Ring laser gyro testing at 78º North

In 2007 Sonardyne was testing their new Attitude and Heading Reference system, the “Lodestar”. A rigid test program was conducted locally in and around the Sonardyne offices in Blackbushe, on their “Sound Surveyor”-vessel and in deep water on the “RSS James Cook”. Even though the test went well and the system compared well to inertial systems it was compared to, one test still remained.

As the performance of any gyrocompass is related to latitude, a real Secant Latitude RMS test can only be done in the north. Therefore Aquadyne organized an on-site test for Sonardyne in Svalbard, the northern most archipeligo of Norway at 78 degrees north.