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Aviation History
1962
1962 - 0635.PDF
FLIGHT International, 19 April 1962 633 INDUSTRY International Flight Systems Products Company News Flight Systems Smiths and Motorola The agreement between Smiths Aviation Division and Motorola Aviation Inc has finally been completed. Smiths are to be sole agents for UK sales and service of the Motorola M-135 range of VHF communications and navigation equipment, the ADF-T-12 radio compass and the M-4 autopilot. The agreement also covers sales rights in Sweden and Italy. There is no immediate intention of manu facturing the equipment in Britain, but Smiths at Cheltenham will make up the installations. At Staverton, where Smiths' own flying unit is based, a service and repair centre will be set up, only six miles away from the main factory. Ample unit stocks will be held at Staverton for quick replace ment on an exchange basis, at standard charges depending on the items involved. Smiths hope to set up similar service centres at other bases. All the M-135 equipment—which includes 50 or lOOkc/s spacing communications, VOR, ILS, glide-slope and marker beacon receivers and audio mixing panel—has been accepted in Class 1 for use on airways in IFR. The M-4 autopilot is a very advanced example of its kind, providing yaw damping and full radio coupling. Beagle aircraft have been fitted with the full range of Motorola equipment. Portable Oxygen Being shown for the first time at the Shackleton Week-end, the Altair portable oxygen equipment, illus trated below, has been developed by British Oxygen Aviation Services. The aluminium case measures 22in X 8in x 8in and weighs 301b, and straps or fasteners are provided for securing it in aircraft. The 750-litre storage bottle, regulator, high-pressure charging and on/off valve, and the masks and tubes are housed in compartments. On the outside face is a panel of six self-sealing, plug-in outlets, to which the required number of masks can be attached. At 15,000ft the Altair will supply six people for Ihr lOmin, four for lhr 45min or two for 3Jhr. The set will operate at heights up to 20,000ft. The cylinder may be refilled in situ or quickly replaced. BOAS also make simple breathing outfits for glider pilots. Millimicrosecond Pulse Altimeter This is the name given by Minneapolis Honeywell to a new radar altimeter working in the 4,200 to 4.400 Mc/s band. Using a leading- edge tracking system and pulse length of 30 millimicroseconds, it is said to detect height changes of 0.1ft between zero and 200ft, and of 1ft between 200ft and 2,000ft. The equipment at present weighs 151b but will be lightened to 101b during this year. Possible applications are stated to be in automatic landing of both fixed- and rotat- ing-winged aircraft, terrain avoidance, reconnaissance and spacecraft landing. BEA Comet 4B flighi deck during the let-down into Stockholm Arlanda airfield on the inaugural London - Helsinki flight (see page 60S). Note the Decca Mk 10 Flight Log above the engine power loss indicators and Smiths Flight System instruments in the patch of sunlight. Speed is TlOkt, height 10,000ft, and rate of descent 500ft I min Cockpit Voice Recorders The FA A has taken delivery of four prototypes of a cockpit voice recorder designed under FAA contract by United Data Control Inc, of El Monte, Calif. The purpose of the device is to preserve crew conversation as a record which could survive an accident, in the manner of the ordinary flight recorder. The FAA has already completed an investigation of special microphones to pick up crew conversation in the difficult environment of flight-deck noise. The United Data recorder is now to be evaluated in several of the FAA aircraft, including the Boeing 720. Encouraged by this pilot Programme, Lockheed Aircraft Service, Fairchild Camera and Instrument Corp and the Spec Tool Co are all developing their own voice recorders to FAA specification. The British Oxygen Aviation Services Altair oxygen kit, with two of the four sockets in use. The case weighs 301b and is 22in long
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