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Aviation History
1961
1961 - 1556.PDF
660 FLIGHT, 26 October 1961 SYSTEM SURVEY Decca's Big Step Forward THE flight trials programme of the Decca Mk 3 Self-Setting FlightLog and Omnitrac computer have now been completed and the company were demonstrating the equipment in their Valetta fromGatwick last Monday. Both the new developments have very considerable significance in the navigation field, because theyprovide a Decca presentation which is undistorted, a recording pen which sets itself anywhere on the Flight Log chart without manipu-lation, and a dial giving separate range and bearing indication to any chosen location pre-set in the Omnitrac computer. The bearingsignal can additionally be coupled to monitor the autopilot for automatic track-keeping; and Omnitrac can operate in conjunctionwith Doppler, inertial or air-data navigation systems. During one flight in the London area, the track of the aircraft wasplotted continuously on an undistorted chart and the range and bearing to Gatwick were continuously displayed on the meter. Theequipment thus provides not only position and track, but bearing and distance to any selected reporting point. Signals incorporatedin the nine-digit self-setting tracks along the edge of the chart will automatically control chart changing and the repositioning of thepen without switching by the pilot. The Decca chart service is, of course, also equipped to produce ad hoc charts for a particularflight within 24hr. Kollsman Instrument in Britain A SUBSIDIARY of Standard Kollsman Inc of Chicago has beenestablished in Britain with the name Kollsman Instrument Ltd. Announcing the new venture, the president of the American com-pany said that Kollsman Instrument Ltd will "introduce the total Kollsman capabilities into the British market." They intend tosupply the Air Ministry and aircraft manufacturers, including the aerospace industry, with the full scope of Kollsman's technicalcapabilities in the astro-compass, instrumentation and navigation systems fields. Kollsman"s technical and research facilities in theUS will be utilized by the British company in serving the require- ments of its customers. Mr Alastair A. Brown and Mr Francis G. Thouard haverespectively been appointed managing and deputy managing directors of Kollsman Instrument Ltd. Mr Brown was formerlychief development engineer with Smiths Aviation Division at Basingstoke and Mr Thouard was responsible for the sale of a widerange of aircraft instruments with Kelvin Hughes. Check-out for the Lightning THE RAF has ordered from Honeywell Controls Ltd a number ofsystems analysers for automatic pre-flight check-out of the Light- ning. The equipment and its principles of operation were describedin an article in the aviation electronics feature in Flight for October 5; and this order represents the first by the RAF of such equipmentfor aircraft. During a conference in London last week to announce theorder Honeywell Controls Ltd showed a film of their systems analyser type UG-897 being used with the F-101B, for which it wasdeveloped some two years ago. The USAF at that time had difficulty in keeping the F-101B serviceable and the systems analyser could, for The main battle staff position in the Combat Operations Center at the North American Air Defense Command in Colorado Springs. During exercise Skyshield II, aircraft were plotted on the projected map and various defence systems could be alerted from this room example, completely test every mode of the autopilot in 2£hr.The task would take several days by other methods. It was also arranged to check the air data computer, fire-control system andweapon computer. Honeywell in America next produced analysers for the F-104, the X-15 rocket-powered research aircraft and theSD-105 drone. The new analyser for the Lightning has already been designed andthe first example will be completed "in a matter of months," but no firm details can be released except that it is rather faster thanexisting Honeywell analysers. As much as possible of the system will be produced in Honeywell Controls' factory at Hemel Hemp-stead, Herts, and the British company will therefore have something of a lead in Europe in such production. The possibilities of export-ing British-made Honeywell analysers are good. The company point out that the analyser could be applied not onlyfor flight-line (or first-line) servicing, but all the way through to the production line, providing a means of checking equipment to aconstant standard at all stages of its life. Yet another extension is the use of check-out equipment installed in the aircraft to monitorappropriate systems throughout each flight. By this means the crew would be immediately warned if a unit failed or went off limitsand immediately on landing they would also be able to indicate the unit to be changed. Prompt warning of failure would itself beuseful, but the ability to indicate with certainty any unit to be changed could significantly shorten turn-round time. In the USAF system of maintenance, unserviceable black boxesare returned to the manufacturer for servicing. Many of the boxes so returned were found to be serviceable, because the engineer hadexperimentally removed a number of boxes in trying to cure one fault. The systems analyser pin-pointed the correct box to beremoved and avoided maintenance "by ear." On the other hand, many of the boxes returned were found to be far outside limits,indicating that they had been used for some time after they actually became partly unserviceable. Again, the systems analyser couldprevent such cases. Honeywell showed an actual UG-897 analyser for the F-101going through its 25min self-checking routine. The system was mounted in a rubber-tyred, towable trolley with air suspension andperformed six steps per second in normal testing routines con- trolled by its self-checking tape. [Certain tests involved timeconstants and a light indicated when one of these apparent pauses was in progress. Digital read-out showed the number of the testbeing performed. When a fault was notified by illuminated label the operator could move a roll chart to the test number and seewhere the fault might be. Sub-routines were then selected to narrow the search down to an individual, quickly removable module. Inservice, the self-checking routine is carried out immediately any fault is indicated so that there is positive assurance that it is the air-craft unit and not the analyser which has failed. Although the analyser is mainly electronic, it can handle pneumatic and hydraulicsystems as well. Two New Weather Radars RECENTLY announced by RCA are the AVQ-55 and AVQ-20 air-borne weather radars, intended respectively for the smaller twin- engined business aircraft and for jet airliners. RCA claim to havedeveloped new circuit techniques which have made it possible to package each of the new sets in three units, aerial, receiver/trans-mitter and indicator. The AVQ-55 weighs only 401b and has a range of 90 miles.Aerials of 12, 15 or 18in diameter can be supplied. The AVQ-20 has a range of no less than 180 miles, but weighs only 451b. Aerialsof 12, 15, 18, 24 and 30in diameter are offered. Both radars will be manufactured in Los Angeles. Radar for the Belfast TEN El90 weather radars in duplicated form have been orderedfrom Ekco Electronics by Short Brothers & Harland for the Belfast freighters. The duplicated El90 has dual receiver/trans-mitters and indicators and either receiver/transmitter can work with either indicator. Ekco are also to supply weather radar for theComet 4 recently ordered by King Saud of Arabia. Lufthansa have ordered 22 Collins DN-10I/NC-103 Doppler navi-gation systems and have an option on a further 20. The sets will be installed and maintained by Collins Radio Co GmbH. Trans World Airlines have ordered another 27 Model 109-C flightrecorders from Lockheed Aircraft Service. They are of the mechanical type, inscribing on aluminium tape traces recording airspeed, altitude,heading, vertical acceleralion and elapsed time. More than 600 re- corders are already in service in jet airliners.
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