Evening star., 1934-01-14
AIRPORT TESTING
BLIND APPROVED
New Radio Beacons Warn
Flyer as He Nears Wash,
ington Field.

Washington Airport has become a
field laboratory for new type Of radio
air navigation equipment, perfection Of
which will assist pilots to find their
way through clouds or fog to an air.
port and to maneuver their planes to
landing under ceilings as low as so
feet
The work, now being carried on by
the Commerce Department Aeronaut1cs
Branch, has involved the construction
of a radio range beacon and two marker
beacons. The latter two have just
been installed and are being used in
conjunction with the Hunters Point
Range Station
Describing one of the test landings
which has just been made with the use
of the radio range beacon and the new
marker beacons, Rex Martin, head of
the Air Navigation Division of the de-
partment, said:
1.-THE pilot took off from Washing
ton Airport in an airplane with a
hooded cockpit, accompanied by a
check pilot in the open cockpit, and
flew several miles to the northwest
along the range course directed toward
Pittsburgh. He then turned and headed
back toward the airport.
He flew at an altitude of about 900
feet, steering his course by instrument
and in accordance with the signals OF
the radio range beacon, the hood over
his cockpit preventing him from seeing
outside of the plane.
Picks Up Signal.
Presently his receiving set picked
UP the signal of the first marker bea-
con. which would be identified by a
rapidly changing udio-frequency note.
"At the moment when he noted the
drop in the signal strength Immediately
above the first marker, the pilot knew
that he was over Georgetown and "a
miles from the airport. He therefore
permitted his aiplane to lose altitude
gauging this maneuver by reference to
his instruments so that he would be at
about 800 feet when arriving over the
marker near the airport.
His altimeter reading was 300 feet
when the signal of the second marker
beacon became audible. The pitch of
the signal note differed from that of
the Georgetown marker beacon. At
the instant the pilot knew he was above
the antenna of the marker beacon, he
executed % degree turn to the left,
at the same time cutting the motor
for a glide to the ground. Raising the
hood on his cockpit to check the
1LidIlSuNtI, lie Ills diTpldiiS
headed directly for the runway and
completed the landing by watching the
horizon and the ground"
Simpler Equipment.
The 22-degree turn was required be-
cause ideal conditions were difficult
to attain with the installation at the
local airport, since the only sites avail
able for the marker beacons were those
provided by the Department of Agri-
culture on its experimental farm near
the airport and at Georgetown Uni
versity. This made it impossible to
project the range course down the
center of the runway, as desired.
The new device is not as compre-
hensive an aid to landing under bad
conditions as the departments radio
system for blind landing, it was ex-
planned, but is simpler and requires
very little special equipment.
On the aircraft the regular radio re-
ceiving set used for the reception of
weather broadcasts and radio range
beacon signals is all that is required.
Martin pointed out that both the
local approach system and the blind
landing system are still in the expert
mental stages.
Every effort is being made" he said,
ITO further the possibility of safe land
ings under blind conditions and we
shall explore other means than radio
to accomplish this"