Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-08-08

being considered, among other subjects,
at conferences OF the communications
engineers of air transport operators
here this week. One Of the conferences
was held Wednesday with w. d. L.
Starbuck, member Of the Federal Radio
One iorig wave CATS kilocycles) for
calling and transmitting to privately
owned planes and one short wave
(either 2,506 or 4,036 kilocycles) for
transmitting from such planes have ten
tatively been adopted. At the same
time the principle Of allocating fire.
ouencies to chains Of stations operated
along certain routes by one or more
companies was declared acceptable to
all parties concerned.
Aids Safety Of Flight.
Reservation of the radio facilities for
private planes looks to the day when
flyinr their own ships will be O COM
monplace activity Of American citizens.
Radio lends immeaSurably to the safety
of fight, enabling o pilot to ny q true
course and to receive weather and land
ing reports. The long wave Is the one
on which the radio beacon signals are
transmitted, so that the same receiver
can be used for vocal instructions from
the ground that Is being used for course
indication.
It is probable that the 2,S06 kilo-
cycle channel will be used for trans
hitting from planes, in view Of the fact
that 1t has greater stability through
both day and night hours and Is more
practical for taking directional bear.
ings on plane from the ground.
Such commonplace use Of radio In
flying will necessitate the mass pro-
duction Of aircraft radio equipment, In
addition to the highly specialized equip
nnent being built now for the big trans.
port ships. "The price Of taxi planes
radio installation" said one Govern
ment official, may not be much greater
than the price Of q parachute. Equip
n1ent manufacturers have already turned
their attention to the problem Of pro-
ducing low-cost radio installations"
Ground stations at the airportS would
have extremely low powers and ranges
Of perhaps only rs miles. This would
be sufficient to inform the pilot of
conditions at the airport. One fire.
quency worked jointly by all airports
should not result in interference. No
limit would be placed on the power
generated for the plane transmitter.
since 1t will necessarily be very low.
The radio transmitter on the plane
piloted by Lieut.. Jimmy Doolittle In ex-
periments conducted with the Bureau
Of Standards has q power output Of
only IN watts.
First Extensive Use.
The first extensive use Of radio In
aviation Is on the air transport lines.
These lines will utilize the weather and
other broadcasts from the az Govern
ment stations now in operation, from
the Others to be built, and from several
more for which appropriations will be
sought from Congress. In addition.
they are building stations OF their o0Q
at strategic points to handle compan "a
trafic. Wave lengths have been granteeA
the transport lines conditional upon
agreement to erect and maintain the
basis where their operations parallel or
irterlock. The Secretary OF Commerce
becomes arbiter where disagreement
between rival operators occurs.
More companies are represented at
the conference this week than at any
of the previous parleys held last year.
This indicates q growing appreciation
of radio needs among the operators.
All the big lines are installing or pro-
pose to install complete ground and
plane radio equipment, notably Trans
Continental Air transport, western Air
Express, Boeing Air Transport, National
Air Transport, Universal Aviation Cor
poration, Pan-American Always. Co
lonial Anyways and the CurtiSs Termi-
mails. The radio committee Of the air
transport operators. working through the
Aeronautical Chamber Of Commerce. Ia
headed by Thorpe Hiscock Of Boeing
Air Transport. and includes Herbert
Hoover. IT,. representing Western Air
(Copyrisht, 1929. BY North American News.
paper AllanceD