Omaha daily bee., 1915-07-14
Signals for Night Fliers
Literary Digest.

m HE German raiders who drop bombs on Britain
i are safe from British aeroplane attack because
the aeropiane s not a night craft II may DE
able 20 rise in the dark-but how about landin@.
There's the rub. when a tree looks just like meahoW
aviation acquires problems. Aid in solving them'
however. comes most opportunity, and IRON Ger
many An ingenious arrangement Of signal lights for
plotting avstors earth has Just been invented ana
patented by a German architect named EDGAR HONG
The apparatus. known the "Honig Circles Goa
ssts Of two concentric circles or rings OF mean
descent lamps standing edge few feet above
the ground. with the smaller one placed At dis
lance Of several yards behind the larger one, which
stands back OF the landing stage We quote from the
Technische Monatshefte Berlin. April lO descrtp-
ton Of the way in which these signal lights enable
the airnan TO steer his craft.
''The working Of this arrangement depends on the
well known fact that n circle In Immediately seen as
an ellipse as soon the eye ceases to be directly
opposite center Hence circles Of light prop
erly arranged must be perceived as two upright or
santinR epses which either intersect each other or
have the smaller contained In the larger until the
Of the behoder Is directly In line with the AXIS
passing through the middle point OF tho two circles
In the OF the Honig signal circles whose central
axis stands about thirteen feet above the ground this
when the airman Is from two TO three feet
according the build of the mRchine) above ground
Another figure shows how the circles appear to a
f1ier who finds himself at great height above the
signal and flies directly down in the direction OF the
central axis OF the circles. When he farther
down. probably flying in a spiral and thus nearing
the ground the rings begin to ntersect and appear to
him instance, as in position OF the nght cHtss
which reveals to him not only that he has approached
earth that he has dverged from the drec
ton OF the middle axis and that he must steer his
machine 20 the right in order to obtain the right
direction again does this, still continuing to de-.
scend until ne the signal perhaps, that he has
approached the level the ground but Is too far to
the right Consequently he steers further to the left
until he the circles which tell him that he may
descend without danger since he is at the proper
landing height is in line with the middle axis, e.,
directly the landing stage
Its simplicity and operation is de-
elared give this apparatus advantage over all
others. II Is also cheap TO build and maintain. The
amount OF current required Is small and the operation
consists merely OF turning the current when u
machine s heard approaching at night In cases where
the lights are not needed to burn continuously
! Where the signal Is part OF the equipment OF an
aviation corps in army, II Is easily arranged ~
that the rings be fastened together and trans
ported without difficulty when camp is changed The
invention is likewise specially valuable for water
landings ut been proved that II is not possible
| TO discern the surface Of water from flying
machine by day when the water Is smooth
as glass and the air Is clear to make smooth
landing. Hence. II the landing spot Is not designated
! in any way and in the pilot has at hand no OBJ
iect which be thrown down. either TO float OF TO
produce ripples when II sinks, II is practically inn
possible to descend upon the water Even more diff
| ficult water landings AT night and in thick
| weather. In such recourse might be had 10
floating light bombs. but II would be far more ad-
vsable have suitable landing places designated W
| Honig signals fastened TO floating buoys 10
place themselves automatically in the direction of tho
| wind. Then landing places which would offer no diff
ficultes could always be selected For aircraft con-
voyed by n squadron the high seas, the signals
| would have to be fastened the broadsde OF the
| accompanying ship. which could easily be done"
Finally, It Is suggested that the signal might he
employed for conveying information by code. making
OF coored lghts and OF revolutions Of the circles