page_title: Aviation communication
section_title: Interwar
hierarchical_section_title: Aviation communication / Interwar
caption_attribution_description: English: R1154 Receiver &amp; T1155 Transmitter
context_page_description: Aviation communication refers to the conversing of two or more aircraft. Aircraft are constructed in such a way that make it very difficult to see beyond what is directly in front of them. As safety is a primary focus in aviation, communication methods such as wireless radio are an effective way for aircraft to communicate with the necessary personnel. Aviation is an international industry and as a result involves multiple languages. However, as deemed by the International Civil Aviation Organization, English is the official language of aviation. The industry considers that some pilots may not be fluent English speakers and as a result pilots are obligated to participate in an English proficiency test.
context_section_description: Following World War I new technology was developed to increase the range and performance of the radios being used to communicate with planes in the air. In December 1919 a year after the end of World War I, Hugh Trenchard, 1st Viscount Trenchard, a senior officer in the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) later Royal Air Force (RAF), produced a report on the permanent organisation and operations of the RAF in peacetime in which he argued that if the air force officer was not to be a  chauffeur, and nothing more, then navigation, meteorology, photography and wireless were necessities.
  It was not until 1930 however that airborne radios were reliable enough and had enough power to make them viable to be standard in all planes and it was this year that the International Commission for Aerial Navigation agreed that all aircraft carrying 10 or more passengers should carry wireless equipment. Prior to this, only military aircraft designated for scout missions required radios. The operating distance of radios increased much slower than the distance planes were able to travel. After an original two miles-wide range for the two-way radio systems tested by 1917 had extended to ranges of an average of 20 miles, which were to remain the practical limit throughout the following decade for medium sized aircraft. In terms of air traffic control, this resulted in a planes messages having to bounce from airfield to airfield in order to get to its intended recipient. As the speed of planes increased this resulted in a plane reaching its destination before the message that it was on its way arrived at the airfield.
  On 15 November 1938, the Army Airways Communications System (AACS) was established, this system was a point-to-point communications system used by the Army Air Corps. It allowed army air fields to remain in contact with planes throughout their entire flight. It could also be used to disseminate weather reports and orders to military aircraft and act as an air traffic control for arrivals and departures at military airfields. As technology increased, systems such as the AACS expanded and spread across the globe as other militaries and civilian services developed their own system of air control.
caption: The R1155/T1154 combination used by the RAF in WWII
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