In this paper an initial alignment algorithm for a strapdown inertial navigation system is implemented using a RISC CPU board. The algorithm computes roll pitch and yaw angles of the direction cosine matrix utilizing measured components of the specific force and earth rate when the navigation system is stationary. The coarse alignment algorithm is performed first and then the fine alignment algorithm containing a 3rd-order gyrocompass loop follows. The experimental set consists of an IMU a CPU board and a monitoring system Experimental results show that the implemented algorithm can be utilized in navigation systems.