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(8)
In Table I the values of the 16 line-crossings reduced to sea-level are given,
and it may be seen that the means for the two flights agree within 21-6 feet. With
reference to Table III we see that an agreement within this range is obtained 50
per cent of the time. The spread in each group of four is 40, 20, 84 and 25 feet,
which reflects not only operator and other errors but also the elimination of
certain instrumental errors due to the figure 8 line-crossing pattern. The agree
ment of the means for the two days’ operation is representative of the work in
general and indicates good control of all factors in so far as they can be controlled.
The variation in measurement from day to day is beyond control and the grand
mean may thus be expected to contribute more highly to general accuracy than
agreement of readings on any one day. No measurements of the intensity were
taken but all flights were made at that altitude where the incoming pulses were
most intense and least distorted. It is stressed that the consistency of values
obtained for any one line in one day’s operation of 8 line-crossings is an indication
of relative accuracy but no clue is given of the extent of systematic error or of the
effect of other conditions peculiar to the day’s operation.
In Table II the corrections to the shoran measurement, which lead to the
value 329-5860 in Table I, are tabulated to indicate the relative size and sign of
the various corrections needed to reduce the measured values, plane to stations, to
the sea-level length from station to station. In the reduction use is made of the
best values obtainable for H, K and the delay, and to various degrees they are
suspect and this contributes to inaccuracy. Antenna altitudes because of the non
existence of levelling control are barometric but are nevertheless believed to be
accurate to within 25 feet on the average. The height of the plane is, under
certain atmospheric conditions and difficulty of correlation, susceptible to an error
of at least 125 feet, which is reflected as an error in length of some 15 feet.
Because of calibration difficulties the delay has been determined on a relative
rather than on an absolute basis. The velocity used is that of Anderson and a
calibration constant is derived in the adjustment to cause the shoran net to fit
between triangulation bases, and if the work is done uniformly the net effect is a
change in scale thus taking care of both calibration and velocity difficulties, which
unfortunately we are not able to separate. The calibration constant and correc
tion from the adjustment here indicated are obtained from the attachment of the
shoran net to two geodetic points belonging to a loop not yet closed and thus
subject to revision. Nevertheless the accidental error of —-01336 miles, or 70-5
feet, the third highest in the operations, indicates an apparent accuracy of 1 in
24,670. Since the line is the greatest measured and since no intensity measure
ments have been made, it is likely that a falling-off of intensity relative to that for
an average line (210 miles) has occurred and the relatively large minus correction
to the observed value is supported on these grounds. The average correction
without regard to sign applied to the 149 lines is 19-4 feet.
Table III has been compiled to illustrate the number of lines for which the
means obtained on separate days fall in groups of 10-feet difference. Thus for 29
lines (19-7 per cent) the means were not greater than 20 feet nor less than 10
feet apart. It may be inferred that 50 per cent of the line measurements on
separate days are in agreement within 20 feet and 75 per cent within 35 feet for