THE piEomonim
VOL. VI, NO. 10
APACE WITH THE PACEMAKER
DECEMBER, 1963
\
Happy
Holidays
t
$
FAA Proposes Program To Develop
Short-Haul Transport For Locals
DME Units Installed To Meet
Prop-jet, Piston Deadlines
A proposed Government-indus-
try program to stimulate the de
velopment and production of an
economically-feasible, short-haul,
passenger-cargo aircraft has been
announced by N. E. Halaby, Ad
ministrator of the Federal Avia
tion Agency.
The aircraft would be designed
primarily to meet the needs of
United States local service air
lines and the short-haul opera
tions of other airlines in this
country and abroad. This market
presently is dominated by the
iJC-a, an aircraft which dates
back 27 years.
The projected program would
be essentially one of Government
stimulus to industry. The Gov
ernment does not propose to
undertake or fund the direct de
velopment of a short-haul trans-
port. Instead the FAA would
provide a basis and an incentive
between the customer — private
and governmental—and the pro
ducer to assure the availability
of a common airplane in suffi
cient production to make the ve
hicle economically desirable for
all.
The proposed program would
involve a limited design compe
tition to produce detailed speci
fications and cost data for a prac
tical short-haul transport. It is
expected that this competition
would produce a design which
would meet requirements of sev-
e r a 1 government agencies and
permit fixed priced orders of
sufficient numbers of the air-
ciaft lu enable the manufac
turer to place it in volume pro
duction.
Concurrently, FAA also pro
poses in consultation with De
partment of Commerce and the
Civil Aeronautics Board to
undertake an economic analysis
to better illuminate the potential
market for the short-haul trans
port. Current estimates range
from 700 aircraft to more than
1,000.
Months of testing and training
by a number of the INT Radio
Shop staff will soon be climaxed
as Distance Measuring Equip
ment (DME) is installed in Pied
mont’s entire fleet of F-27’s and
Martin 404’s.
Installation of the equipment
is in compliance with a Federal
Aviation Agency deadline to
equip all commercial prop-jet
aircraft with DME by January
1, 1964, and all commercial pis
ton aircraft by July 1, 1964.
DME is an airborne, electronic
navigational aid, designed to pro
vide the pilot with a continuous
reading in nautical miles of the
aircraft’s gradual departure from
or approach to any selected bea
con within range.
Basic Operation
Basically, it operates as fol
lows:
The DME interrogates a
ground beacon, receives its re
ply, and then measures the
“slant-range” distance of the air
craft from a selected site. It does
this by translating the time
lapse between transmission and
reply into direct, nautical miles.
This mileage is then displayed
on a cockpit indicator which tells
the Captain at a glance how far
the aircraft is from the selected
ground beacon.
It will be an important added
safety device on aircraft, since
by combining DME information
with that gained from his other
navigational aids, the pilot will
be able to determine his exact
position more accurately and
rapidly. Among other things, the
information can be used as a
check against estimated-time-of-
arrival predictions, as a means
of maintaining distance from
flights in front, and is a safety
monitor, gauging distances from
obstructions noted on the charts.
Tests Began
Last winter, Director of Com
munications L. A. Watson began
testing different brands of DME
equipment, and setting up a test
bench in the Radio Shop to han
dle the electronic devices when
they arrived.
cator units. Delivery has begun
and the units will be installed
in time to meet the January
FAA deadline for all commercial
prop-jet aircraft.
Ground Beacons
The ground beacons used by
DME are already in existence.
“There are over 500 ground
stations in operation over the
(Continued on Page Six)
Piedmont to Help Commemorate
First Flight's 60th Anniversary
December 17 is a day which
has a significance that should be
known to everyone connected
with aviation.
It marks the 60th anniversary
of powered flight, for it was on
that day that Orville and Wilbur
Wright became the first men to
successfully fly a heavier-than-
air craft. Their venture was one
which changed the lives of
everyone and helped shape to
day’s modern world.
At press time it was learned
that a Piedmont F-27 will par
ticipate in still another moment
earnestly trying to learn
the secrets of flight. By the end
of the 19th century balloons
were no longer a novelty, and
fre-
of history December 17 as it be
comes the first commercial air- glider experiments were
craft to land on the new landing Quently in the news,
strip near the Wright Brothers
Monument at Kitty Hawk, N. C.
The landing is part of the
dedication ceremonies for the re
cently-finished airstrip and will
help to climax several days of
activities commemorating the
first flight.
That daring venture by two
young men 50 years ago has
had a tremendous impact on
every phase of human activity.
For more than 100 years, be
fore the Wright brothers in
vented the airplane, man was
However, it was not until 1903
that Wilbur and Orville Wright
flew the first successful heavier-
than-air craft. The story behind
the reasons for their success,
when so many others failed,
makes an interesting chapter in
the history of transportation.
Probably the most important
contribution to their success was
their development of entirely
new air pressure tables. All other
experimenters up to that time
were basing their designs on
widely-used inaccurate air pres-
- Wy,, yy/v
sure tables that never would
have led them to success.
Through various wing shapes,
the Wright brothers discovered
these inaccuracies and corrected
them, thus enabling anyone who
used their tables to design a fly-
able aircraft.
A second reason for their suc
cess was their discovery that
balance, elevation, and steering
could be controlled by moving
various aircraft surfaces in
flight. Other experimenters had
achieved a minimum of flight
The illustration shows how an “interrogator" unit in an aircraft contacts
a selected ground station. The response from the station is timed by the
aircraft unit, and the time lapse between transmission and reply is trans
lated info miles and shown on an instrument mounted in the cockpit.
Later, W. B. Haithcock at
tended DME training classes at
the International Telephone and
Telegraph Corporation, while
A. L. Bianucci went to those at
the Collins Radio Company.
In mid-October, International
Telephone and Telegraph an
nounced that Piedmont had
placed a $242,000 order with
them for their new transistorized
DME-IOOB and AIN-102A indi-
Watson Named
ALCAC Chairman
For Coming Year
Director of Communications
L. A. Watson was named Chair
man of the Air Lines Communi
cations Administrative Council
at a recent meeting of the group
in Washington.
The Council acts in an advis
ory capacity on airline communi
cations problems, and is divided
into three principal committees
—t h e Maintenance Committee,
the Airline Electronic Engineer
ing Committee, and the Frequen
cy Committee.
The electronic engineering di-
vision is currently compiling
control by moving their arms or specifications for the radio sys-
bodies to shift their weight and tems to be used in the nation’s
thus affect balance.
Flight Control
The Wright brothers devised
(Continued on Page Six)
first supersonic transport.
The Council has representa
tives from all domestic trunk
and local service airlines.
CARTOON IDEAS
Have you ever found your
self in a humorous situation
and later thought it would
make a great joke or cartoon?
Well, if you have. Jack
Brandon, The Piedmonitor's
star cartoonist (and INT Sta
tion Manager) would like to
know about it.
Jack is searching for origi
nal cartoon ideas. He'd like
ail Piedmont people who
might have some suggestions
to send him a brief written
description or rough drawing
of their idea. He'll translate
the idea into a cartoon for
The Piedmonitor and of
course give a full credit line
to its originator.
The cartoon strip on page
six of this issue is a product
of a suggestion sent to Jack,
though unfortunately its
donor neglected to sign his
or her name. If anyone knows
the name of this anonymous
creator, let either the Editor
or Jack know and it will glad
ly be acknowledged.
Meanwhile, next time you
run into a good cartoon idea,
write it down and send it to
Jack Brandon, INT-F. And —
don't forget to include your
name and station.