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Aviation History
1960
1960 - 0735.PDF
FLIGHT, 27 May 1960 735 6HT SYSTEM SURVEY Marconi S 307 Surveillance Radar LATEST in the line of Marconi 50cm surveillance radars is the typeS 307, which possesses all the qualities of the long-range type S 264A but offers improved definition and greater range. Theaerial, illustrated here, consists of a 67ft 6in parabolic reflector 12ft high formed by aluminium-alloy rods and energized by anoffset, slotted linear waveguide. Horizontal beam-width is about 1.75°. Housed in a reinforced concrete building beneath the aerialare the type SR 100 high-performance receiver and a transmitter, modulator and power unit, all mounted in a four-bay cabinet.Aerial rotation speeds of 5 and 10 r.p.m. are provided and the 4Jin spacing between reflector rods reduces the power requiredto turn the aerial in a high wind. Radar signals from the aerial head are passed at an IF of44.25Mc/s to a radar distribution unit in a control tower or centre where locally generated calibration marks and range-gated MTIare added. Either cancelled or uncancelled channels can be selected for a variety of displays of the SD 701 or SD 1000 typeand the centre may be up to 4,500yd from the aerial. Greater separations may be achieved with a radar link.Radio frequency is 585-610Mc/s and peak power output 500kW nominal. Pulse recurrence frequencies may be 260 to 385at 4/is or 3/*s, or 500 to 550 at 3,us only. Receiver noise factor is 7-8dB. Polarization is horizontal. Midas at Belfast To record vibration levels in the Short SCI VTOL researchaircraft during transition flights, a Royston Instruments Midas flight recorder has been fitted in the lower aft equipment bay.Some 30 pick-ups are located throughout the airframe and read- ings from a pre-selected group of six of them are simultaneouslyrecorded on tape in five lOsec runs each minute. There is a lOsec blank each minute and a voice channel is included sothat the pilot may also record particular flight conditions. The tapes can be analysed on Midas play-back equipment either atRAE or Royston Instruments Ltd to show a frequency amplitude plot up to 500c/s. Midas, which is being jointly marketed byLockheed in the US, is also proposed for use as an airline flight recorder. FAA Radio and Computers FIVE additional megacycles in the VHF band will, from the begin-ning of July, be allotted to air traffic control in the US. After considerable planning and consultation with all the governmentbodies and operating associations involved, it has been decided that the frequencies between 126.825Mc/s and 128.825Mc/s and The 67ft 6in wide aerial of the new Marconi S 307 surveillance radar between 132.025Mc/s and 135.0Mc/s are to be used for ATC,thus providing an additional 100 frequencies at 50kc/s spacing. Additional stipulations have been made to cater for those aircraftwhose receivers do not tune beyond 127Mc/s and those which operate only on lOOkc/s spacing. On July 7,300 frequency changeswill come into effect and 300 more will follow in the subsequent three months. This is the first increase in the VHF radio spectrumfor ATC communications since October 1946 and it will greatly reduce interference between neighbouring stations which havehitherto been obliged to use common frequencies. As part of the continuing intensive investigation into theapplication of computers to traffic control, the FAA has placed a $5,974,500 contract with the Mitre Corp of Lexington for thedesign and testing of a semi-automatic air traffic en route control system using existing SAGE air defence facilities. Mitre willshare the SAGE computer at Lexington and defence radars in New York, New England and New Jersey, the operation beingco-ordinated with other experimental equipment for terminal con- trol at the FAA's experimental centre at Atlantic City. The pro-gramme will take two years and will involve the co-operation of the Department of Defense and USAF. Another phase of military/civil co-operation is Project Trail-smoke, a "civil jet advisory service program," in which FAA con- trollers stationed at 38 defence radar sites will provide an advisoryservice for civil jet aircraft. Throughout the summer months the defence centres will be used in this way to track and direct bothmilitary and civil aircraft. The FAA has now opened a new laboratory equipped with aRemington Rand UNI VAC File-1 computer and auxiliary devices at its experimental centre at Atlantic City. Similar computers arealready installed at operational control centres at Indianapolis, New York, Washington, Pittsburg, Cleveland and Boston and arebeing used to automate the production of flight progress strips. The computer at Atlantic City will be used for simulation ofproposed new control methods both with and without actual air- craft as a preliminary to the introduction of new techniqueson the airways. Lear Miniature Yaw Damper THE astronics division of Lear Inc has designed and is to producea miniaturized single-axis damping system for high-speed aircraft. The electronic package of this equipment employs "Millimin"high-density packaging and miniature circuitry which have reduced the size of the unit to that of a pack of playing cards. The newsystem has been fitted as a yaw damper to the Swiss P-16 strike fighter and a $6,000 contract has been placed by Fiat for units tobe used as pitch dampers in the G.91. Both these aircraft were test flown by W. P. Lear Jr, the company's vice-president anddirector of European operations. Lear have produced the three- axis damper system for the F-104, two-axis systems for theNorthrop T-38 and single-axis systems for F-86D and Grumman F9F. Some of the company's equipment is also fitted in theEnglish Electric Lightning and the Westland Wessex. Royston Instruments Midas multi-channel flight recorder being installed for vibration measurements in the Short SC.l at Bedford
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