Plane sailing

Plane sailing

Plane sailing (also spelt plain sailing) is an approximate method of navigation over small ranges of latitude and longitude.

Both spellings ("plane" and "plain") have been in use for several centuries, ["A Token for Ship-Boys, or Plain Sailing made more plain" (Adam Martindale, 1683, "A Collection of Letters for Improvement of Husbandry & Trade")] ["The rudiments, which would no sooner be run over, than the rest would become plain sailing." (Fanny Burney, 1796, "Camilla")] ["Oxford English Dictionary]

Plane sailing is based on the assumption that the meridian through the point of departure, the parallel through the destination, and the course line form a right triangle in a plane, called the "plane sailing triangle".

This is the usual method used to navigate using paper charts and maps.

The expression "plane sailing" has, by analogy, taken on a more general meaning of any activity that is relatively straightforward.

References

See also

*Rhumb line
*Traverse sailing
*Parallel sailing
*Mid-latitude sailing
*Mercator Sailing
*Great-circle navigation

External links

* [http://www.irbs.com/bowditch/pdf/chapt22.pdf Bowditch]


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Look at other dictionaries:

  • Plane sailing — Plane Plane, a. [L. planus: cf. F. plan. See {Plan}, a.] Without elevations or depressions; even; level; flat; lying in, or constituting, a plane; as, a plane surface. [1913 Webster] Note: In science, this word (instead of plain) is almost… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • plane sailing — noun Etymology: plane (V) 1. : the navigation or conducting of a ship by neglecting the earth s curvature and considering the earth or a part of it as a plane 2. : plain sailing 2 …   Useful english dictionary

  • plane sailing — Navig. sailing on a course plotted without reference to the curvature of the earth. Cf. plain sailing, spherical sailing. [1690 1700] * * * …   Universalium

  • plane sailing — /ˌpleɪn ˈseɪlɪŋ/ (say .playn sayling) noun sailing on a course plotted by utilising Pythagoras s theorem, effective for distances up to 600 nautical miles over which the curvature of the earth s surface may be considered negligible. Compare plain …  

  • plane sailing — A method of navigation which ignores the earth s curvature, treating its surface as a plane. Colloquially it indicates travel or procedure without difficulty or obstruction …   Dictionary of automotive terms

  • plane sailing — noun a) A technique for navigation using planar geometry. b) A technique for navigation using the assumption the Earth is flat …   Wiktionary

  • Plane — Plane, a. [L. planus: cf. F. plan. See {Plan}, a.] Without elevations or depressions; even; level; flat; lying in, or constituting, a plane; as, a plane surface. [1913 Webster] Note: In science, this word (instead of plain) is almost exclusively… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

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  • Plane chart — Plane Plane, a. [L. planus: cf. F. plan. See {Plan}, a.] Without elevations or depressions; even; level; flat; lying in, or constituting, a plane; as, a plane surface. [1913 Webster] Note: In science, this word (instead of plain) is almost… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Plane curve — Plane Plane, a. [L. planus: cf. F. plan. See {Plan}, a.] Without elevations or depressions; even; level; flat; lying in, or constituting, a plane; as, a plane surface. [1913 Webster] Note: In science, this word (instead of plain) is almost… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

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