Fan Marker?

[+bicknell]

I was researching marks today for the contest, and ran across a new one to me. Check out FE2545. It's listed as a "FAN MARKER", and describes some mesh thingy on metal legs. I believe the person who marked that as a find actually found FE2546, which is "inside" the FAN MARKER, or somesuch.

 

The pictures on those logs don't help me understand. Anyone have a picture of this sort of thing, and can explain what it is and why it was used?

Edited April 3, 2006 by bicknell

[mloser]

A quick Google search turned up:

http://www.dtic.mil/doctrine/jel/doddict/data/f/02006.html and http://usmilitary.about.com/od/glossaryter.../fanmarkbea.htm. The reason the pics don't help you is that they are not of the fan marker. There are of a disk that is on the same hill. and the area around the disk (which was claimed as itself on another PID).

[+Klemmer]

Hey! I've used those! When you are flying an instrument approach to airport (typically an ILS approach), marker beacons are used at specific points on the approach path to cue you as you you exact location, what the "rules" are from that point (like minimum decent altitude, etc). generally there is an outer beacon and an inner beracon. Rarely a middle beacon. A fan marker is a specific sub-type of marker beacon, used for uhhh.... maybe enroute, rather than approaches (?). That's all folks! Not bad for 20+ year old memories..... in any case, they are all quickly being made obsolete by -- of course -- GPS!

[+jwahl]

I think this might be a picture of one:

 

Example

 

- jlw

 

A quick Google search turned up:

http://www.dtic.mil/doctrine/jel/doddict/data/f/02006.html and http://usmilitary.about.com/od/glossaryter.../fanmarkbea.htm. The reason the pics don't help you is that they are not of the fan marker. There are of a disk that is on the same hill. and the area around the disk (which was claimed as itself on another PID).