An issue came up at the last Hearne launch that has me
wondering. We set up on the south end of the runway.
A rocket came down on the far north end of the
airport. I got an angle on it with my compass and
projected a line with my GPS, but when we walked the
line, we didn't find the rocket. By my math, a 1
degree error in the angle would result in about a 140
foot deviation at the opposite end of the airport. We
were walking through thick trees and then tall grass,
and any error, even walking three abreast, could make
us walk right by the rocket and never see it. What
better ways are there to pinpoint an azimuth angle? I
looked at binoculars with internal compasses that
dispay in the eyepiece, but they're expensive.

Jim Parker