Piloting

Piloting or pilotage[1][2][3][4][5] is the process of navigating on water or in the air[1][2] using fixed points of reference on the sea or on land, usually with reference to a nautical chart or aeronautical chart to obtain a fix of the position of the vessel or aircraft with respect to a desired course or location. Horizontal fixes of position from known reference points may be obtained by sight or by radar. Vertical position may be obtained by depth sounder to determine depth of the water body below a vessel or by altimeter to determine an aircraft's altitude, from which its distance above the ground can be deduced. Piloting a vessel is usually practiced close to shore or on inland waterways. Pilotage of an aircraft is practiced under visual meteorological conditions for flight.

Land navigation is a related discipline, using a topographic map, especially when applied over trackless terrain.[6] Divers use related techniques for underwater navigation.[7]

  1. ^ a b Collins English Dictionary
  2. ^ a b American Heritage Dictionary
  3. ^ Maloney, Elbert S. (December 2003). "Chapter 16: Basic piloting procedures". Chapman Piloting and Seamanship (64th ed.). New York, NY: Hearst Communications Inc. ISBN 1-58816-089-0.
  4. ^ NASA. "Aviation Navigation – Basic Navigation". Virtual Skies. National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Archived from the original on 2016-05-08. Retrieved 2016-05-13. Pilotage: A method of navigation in which the pilot, flying at low altitudes, uses visual references and compares symbols on aeronautical charts with surface features on the ground in order to navigate.
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference Bartlett was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ United States Army (2007). Army Training Circular TC 3-25.26: U.S. Army Map Reading and Land Navigation Handbook. ISBN 978-1-4209-2823-5.
  7. ^ UK Divers (October 16, 2007). "Underwater Navigation". UKDivers.net. Archived from the original on March 13, 2016. Retrieved 2016-05-16. Pilotage – Navigation by reference to terrain features, both natural and artificial, usually with the aid of an appropriate chart.

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