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Aviation History
1957
1957 - 0493.PDF
FLIGHT, 12 April 1957 Weather Radar ... lakes and towns can be identified at up to 200 nautical miles'range. Weather radar will also give a clear indication of terrain clearance in hilly country, because the display shows when theaircraft is below the top of a hill lying in the scanned area. Airborne Search Radar Type E120 Ekco Electronics, Ltd., Ekco Works, Southend-on-Sea, Essex.THIS company pioneered the use of airborne weather radars; and the present El20 equipment was developed from the earlier E38 andE38B. The E120 is specified for the Britannia and Comet. Aerial unit, weighing 55 lb with an 18in dish, sweeps an arc of 150deg in azimuth at the rate of 100 deg/sec with a beam width of 5 deg. Tilt limits are + 7 deg and —17 deg, with automatic stabilization up to±45 deg in roll, +18 deg and —22 deg in pitch, at rates of follow of 30 deg/sec in roll and 10 deg/sec in pitch, with a lag not greater than2 deg. Transmitter /receiver unit, weighing 55 lb, works on 9,375 Mc/s(X-band) at 60 kW power, contains all the R.F. circuits, the master pulse generator and necessary power supplies. Dimensions: 15 Jin by17in by 7|in. Servo /synchronizer unit, weighing 21 lb, Contains servo chains con-trolling roll and pitch correction motors on the scanner, and the time base, range marker, iso-echo contour, automatic gain control and sensi-tivity time control circuits. Dimensions: 15Jin by 7in by 7|in. Indicating unit, weighing 9 1b, has a 5in tube face with permanentazimuth bearing lines and high-brightness tube to avoid the need for a viewing hood in most cockpit lighting conditions. To avoid congestionof targets at short ranges, the zero range on the 20-mile setting corre- sponds to an arc about the point of rotation. Available range settingsare 0-20, 0-60 and 0-120 nautical miles, with markers respectively at 5, 10 and 20 mile ranges. Dimensions: 13in by 5jin by 5 in.Control unit, weighing 2 lb, contains aerial tilt, contour/manual gain switch and knob, range selector, stabilizer on/off/fast erect switch andauto/manual tune switch and knob. Subsidiary control panel and switch- over unit are optional and two indicator units can be carried. Twojunction boxes, together weighing 7J lb are necessary. Power supplies: 115 V A.C., 400c/s 3-phase, 500 VA; 115 or 208 VA.C., 3OO-55Oc/s, 3-phase, 500 VA; 28 V D.C., 10 W. AN/APN-59 Navigational Radar Sperry Gyroscope Corp., Great Neck, New York. AS the military designation denotes, this radar was developed primarilyfor military cargo and transport aircraft of the U.S.A.F. and it is there- fore rather more versatile and elaborate than usual civil equipment. Itis denned as a complete navigational radar system, and has a maximum range of no less than 240 miles; infinitely variable range setting betweenzero and 30 miles; 360 deg scanning and presentation; variable scan rate; pitch-and-roll aerial stabilization instead of the usual line-of-sightsystem; compass as well as aircraft centre-line orientation of the scope picture; and alternative equal-energy or pencil beam for short- or long-range mapping. Both the control panel and the indicator are primarily designed forinstallation at the navigator's station, though a scope for the pilot is available. The remotely-mounted aerial-stabilization gyro is of theA-12 type. The receiver/transmitter unit is pressurized if required. Either 18in or 30in diameter aerials are available. Long pulse-lengthand narrow band-width make the APN-59 suitable for use as a search radar and such targets as ships can be identified at 120 miles.APN-59 has a peak power of 75 kW, transmits on 9,375 Mc/s (X-band) and receives radar ground beacons on 9,310 Mc/s. Total systemweight is 143 lb with 18in reflector and 153 lb with 30in reflector. Maximum operating altitude is 50,000ft. Power supplies: 115 V380-l,000c/s, 10 A; 115 V, 380-420c/s, 2 A; 26.5 V D.C., 6 A. Airborne Weather Radar Type RDR-1 Bendix Radio, Baltimore 4, Maryland. TYPES RDR-1A and RDR-1B (with Racon facility) 9,350 Mc/s(X-band); RDR-1C, 5,400 Mc/s (C-band). Component weights: scanner, 30 lb; indicator, 12 1b; synchronizer,48 lb; transmitter/receiver, 40 lb; control unit, li lb. RDR-1C transmitter/receiver, 48 Ib; all other units same as RDR-1A and B.RDR-1 A, B, C: scanning arc, + 120 deg; sweep rate, 15 r.p.m.; scanner tilt, +15 deg; polarization, horizontal; scanner stabilization,+ 25 deg; ranges and marks, 0-20, 0-50, 0-150 n.m. with 5, 10 and 25 n.m. range marks respectively; power supply, 115 V A.C., 300-1.000c/s,700 VA; 115 V A.C., 380-420 c/s, 200 VA; 27.5 V D.C., 25 W. Controls include iso-echo contour, Racon beacon reception, aerial tiltand sensitivity time control (S.T.C.) to provide relatively constant illumination of similar targets from 0 to approximately 25 miles range.Rack-mounted units are fan-cooled, but adaptable for system cooling. Weather Radar AVQ-10 Radio Corporation of America, 11819 West Olympic Boulevard, Los Angeles, California. THE AVQ-10 is used by American Airlines, Braniff, Continental,United, Pan American, T.W.A., Air France, Air India, B.O.A.C., C.M.A., Cubana, Iberia, Qantas, R.E.A.L., Sabena, Swissair, U.A.T.,Thai Airways and Karhumaki (Finland) Airways. A new indicator with a bright display tube for use in daylight without a viewing hood is beingprepared. Scanner (22in, 30in or 34in), weighing 25 1b, scanning through 360deg at 15 r.p.m. with 7 deg beam-width. Tilt +10 deg, —15 deg. Line- of-sight stabilization up to +20 deg roll-plus-pitch, at rates up to 20deg/sec. Transmitter/receiver, weighing 43| Ib, one ATR size rack-mounted,provides 75 kW peak power on 5,400 Mc/s (C-band). 495 Viewing scope of the Bendix weather radar and control panel of the Collins equipment for the same purpose. Accessory unit, weighing 33 lb, one ATR size, rack-mounted, con-tains synchronizing, video, I.F., and stabilizing circuitry. Indicator, weighing 13 lb, shock-mounted, with 5in screen scanningsector of about 270 deg on 20, 50 and 150 n.m. ranges. Control panel, weighing 2 Ib and having aerial tilt, range, contouron/off, contour gain and stabilization on/off controls. Power supply: 115 V A.C., 380-420c/s, 500 VA; 115 V A.C.,300-l,000c/s, 275 VA; 27.5 V D.C., 30 W. Max. operating altitude 16,000ft. WP-101 Weather Radar Collins Radio, Cedar Rapids, Iowa. THE Collins weather radar uses printed circuits, modular construction,a load isolator circuit and magnetic amplifiers. It is installed in DC-6s and 7s and Convairliners of Delta, among others. Total system weightis 131.3 lb uninstalled. Aerial, weighing 21 lb, scans through 360 deg at 15 r.p.m., is line-of-sight stabilized up to +35 deg at zero tilt. Tilt limits are +10 deg, -15 deg.Receiver/transmitter, weighing 55.8 Ib, produces 75 kW power at 5,400 Mc/s (C-band).Synchronizer unit weighs 42 lb. Indicator unit, weighing 11 lb, may be duplicated for use by bothpilots, and includes a 5in tube face and range and picture controls. Display extends 120 deg either side of the aircraft centre-line, withsuitable bearing and range markers. Selected ranges are 0-20, 0-50 and 0-150 n.m. with 5, 10 and 25 miles range marks respectively.Control panel, weighing 1.5 lb, includes iso-echo contour/normal switch, gain control, aerial stabilization on /off switch and aerial tiltcontrol. The panel is edge-lit. Weather Avoidance Radar AVQ-50 Radio Corporation of America, 11819 West Olympic Boulevard, Los Angeles. THE AVQ-50 is designed primarily for light twin-engined aircraftwhere space in the extreme nose is at a premium. This is a much simplified radar.Aerial, weighing 5.5 Ib, of 12in diameter, scanning an 80 deg sector ahead of the aircraft at 85 "looks" per minute. It projects a 7 degpencil beam, can be tilted 10 deg up or down and is unstabilized. Receiver/transmitter, weighing 21 lb in a short ATR case, trans-mits on 9,375 Mc/s (X-band) at 45 kW peak. A ferrite load isolator is optional.Accessory unit, weighing 19 Ib in a short | ATR case, contains power supply, timing circuits and I.F. amplifier, together with adjustableiso-echo contour section. Control panel is not supplied as a unit but as a kit of parts includingon/stand-by/range switch (10, 50 n.m.), tilt, gain and contour/normal controls. The whole can be mounted within the space of a 3in panelcut-out. Power supply: 115 V A.C., 380-420c/s, 500 VA appro*. Max.operating altitude, 16,000ft. The gyro-stabilized aerial of the Ekco El20 weather radar installed in the nose of a Britannia.
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