basic visualization.

~Fox
 
jtrain609 said:
It's not very intimidating once you've done some of this stuff a few times.

Really.

It's just that in this thread, you have a former F-14 driver, a C-5 driver, and a PhD candidate from MIT's physics department discussing the nuances of this stuff.

For the mortals among us that have to do math at this level every day, it's not very complicated. You do it a few times and you start to figure it out quickly.
Click to expand...
...and when given direct to somewhere, you should probably know what way to turn anyway, FMS or not.

(note: I am none of the above)
 
Realistically, in modern jets where everything is working, you'll execute the change first before turning. But yes, the basic understanding of how to do it the old-fashioned way is good.
 
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