AERADIO STATIONS

Dominion, Volume 31, Issue 241, 8 July 1938, Page 17

AERADIO STATIONS

Aids To Commercial Pilots

The new facilities required by the development of commercial aviation in New Zealand include a complete selfcontained radio communication system. This has steadily grown during the past few years until New Zealand is now provilled with a chain of aeradio stations which are generally within 100 miles of each other. They are situated at Maiigere (Auckland), New Plymouth, Palmerston North, Gisborne, Napier and Wellington in the North Island; and Christchurch, Dunedin, Blenheim, Nelson, Greymouth, Hokitika and Jackson’s Bay in the South Island.

The daily route mileage of aeroplane services in New Zealand is approximately 3000 miles, each commercial plane being in constant communication with an aeradio station. The system has developed under the direction of an expert committee with rhe Director of Civil Aviation, Group Captain T. M. Wilkes, as chairman, and with representatives on it of the aerodrome branch of the Public Works Department, the meteorological office, and the engineering branch of the Post and Telegraph Department. The long experience’ of the post office in radio transmission was brought to bear on the problems of equipment, and its telegraph organisation provided the expert operators for working the service. At present 20 operators, trained at the department’s commercial radio station. ZLW Wellington, are employed in the service.

The system enables the state of the weather along the route to be ascertained before a plane begins its journey, and if there is any development of importance during the journey the pilot can be informed. It visibility at the landing ground is poor, directions can be given to the pilot by radio telephone, and with the equipment about to be installed it will be possible for a pilot to call up an aeradio station to get a bearing. A further development making for safer aerial navigation is tiie provision now being made of radio approach beams. These will not extend from station to station, but the pilot who maintains the correct general course will pick up a directionall radio beam when within 25 or 30 miles of his destination.