PILOTLESS PLANE
United States Experiment — ■ ■■ I AUTOMATIC CONTROL By Telegraph—Press Assn.—Copyright OAKLAND, California, March 13. An Army aeroplane equipped | with a “robot pilot” the description of which has been kept a i complete secret, started a mystery fright into “nowhere” at dawn to-day to test the equipment. It is rumoured that it might be eu route to Honolulu. Previously the craft was subjected to short tests which were apparently satisfactory. The plane carried 1600 gallons of fuel. Army officials explained that the robot-controlled plain was on a final test flight, preparatory to a flight to Honolulu within a few days, when a new type of compass-director will be used. The present flight will extend far enough to pick up radio beacons i from Hawaii. If this is successful an | automatically controlled flight to Hono- ; lulu will be easily accomplished. Meanwhile the Navy Department has authorised Pan-American Airways to establish bases at Midway, Wake ana Guam Islands. It thus appears that the experiments with robots are closely connected with the establishment of a trans-Pacific air service. Tho Navy order stipulated that the bases could be taken over in the event of war.
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Bibliographic details
Hawke's Bay Tribune, Volume XXV, Issue 78, 15 March 1935, Page 7
Word Count
191PILOTLESS PLANE Hawke's Bay Tribune, Volume XXV, Issue 78, 15 March 1935, Page 7
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