SNIPT … JIPIG … BOENZ … JEHOO … NOBEY…. When aircraft pilots plan their routes, they map their flight paths along a network of navigational waypoints—fixed coordinates on the globe with a designated latitude and longitude. Pilots use these points to stay on course over featureless oceans, to follow specific paths through busy corridors near airports, and to identify when it’s time to adjust altitude, turn toward a different heading or make other changes in their flight paths.
Waypoints all over the globe are identified by five-letter names, which are meant to be pronounceable, if not meaningful. “Waypoints are usually generated by a computer to spit out a five-character designation that is usually nonsensical, such as ANOPA or KALVA,” says retired U.S. Air Force Colonel Ronald Smith, a navigator and former commander of the U.S. military arm supporting Antarctic research. Sometimes, waypoints might reflect local landscape or culture. For example, pilots coming into Boston might pass by waypoints BOSOX or CELTS. Those headed for Kansas City might encounter BARBQ and RIBBS.
Since 2010, five of the waypoints between New Zealand and Antarctica honor five ponies that lived a century ago. Pilots flying on the nearly 2,100-mile route between New Zealand and McMurdo Station, Antarctica encounter waypoints called Snippets, Jimmy Pigg, Bones, Jehu and Nobby. “As far as I know,” says Smith, “these are the only waypoints in the world named after animals.” Watch this video to see their story.
Click here to read the original EQUUS article about the ponies chosen by Scott’s expedition. You’ll learn about the important role the ponies played in Scott’s expedition. For more information about navigational waypoints, go to the U.S. Antarctic Program.
