navigation - What is a rhumb line? - Aviation Stack Exchange a rhumb line, rhumb, ( rʌm ) or loxodrome is an arc crossing all meridians of longitude at the same angle, that is, a path with constant bearing as measured relative to true or magnetic north From: Wikipedia If continued, all rhumb lines except the ones following a track of 90 or 270 degrees end up in either the North or South Pole
geometry - On a sphere, does a rhumb line always exist between two . . . What you're describing is a rhumb line, also called a loxodrome or a path of constant heading, namely, a path on the earth's surface such that the angle between the direction of travel and the meridian (longitude line) is constant You can produce equations for a rhumb line by parameterizing the sphere and imposing the constant-angle condition
Is it possible to fly to any destination on a rhumb line track? To simplify navigation, they split a great circle route into segments, and navigated each segment as a rhumb line, that is a route within the same rhumb, a rhumb being 1 32th of compass rose (a 32-point rose was often part of the map) They adjusted the heading only at the beginning of the next segment, possibly after they confirmed their
Calculate position of point along Rhumb line given the distance from . . . The Rhumb line between two points using the Mercator projection looks like this: My goal would be to find the mathematical formula to identify the coordinates of a generic point along the Rhumb line by knowing the distance from the point of origin (or of destination)
How does QDM from a VDF station account for great circle vs rhumb line . . . You're right on the principle, if you want to fly at constant heading, you need to get the bearing computed for a rhumb line (loxodrome) assumption Source The VDF measures the bearing according to the direction of arrival of the wave from the aircraft transmitter via the shortest path, hence this QDR angle, converted into a QDM, is the one
Are rhumb lines ever used as leg paths for RNP RNAV? No The FMS does not use rhumb lines All RNP RNAV flight path legs are geodesics The only exceptions are RF legs (a constant radius circular path about a turn center) and hold legs (a closed racetrack pattern) To quote RTCA DO-236C, Minimum Aviation System Performance Standards: Required Navigation Performance for Area Navigation:
How to use a Rhumb Line? - Mathematics Stack Exchange $\begingroup$ I considered rhumb lines in this question In there the only parameter is the heading (expressed as an angle) In there the only parameter is the heading (expressed as an angle) Could you give an example of what you're expecting to see? $\endgroup$
navigation - How should I interpret the difference in flight direction . . . On the Rhumb line both East and West directions are shown both with arrows ($\rightarrow \;\; \leftarrow$) and with the initial headings ($90^o \;\; 270^o$) On the Great Circle lines only the westerly arrows appear and only the starting headings from the West are correct
3d - Is two distinct rhumb lines with the same bearing on a perfect . . . (Note: A rhumb line, or loxodrome, is a “line” crossing all meridians at the same angle, i e a path of constant bearing It is obviously easier to manually steer than the constantly changing heading of the shorter great circle route