Q&A ยท 1:00:50

What air and naval navigation share

Both naval and early air navigation rely on fixing position with celestial observations and accurate time.

Question

How did air and naval navigation differ after naval aviation emerged?

Short answer

At a basic level both used celestial fixes and the sun; accurate time remained essential for relating observations to position.

Notes

Surface and air navigation share a common foundation. Navigators can use stars at night and observations of the sun by day to establish a position. Accurate time matters because it lets the observer relate the sun's apparent position to longitude. The later differences between navigation from a ship and from a faster-moving aircraft remain outside this brief reply.