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Aviation History
1942
1942 - 1038.PDF
484 FLIGHT MAY 14TH, 1942 A NEW LOCATION RECORDER mounted on top of a building, the aerial being rotated by an electric motor. When the aircraft transmits on its ordinary short-wave equipment, the signal is received on the frame aerial and equipment associated with this aerial automatically indicates the bearing of the air craft in the despatcher's office. Thus the despatcher is able to keep a running record of the aircraft. Three or more ground stations working together can take bear ings simultaneously and, by triangulation, ascertain the position. The system can, therefore, be used for inform ing the pilot of the aircraft of his position a/any moment, but it can also be used as a check on his course-keeping, as the bearings can be taken by the ground stations without the knowledge of the'pilot. The ground location recorder supplements the normal devices, such as the wireless directional beam operated by the U.S. Federal Government. A word may be said here about the wireless "fan" markers at various points along the American air routes. These "fan" marker beacons send vertical wireless signals into the air, and when a pilot flies over one he hears a "beep-beep" in his earphones. A warning light also lights up, so that if he should rmfe'the aural signal he will see the visual one. The "fan " being of known angle, the pilot will know from his altitude how long, at a given speed, he should take to cross one. For instance, at an altitude of 5,000ft. the beacon signal zone is 12 miles across and three miles wide. Six of these fan-type markers have been placed at strategic points along the air route between Vancouver and San Diego. They are located at Hobarts and Park Lane, Washington, Bay Point, Livermore, La Habra, and Newhall Pass, California. One of United Air Lines 5-kilowatt transmitters used by ground stations for two-way wireless telephone communi cation. The Ujtfited Air Lines main communications research laboratory is situated at the Chicago airport and is under the direction of Mr. J. R. Cunningham. There is a staff of ten engineers and a mechanic. Mr. P. C. Sandretto, a young wireless engineer with an impressive record of achievements in the development of air safety aids, is superintendent of the laboratory, which is devoted exclu sively to the origination and development of new devices, the study of new equipment and of iraffroved methods of communication in air transport. A Method for Purifying Scrap Magnesium CORROSION-RESISTANT pure magnesium can be recovered readily from scrap magnesium containing iron, nickel or copper by a vaporising and condensing process patented by Charles E. Nelson and assigned to the Dow Chemical Co., of Midland, Michigan. The patent reveals that the scrap is melted in the presence of calcium, lead, tin, antimony or bismuth until the magnesium alloys with the metal chosen, then the temperature is raised sufficiently to vanarise the Hux. As the vapour issues from the retort ft is filtered thJoitgh oxide of calcium or of aluminium and then comjensedr in metallic form free of impurities on a tsibe through ;whiim cold, water llows^j^ / Improved Air-cooled Engine Cc through the outlets arranged annyTarly in the cowling shell. The vacuum increases circulationiof the air within the cowling, while at the same time emiss^m of air at the outlets lowers the vaewtmr there "Sinl-is- -saj^r to minimise the drag. Flashing farns of Icing Conditions THE National Advisory ; Committee lor A't worked for years in its laboratory at ronaiHie< has ingley Field,! Virginia, on the combined p><jblem of cooling'Radial engines and reducing aircraft drag Itsv^arly solution was the very* effective ring cowl, which has bee»»4Qntein universal use with radial air-cooled engines. But two diflicul one, that the rate of airflow over the cylinder fins at low air craft speed was not rapid enough to effect sufficient cooling; the other, that at high speed the engine housing still presented too much drag. Now, improvements in the cowling induce maximum airflow*" across the engine at low #peed and reduce external air resist ance at high speed to a minimum, according to the specification of a patent issued last January to Theodore Theodorsen, a research engineer in the N.A.C.A. laboratory, who grants free use of the invention to the United States Government. The improvements consist, as described, in providing air outlets in the cowl at the points where internal pressure and external vacuum, produced by flow of the airstream over the cowling surface, are highest. The air current entering the circular front inlet flows rearward over the engine, then— reverses direction and moves forward in a cylindrical stream surrounding the central current and is drawn out by vacuum PILOTS entering an^Lir stfaTbB^^in which the temperature is such as to prrfnote the lortnxticn of ice on the wings can be warned tq^ftart operation of afetucers or to descend to a warmer st^rtum by means of an Tuivention recentlv patented in thejpnited Statgs by Edwjyd P. iHall and assignwfc^- 10 the Square M Co. •<"? WjswTng is^giv&i by the xfa^jstgfol ai, electiic lamp mounted on th^finstjprnentlpanel. A coil that \ aries/in resistance with tempemtuie changes is mounted on t le/ving at a location where l^is most likely to form, anlos connected with a thermostatic switch, a battery and the lamp. Inspiration, the switch closegjwrfien the aircraft enters an air JFgion of ice-forming temperature and energises the system so^hat, as soon as moistiire freezes on the resistance coil the rcuit from battery to lamp is closed And the lamp lights. Flow" of current through the coil, however, warms it and- the circuit is broken, extinguishing the light, which again flashes when the coil cools to freezing temperature. Centrifugal Oil Cleaner for Aircraft Engines PARTICLES of metal, carbon and gritty soil and clumps of petroleum gum that accumulate in lubricating oil in air craft engines may be removed continuously while the engines are running by adoption of a separator system developed and recently patented by Alan E. Flowers, who assigned the patent to the De Laval Separator Co., of New York City. A centri fugal-type separator is connected in the forced-circulation oil system of the engine so that oil from the crankcase flows through it and the heavy contaminating matter is whirled ouf before the lubricant returns to the oil reservoir. Flow of oil under pressure of the oil pump drives an impeller which rotates the centrifugal element of the separator.
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