Radio Equipment for Aeroplanes

Radio Record, Volume III, Issue 22, 13 December 1929, Page 12

Radio Equipment for Aeroplanes

For Two-way Communication NEW light-weight radio equipment for use on the American Trans-Continental Air Transport aeroplanes has recently been perfected in America. The apparatus, which is light enough to permit its installation in the tail of the ’plane rather than in the passenger cabin, is of'such compact design that it can be installed or removed in five minutes. The transmitter is designed for both telephony and telegraphy transmissions, and is operated by remote control. The old and dangerous system of using a trailing wire for an aerial has been abandoned. Instead, a tenfoot copper rod mounted vertically in front of the pilot’s cockpit is utilised, The transmitting and receiving equipment is adequately screened to prevent interference from the aeroplane’s motors. The maximum distance covered in a two-way communication test between a ground station and a ’plane carrying the new equipment was 617 miles.