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Aviation History
1941
1941 - 1074.PDF
332 MAY 8TH, 1941. LEAR CYROMATIC NAVIGATOR (Continued) a straight line but a curve. During the approach the double line is set on the direction of the runway which is to be used. As the radio station is passed over, the pointer suddenly turns through 180 deg., so giving an unmistakable indi- cation of the position of the aeroplane. Then follows a standard procedure turn to the left, position 2, which continues until the radio station comes directly abeam, posi- tion 3. The pilot then eases his turn into a larger radius four-minute procedure turn to circle the station and keep it directly abeam as seen in positions 4, 5 and 6. If the altitude still exceeds 1,000ft., it is necessary to complete another circle through the positions 7, 8, 9, 10 and 11 while losing altitude at such a rate that at position 11 the aero- plane is at 1,000ft. This position is easily identified by the fact that the double line of the directional gyro is at 180 deg. on the scale and the pointer is indicating 270 deg. Having reached position 11, the flight path is then kept straight on a course parallel to the runway and away from it, keeping the double line on 180 deg. The pointer read- ing gradually decreases as the aeroplane moves away from the radio station, and at a certain value, fixed by the procedure for the particular aerodrome, the pilot does a left-hand two-minute turn of 180 deg., so lining" himself up with the runway at the correct distance from it and altitude above it, position 13. Both the pointer and the double line of the gyro now point ahead, to zero on the- scale. Altitude is then lost as the runway is approached and the pointer suddenly reverses as the radio station is passed over, thus giving a definite indication of the distance from the runway. The final approach and touch-down can then be made, position 14. The novelty of the Lear Gyromatic Navigator consists ia^ bringing together the indications of two instruments whose value has already "been well established. It should be of considerable help to a pilot as it allows the easy visualisa- tion of the problem confronting him in conditions of zero visibility. NEW AIRGRAPH SERVICE Photographic System Will Expedite Middle East Mail LIKE most clever ideas, the new "Airgraph" system oisending letters between this country and the Forces in>the Middle East, which was announced in last week'sissue of Flight, is a delightfully simple one. It saves days in transit time and costs the sender only a fraction of the expenseof ordinary air-mail. Briefly, the sender writes the message on a special form which is photographed on a film negativemeasuring only ^in. by fin. from which a readable enlargement is reproduced at the other end. As 4,500 of these tiny negatives weigh only one pound asagainst the i£cwt. which would be the weight of an equivalent number of ordinary letters, the saving in weight and spacefor transit by air will be appreciated. By virtue of this saving the fighting man in the Middle East and his family and friendsat borne will be able to correspond at the cost of 3d. per letter. Moreover the time taken for the letter to reach its recipientwill be less than a fortnight, whereas ordinary air-mail letters, owing to theirweight, have to be carried part of the way by sea and thus take very muchlonger. The homeward Airgraph Service willbegin almost at once and a similar out- ward service from this country to theMiddle East will follow as soon as certain technical arrangements can be com-pleted. The service is, of course, supplementary to the normal postalservice and it admittedly has two slight disadvantages—it is not entirely private.and it imposes a limit on the length of the letter sent. But in practice thesesnags are more apparent than real. It is true that an Airgraph letter cannot besent all the way in a sealed envelope, but it is delivered sealed to the recipient,and it can obviously be taken for granted that the postal staff who photographand reproduce the letters will have no personal interest in their contents nortime in which to notice them. As regards the limit on letter length,the form on which the sender writes the message measures 11 in. by 8in. (including This picture shows the comparativesizes of the original letter and the recipient's copy in relation to the film negative actually sent by air. the margin for the recipient's address) and quite a lot can besaid in this space. Incidentally the enlargement received at the other end measures 5m. by 4m. which, unless the senderwere to write his original letter in an extremely tiny hand in order to cram in an abnormal amount of matter, will befound to be quite big enough for easy reading. This system of cheapening and expediting postal communi-cation between the Middle East Forces and the home country is the first of its kind in the world and has been evolved bythe Post Office in co-operation with a well-known photographic firm who have sent an expert out to the Middle East to super-vise that end of the undertaking. The Airgraph Service has the full co-operative support of the Admiralty, War Office andAir Ministry who welcome its introduction as a solution to the problem of the long time previously talcen by ordinary lettersto and from this theatre of war.
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