The Washington herald., 1922-05-06
AIRPLAllEy NEED
OF RADIO GROWS
MORE APPARENT
Will Be Great Factor in
Averting Collisions in
Cloudy Weather.

Inc arrival yesterday OF the air.
ship Santa Maria from Miami with
out mishap and the fateful expert
ence of men entrapped In the
planes which fell into the Potomac
on the same day are contrasts In
the annals of aviation Had the
airplane Passengers fallen along
the route usually traversed by the
airship Santa Maria between Hav-
ana. Cuba. and Key West, Fla. the
Immediate Importance of radio to
aviators would be more apparent.
Radiophone equipment on air.
planes is not a recent development.
Just following the world war
squadrons OF airplanes were ma
neuvered by radiophone, Just as a
large squadron was Unanswered
from his desk in the White House
by former President Wilson.
Radio on Mail Planes.
During the Transatlantic fight In
May. 1919, the planes NC-l, NC,
NC-3 and NC-4 were in constant
communication along the route
from Trepassy. Newfoundland. to
the Azores and Southampton, Eng
land. with destroyers stationed ev-
cry nifty miles along the ocean
route. These. conversations by
radiophone were from men who
were making the first abby air
dash across the broad expanse of
the Atlantic.
Less than three weeks ago the
first trans-continental mail plane to
be equipped with radiophone few
from Chicago to Washington to
have complete radio set installed
here The receiving range of this
set, which Is a duplicate of those to
be installed on all transcontinental
airplanes, Will be approximately 200
miles.
ship Has Supporting Medium.
When II is considered that unlike
other means of transportation, the
airplane is independent as are the
radio waves of any supporting me-
dunn other than the indefnab:e
and today somewhat disputed ether.
the need for linking the two serv-
| ices becomes apparent. This is par
ticularly true in fog or rain. con-
ditions which make aviators de-
pendent solely upon their own judg-
ment, the accuracy OF a limited
number of instruments and on radio
communication.
A ship on the seas enveloped in
fog has a dependable compass to
guide Its course, a system of bells
and fog whistles to avoid its col =
lision with other ships and, what
is most important. a supporting me-
dium, which is reasonably steady
as compared with the atmosphere
beneath the flying plane.
Possibility of CoIIidinR,
The possibility of his coIlidfng
with another airplane is greatly in
creased in the case of the aviator.
because to continue fight he must
maintain a speed of at least sixty
miles an hour. This is one three
hundredth Of the velocity of radio
waves, hence radio may be a means
for avoiding many airplane colli-
sions.
When flying through clouds OF
fog, the aviator's vision Is blinded.
so that his reading Of instruments
is not accurate. Airplane compasses
are known to be inaccurate in fog.
due to the unsteady motion Of L
airplane, The pilot sees no land
mark from which to judge his reIa.
tive position. The gradometer
placed on the instrument board in
dicates the sidewise angle of his
flight. although it is frequent that
airplanes inclined several degrees
while passing through fog Or.
what is considered much worse. a
| rain storm.
Noise Partially Overcome.
The use of radio in airplane flight
introduced mechanical difficulties
Radio receiving sets are sensitive
to noise and vibration. Noise is now
partially overcome by specially de-
signed head phones for receiving
and by an intricate system of re-
tardation coils and cordensers. part
OF a filter system which eliminates
to some extent the transmitting
and engine noises.
An aviator Is a busy individual.
His hands are occupied with con-
trolls: he must watch gauges and
the path ahead, one ear cooked to
detect engine flaws. the other must
listen for radio signals.
Another difficulty is the alternate
strength and weakness % signals
received from a moving plane. This
is particularly true during what the
aviator calls bumpy weather The
plane rises. falls and changes di-
rection rapidly. The effect on the
receiving station Is signals which
cannot be tuned in continuously