Evening star., 1932-07-03

spurred the work Of designing equip
ment intended to prevent aerial col
hsion between planes flying blind in
fog or storm.
Several agencies are working on the
problem, among them the Air Corps
engineering section at Wright Field,
berger is stationed
Collision preventive equipment is
planned and will form part Of the
completed blind navigation system
being developed by the Air Corps, the
War Department has announced. De-
lection Of sound is the basis for most
of the aircraft detecting devices now
under consideration. The apparatus
not only would indicate the presence
of any substantial object In the air
in the vicinity of the aircraft on which
it was carried, but also would show
the direction of the object.
Pilots Of scheduled air transport
planes are more and more frequently
resorting to blind flying to maintain
schedules. Perfection of instruments
is making this type of operation as safe
as ordinary flying in clear weather,
except for the risk of aerial collisions.
To obviate the risk of colliding, pilots
are adhering religiously to the De-
partment of Commerce regulations re-
quiring them to keep to the right OF
the airWays. This can be done with
out much difficulty on airways equipped
with radio range equipment provided
/ the plane carries radio beacon receiv-
ers. Not all airways or airplanes are
so equipped. however, so the rule docs
not guarantee that a plane plCwing
along through fog on its legal right
of-way will not meet plane crossing
| the course or Just barging along at
random without the benefit OF radio 10
inform its pilot whether he Is on or
off his. course.
Research Started in 1918.
The Army's research work in blind
/ flying dates back to 1918, when Capt,
then Lieut.. Hegenberger took charge
/ of the newly organized instrument unit
/ at McCook Field, later succeeded by the
| present Wright Field establishment. De-
/ veloprlent of the gyro turn indicator
/ and the earth inductor compass led TO
/ several notable blind flights as early as
/ 1928
/ Aural radio beacons first came into
/ use in 1924 and in 1927 research work
was initiated for development of other
radio aids for fog navigation and fog
/ landings, such as electric true altitude"
/ altimeters and field boundary indicators.
| In 1928 the Daniel Guggenheim Fund
/ for the Promotion of Aeronautics or
/ ganized at Mitchell Field, N. Y, a series
I of experiments to test the possibilities
1 of blind flying and blind landings. The
Air Corps loaned its assistance and
the services of Lieut.. James H. Doo-
little. In September, 1929, Doolittle
/ gave a demonstration of blind landing
| with check pilot aboard: the first pilot
/ ever to land an airplane by instruments
/ alone.
When the Guggenheim Foundation
was broken up in 1880 all the equip
ment was trans erred TO the Army Air
Corps Material Division at Wright Field.
Under direction of Capt Hegenberger.
the work was intensified with the result
than on May last, Capt Hegenberger
made the first solo blind take of, flight
and landing. In announcing this work,
the War Department said
Two of the important facts discov-
cred by the Materiel Division In the de-
! velopment and test of fog navigation
| equipment are:
Fog navigation with good instru-
! ments and radio aids requires very little
1 training
Fog landing in the present stage OF
/ development requires at least 10 hours
/ practice over the system utilized
The next step in the Materiel Divi-
!
I plify the system so that very little train
1 ing will be necessary for the average
pilot to familiarize himself with the
! manipulation Of controls during the
blind landing"
New Transport Record Set.
| When the hundred thousandth pas
senger stepped aboard a Ludington tri-
motor at Washington-Ho Hoover Airport
last Wednesday afternoon a new world
Z record was established in passenger
| carrying on single airline, it is claimed
/ by officials of the line. The record of
/ 100000 pay passengers was established
IN II months on the line which has
operated between the National Capital
/ and New York on hourly schedules.
/ An unusual feature of the success of
/ the Ludington Airlines is the fact that
/ the service has been created without
/ governmental aid. The successful air.
/ lines OF Europe were built with the aid
/ OF SuSldieS, some of which were very
large. Virtually every large airline in
| existence in America today has been
built on the foundation of Federal air.
mall contracts which, in some respects
are the equivalent of subsidies. An
| outstanding exception in the world of
/ aviation is the Ludington system.
| Since the establishment of its 90
minute express service between the
/ National Capital and New York the
| Ludington Line has been endeavorinp to
establish a preferred special delivery
mail service which would make possible
tWo-Way mail communication between
the TWO cities during the course of a
single business day. 1t is the belief of
oInclals OF the line that such a service
would be more than self-supporting
ana could be established without cost to
the Post Office Department
Cierya Gets Medal
The Daniel Guggenheim gold medal
OF 1882 has been awardo;' to Juan de la
ClerVa for development of the theory
ana practice of the autogiro. The
award was made by a board composed
OF eight members in the United States
and seven foreign members. represent-
ing Canada, England, France, Cermany.
Holland, Italy and Japan.
The Daniel Guggenheim medal was
established In 1928 by the Daniel Gug-
genheim Fund for the Promotion of
Aeronautics and is sponsored Jointly by
the American Society of Mechanical
Engineers and the Society of Automo-
tive Engineers, each of whom appoint
four members of the board of award.
Medals have been awarded previously
| to Orville Wright, Ludwig PrandtI of
Germany and Frederick William Lam
chester of England
The 1881 Collier Trophy was awarded
to Harold F. Pitcairn for his develop
ment of the autogiro in the United
States and the practical application of
the principles evolved by CierVa to tbs