Confused about great circle navigation

"xerj" wrote in message
...
Not that it matters terribly much, but there's a few things I don't get.

On a WAC, which is a Lambert chart, a straight line is more or less a
great
circle, right? However, to fly a great circle, you have to constantly
adjust
your heading. I still can't conceptually work out why, I must say. Any
pointers?

Wrong. A Lambert Conformal is a conical projection, the WAC is just a
larger scale than a sectional. You can't draw a Great Circle Route on a
conical projection using a straight edge.
The easiest test is to use a globe. Stretch a string around the globe
from Los Angeles to New York and note some geographical point (city,
mountain, etc.) at or near the middle of the string. Then draw a straight
line between LA and NY on a Lambert conical projection. Where is the
mid-point of that line in relation to the string line around the globe?
A rhumb line is not the same as the GCR. An RL is a constant
navigational heading that would take the navigator from one spot to another.
The GCR on the other hand does require adjustment. The GCR is the shortest
distance (over the surface, not through a tunnel) between two points on the
globe.

For more than you ever wanted to know about GCR navigation, include
formulae you can pack onto your PocketPC or PDA, go to:
http://williams.best.vwh.net/avform.htm