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Aviation History
1942
1942 - 1037.PDF
MAY 14TH, 1942 FLIGHT <P3 On the left a diagram of the manner in which position is plotted from four ground stations. The diagrams on the right show the wireless " fan " marker on the k- routes which gives pilots wireless identification of their exact position. The 'ew system works on very high frequency and is said to be free from interference by static. Mounted on top of the fuselage is a retractable aerial, is used in instrument landings. This btacon if his approach path were to be quite correct. In the United States a soirKHtfnat different system was used, and radio beacons were placed along the main air loutes, the pilots being guided by the beam signals much as, in the earlier days, they were guided by visual light beacons. U.A.L. Research One of the American operating companies, United Air Lines, has been working for many years on the problem of safe navigation of commercial aircraft, and has now reached a stage when ultra-short wave wireless can be used reliably not merely for two-way voice communica tion but for continuous recording of the location of an aircraft on the route. . Before the new system could be accepted as thoroughly satisfactory a great deal of research was necessary. In the/early stages this was, of course, undertaken in ground laboratories and workshops, but when the main details had been worked out it became advisable to make tests in the air, and a commercial aircraft was obtained and converted into a flying laboratory. The seats were removed from one side of the cabin and a work bench and test stand were installed instead. It was not long before this flying laboratory became a familiar sight on the air routes, and often the manufacturers of instru ments and wireless equipment arranged with United Air Lines to test some new device for them. When thorough tests had been made in the air of transmission and reception on the ultra-short waves, an experimental aircraft location recorder was produced by United Air Lines engineers. This was demonstrated successfully before experts. The next step was to design a unit which could be produced on a commercial scale. This has now been done, and units are ready for instal lation at points along U.A.L. coast-to-coast and Pacific- coast routes this spring and summer. . The ground recorder station has a large frame aerial So-called " flight analysers " are carried in the aircraft to provide records of altitude, climbs and descents on a flight. The records are examined by despatchers at the end of each trip.
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