Technical Question

[Speedbird1]

I have tried plotting the various fixes and waypoints locally. Most match the latitude and longitude coordinates given by airnav as well as the FAA JFK Charts, but several are way-off base. An example is the LENDY coordinates, shown as N40.5489, W-074.0812, as shown in the JFK LENDY 6 Arrival Chart. When I type-in these coordinates, I get a spot just south of Staten Island between Miller Field and Great Kills. We all know that the LENDY fixe is near Paterson, NJ in Bergen County. Some coordinates are completely un-listed such as DEEZZ. SKORR which is supposed to be at Bergen Beach, Brooklyn moves way south off the Jersey coast! Why such discrepancies?
Even when using the given coordinates for the CRI VOR, 40.3675N, -73.5367W, I just get a strange location way south of Canarsie, Brooklyn. I would say that I am not typing-in correctly but many fixes/VORs are shown in their proper positions. CCC, the Calverton VOR is shown in the Atlantic Ocean way south of Hampton Bays. As a non-pilot, I enjoy tracking aircraft heading for their departure assignments but incorrect locations are very frustrating so I am turning to you, the experts here for assistance. I also came-across a not-so-old NYC Terminal Chart from 2004 and it's amazing how the names have changed; why are so many names changed, especially since pilots get so familiar with these names? Hope this posting is in the right forum, if not please move as I feel the exact location of the fixes is important. Thanks again for your continued support.

[pgengler]

It looks like you've taken coordinates in DMS format and made them into decimal numbers without converting them. According to Airnav, the CRI VOR has DMS coordinates 40° 36' 44.9"N / 73° 53' 40"W. The correct decimal translation for these isn't 40.3645N / 73.5340W, it's 40.6124722N / 73.8944444W.

[Speedbird1]

Thanks Phil. You are a genius. As a non-pilot, I had no idea there were coordinates in 2 formats (DMS and decimals). It appears that the air charts use the old DMS coordinates so to locate each waypoint, I must convert to the decimal format. I found a site to do this. As a retiree, I have nothing better to do today. It is confusing but explains why my plotting of coordinates gave such freaky results (CRI was way-out in the Atlantic). This is why aviation is such a challenging hobby. Now, if somebody could explain why and who changes the names of waypoints and fixes every few years, I would be content! Maybe the FAA just wants to force pilots to purchase revised charts. I just noticed that locally, there are new fixes named after the NY Yankees, and NY Mets (with different spellings, of course).

[clear_prop]

Thanks Phil. You are a genius. As a non-pilot, I had no idea there were coordinates in 2 formats (DMS and decimals). It appears that the air charts use the old DMS coordinates so to locate each waypoint, I must convert to the decimal format. I found a site to do this. As a retiree, I have nothing better to do today. It is confusing but explains why my plotting of coordinates gave such freaky results (CRI was way-out in the Atlantic). This is why aviation is such a challenging hobby. Now, if somebody could explain why and who changes the names of waypoints and fixes every few years, I would be content! Maybe the FAA just wants to force pilots to purchase revised charts. I just noticed that locally, there are new fixes named after the NY Yankees, and NY Mets (with different spellings, of course).

New names often get added for new approaches. With all the new RNAV approaches, there have been a lot of new waypoints added in the past few years. The FAA office that comes up with the name has a good sense of humor, and there are all sorts of jokes in approach names. I forget where BURGRS and FRIES are, but SNOOPY/LINUS/LUCY are all around KSTS (Charles Schulz Sonoma County Airport).

(approach name spellings might not be accurate, too lazy to look them up)

[Speedbird1]

I agree the names of many waypoints are very clever. Off-hand, they had a fixe JOCKE near Belmont Racetrack, ELLIS used to be in NJ near the Statue of Liberty, WAVEY is of course in the Atlantic south of Long Island, MERIT is not far from the Merritt Pky, in CT, and so forth. Some though need 'splainin' like ERICK, ROBER, BETTE and CAPIT, etc.