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On Loxodromic Navigation

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  21 October 2009

Kitt C. Carlton-Wippern
Kitt C. Carlton-Wippern
Affiliation:
(University of Colorado at Colorado Springs)
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Abstract

This article addresses the mathematical foundations of rhumblines or loxodrome curves. These curves are critical to navigation and small-scale charting by virtue of the fact that they provide an efficient routeing from one point on a surface to another by means of a constant ‘course angle‘. This article will develop the necessary mathematical relations for the construction of such a curve, then apply the relations to both spherical and oblate-spheroidal surfaces. The purpose of this article is to produce a superior oblate-spheroidal loxodrome curve, which better models curves or routes of constant course on the actual, approximately oblatespheroidal, Earth.

Keywords

1. Geodesy2. Loxodromes3. Rhumblines
Type
Research Article
Information
The Journal of Navigation , Volume 45 , Issue 2 , May 1992 , pp. 292 - 297
Copyright
Copyright © The Royal Institute of Navigation 1992

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References

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