BLIND FLYING

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LXIII, Issue 18988, 13 April 1936, Page 10

BLIND FLYING

PILOT GUIDED TO EARTH RADIO NOTES HELP LONDON, Feb. 22.' Hot iitoinbcek, .Germany's Grand Old, Man of the'Air, yesterday gave 1 lie fii'St public demonstration ii'i 'England of his couhlry's greatest contribution to sufe'llyitig—Hie Lcfi'ciiz'radio "blind" flying system. '■■' ' ■■ ■ '.Experts believe that,, Ihe Loreua system iimy niako re^uiuv' air-liiie .flying possible' ill the foggiest weather. British airports are to adopt it.Herr Steinbeck bad a pair of eaiv phones fitted over' r lu 4 s.;liead. Jle approuched'Jleston on, His true course. •• ; A steady moaii so-untlcd in' the ear j phones. A needle Oh the instrument panel remained steady, oil its dial. Ha deliberately swerved',left, fhiinedialuly one heard sin' insistent. scries of radio dashes!

TOO IfAB BIGHT ■Steinbeck corrected himself, then went 100 far right. 'Tlvroifgh the radio note one heard franlie,, high-pitched dots. The needle on the duil "kicked" violently left. When the plane was back on I he. course the 1 note oceanic a steady uio'a'n again. : The plain; passed over . a . . radio 1 "liiarker" about, two miles from Hestori. A 'warning, light flashed in the cockpit, and for a.,few seconds a .new note sound, '.ed'in tfie earphones.' ; , . ;v.; ! '. .

Automatically a dial on the instrument board told at what, angle lo glide down to the aerodrome. Another few moments and a second light. ' flashed. The plane was passing over another "marker" just oil the aerodrome boundary. It kept gliding at the same angle and bumped gently to a perfect landing. Visibility was good, but the lauding could have been made just the same had it been nil!

40-. MILLS VVAIiNING , .In fine weather airplanes approaching lleston first pick up tlie warning radio iri6aii,4o miles away. In had weather the range is a little less;■•' 'Croydon, frequently fogbound, is experimenting with tlie system. British Continental Airways are already fitting their machines with the device. The.Lorcnz system was developed by a-'.German"'associated company of Standard .TClophoiies, Limited. ' .llerr'Steiubeek-'HeVv his own airplane bi'fbre (lie War; He has been flying ever since. '.