Evening star., 1940-04-16
Equipment 10 Permit
Blind Landings al
Grave|Iy Point
Device TO Free Airport
Of Fog Hozord to Come
Soon After Completion
BY JOSEPH S. EDGERTON,


Installation of instrument landing
equipment which eventually may
make air transport operations here
independent of weather conditions
will begin at Washington National
Airport, Gravelly Point, late this
summer, and the system is expected
to be in operation soon after the
airport is opened for operations
next fall.
The local installation, in keeping
with Federal policy of making
the national airport here one of the
most completely equipped air termi-
nails in the world, also Is to be part
Of a large-scale demonstration of
the Civil Aeronautics Authorityis s
instrument landing system and con-
trolled approach light installation.
The type of equipment to be in
stalled at Gravelly Point has been
approved by an Operations Commit
tee of the Air Transport Association,
composed of the operations execu-
tives of the 18 domestic air trans
port lines and also was approved
earlier by a special committee set
up by the National Academy of
Sciences at the request of President
Roosevelt.
Permits Blind Landing.
The instrument landing equip
ment. which makes it possible for
an airline captain to land his air.
plane safely through the densest
fog on predetermined runway of
an airport which he cannot see, is
regarded as the ultimate step in a
long fight to free air transportation
entirely from the hazards and delays
Of adverse weather conditions.
The system which will be in
stalled here is operated by radio
and consists of four fundamental
elements: A runway localizer, which
provides range course for lateral
guidance of the approaching air.
plane; glide path which provides
means for controlled descent along
a course which will bring the air.
plane into contact with the runway
at the proper angle and place; and
two vertical marker beacons to indi-
cate the progress of the approach to
the landing field.
A single instrument on the panel
before him provides the pilot with
all of the information he requires
to make a landing even though the
fog be so thick he cannot see the
runway even after his plane has
touched the ground.
Feat Accomplished in 1929.
The history of development of the
instrument landing system which is
to be installed here goes back to
1928, when the National Bureau of
Standards began work on a system
for the former Aeronautics Branch
of the Commerce Department.
Using this system, Maj. James H.
Doolittle on September %, 1929,
made the first successful instrument
landing in history.
For years thereafter the Bureau
OF Standards, the Aeronautics
Branch and its two successors, the
Bureau of Air Commerce and the
Civil Aeronautics Authority: the
sAAAAAy &AAA OoAPo, VIC navy
OF Aeronautics and various COM
mercial groups continued with ex-
perimental work.
The system scheduled for installa-
tion here was brought to Its present
state by the C.. A. A., in accordance
with recommendations of the Radio
Technical Committee for, Aero
nautics.
Selection Of Washington National
Airport for an extended service
testing Of the equipment was made
from priority list of Is airports
submitted to the c. A. A. by the
Radio Technical Committee for
Aeronautics, which represents the
air transport industry, the radio in
dustry and the Army and Navy air
services.