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Aviation History
1961
1961 - 0588.PDF
598 FLIGHT, 4 May 1961 SYSTEM SURVEY Controller and indicator, with 2in c.r.t., for the new Halpin A.D.A.S. Halpin A.D.A.S.—Further Details FULL provisional patentrights have been granted to Halpins of Hampshire Ltdfor the Aircraft Directional Accuracy System, firstdescribed in these columns last week; and some furtherdetails have now been released by the company.A.D.A.S. is intended to pro- vide private pilots with afool-proof and accurate method of finding their wayto any selected beacon and to tell them precisely whenthey pass over the beacon. A 2in cathode-ray tube in-dicator accepts outputs from special miniature receiversfor both MF and VHF frequencies, thus servingboth non-directional beacons and VOR. Among unique features in A.D.A.S. is a logarithmic amplifierwhich prevents saturation of the receiver as the beacon is ap- proached. A memory device tells the pilot when he was last pointingdirectly towards the beacon and the instantaneous position can therefore follow the previous position with great accuracy. Anymovement off course is quickly shown and there is distinct indica- tion of whether the aircraft is flying to or away from the beacon. Aflashing indicator lamp to indicate overflying of the beacon will later be added. Accurate approaches have been made from HytheNDB to Eastleigh in poor visibility. Selected VOR radials can also be flown. Halpin intend to produce the equipment at their Southamptonradar establishment when MoA type approval has been granted. Initially, MF systems capable of handling VOR will be made, buta special VOR receiver phase comparator will be produced at a later date. A ferrite variable tuning aerial is used. Selling price should beunder £200 and exports are being considered. 3-D Presentation of Radar A METHOD of providing a 3-D display from the US Navy Frescan orUS Army Frescanar 3-D electronic scanning radars has been developed as a private venture by Hughes Aircraft. Missile cruisersand destroyers and the Army Missile Master system already employ the radars, but operators at present watch separate plan-positionand height displays. Now, Hughes offer the Stereotron display based on twoc.r.t.s. mounted at 90 to each other with a half-silveredmirror at 45° to both tubes, as shown in the diagram at the foot of this page. Polarized filters cause the information displayed on eachtube to be seen with different eyes; and the returns are then painted on each tube face in such a way that the viewer sees the two traces ofthe same target with an amount of visual parallax which is propor- tional to target height. The Tonotron tubes used in Stereotron incorporate long per- First picture of a production Smiths Para-Visual Director system, shovwng three indicators, controller and fATR amplifier taking computed signals from the flight director. This unit was installed in a KLM DC-8. Others are being evaluated by Boeing and BOAC in 707s and SAS in a DC-8 sistence tracer so that each target leaves a trail. They can be viewedby several people in normal room-intensity lighting and Stereoscan can be added without modifying the basic Frescan. Off-the-shelfcomponents were used and, it is claimed, the display can be inter- preted more accurately than existing ones. Testing VOR/ILS on the Spot A PORTABLE, self-contained test set with which one man sitting inthe cockpit can test the VOR, ILS, glide-slope and marker beacon receivers in an aircraft has been produced by Communications 'Air)Ltd, a company which joined the A.C. Cossor Group last September. Called Field Test Set Type FT.13B, the equipment can be placed ashort distance ahead of the aircraft and will perform a programme of up to 71 tests by radiating from telescopic aerials six simulatedVOR bearing signals on each of 20 channels in the VOR band; differential modulation between 90 and 150c/s on each of 20channels in the ILS localizer band; differential modulation between 90 and 150c/s on 20 glide-path channels; and 75Mc/s signalsmodulated at 400, 1,300 or 3,000c/s with high and low carrier levels. All carrier signals are crystal controlled. Closed-circuit tes ingcan also be applied; and brilliant lights in the equipment, visible from the cockpit in direct sunlight, indicate which test is beingcarried out. The 71 tests can be automatically completed in 10 min or an additional cable will allow direct control from thecockpit. Various modulation levels and RF channels can also be manually selected. The FT.13B weighs 391b and costs £574 10swithout crystals. Miniature ADF Sales MARCONI have sold no fewer than 154 of their AD.722 miniatureradio compasses this year. All but four of these were for export and important repeat orders came from Italy, Spain and Malaya.AD.722s are now to be installed in Heralds, Friendships and Avro 748s as well as in executive aircraft. They are already widely usedby the RAF. SCAT—at the Right Speed CONSIDERABLE airline and military interest has been shown in theSafe Flight Instrument Corp SCAT system for achieving correct rotation and climb-out and correct approach speeds. Basically, iiconsists of a vane set in the leading edge of the wing, a flap-position transducer and an electronic unit containing a horizontal accelera-tion transducer. A signal proportional to the ratio of CL to CLmax is added to the horizontal acceleration signal in such a way that theneedle indicator will show "fast" if decreasing lift ratio and forward acceleration are sensed; and "slow" if increasing lift ratio anddeceleration are present. It is possible to use SCAT as an elevator demand signal betwesn VR and V2 speeds and as a power directorduring the approach. Hughes 3-D presentation for their Frescan 3-D radar. A and 8, Hughes Tonotron c.r.t.s; C and D, polarizing light filters; E, half-silvered mirror; F, observer wearing polarized glasses The FT. 13B ILS, VOR and marker beacon signal simulator for programmed testing of airborne equipment, by Communications (Air) Ltd of Bagshot
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