July 28, 1958

July 28, 1958

View Full Issue Table of Contents
AERONAUTICAL ENGINEERING

Nato Studies Northrop N-156f Design

By Russell Hawkes19 min

AVIONICS

Agacs Data Link Eases Pilot Chores

By Philip J. Klass11 min

Letters

View Full Issue
More Features
5455
AERONAUTICAL ENGINEERING

Nato Studies Northrop N-156f Design

Los Angeles—That the highest possible fighter performance does not vield the best air defense force is the underlying design philosophy of Northrop’s N-156F, Mach 1.5 counter-air fighter designed for front-line NATO and SEATO air forces (AW April 21, p. 119).

By Russell Hawkes19 min

7071
AVIONICS

Agacs Data Link Eases Pilot Chores

Washington—Work has begun on a system that is expected to provide the most significant improvement in air-ground communications since the introduction of two-way radio several decades ago. The development bears the unwieldy name of Automatic GroundAir-Ground Communication System, abbreviated AGACS with one of the “Gs” missing so it can be pronounced “Ajax.”

By Philip J. Klass11 min

9495

Letters

In your March 17 issue, p. 21, there is envisioned the placing of scientific satellites in polar orbits using rocket accelerators launched from Pt. Mugu, Calif. It is true that Cape Canaveral, Fla., serves as a surface launching point from which to establish orbits lying in or near the plane of the ecliptic, and that Russia possesses a launching point suitable for orbits lying in or near a plane perpendicular to that of the ecliptic; but it does not necessarily follow that Pt.
1819
AVIONICS

Army Reveals Bmews Radar Site Details

New York—USAF’s Ballistic Missile Early Warning System will employ four large detection radars and three tracking radars at each of the two sites presently selected. Installations will be at Thule, Greenland, and Fairbanks, Alaska. No decision has been made on the necessity of a third site, originally planned for Iceland or Prestwick, Scotland.

By James A. Fusca6 min

3233
AIR TRANSPORT

Board Proposes Pilot-trained Engineers

Washington—An emergency presidential board organized to try and settle the bitter controversy between airline pilots and flight engineers over crew complements recommended last week that third crew members on turbojet transports become pilot qualified.

By L. L. Doty5 min

2627
Space Technology

Aec Says Nuclear Rocket Future Bright

By Evert Clark5 min

3637
SPACE TECHNOLOGY

Wadc Explores Lunar Probe Control

Dayton—Novel technique for determining velocity rector magnitude and direction of a circumlunar probe vehicle has come out of a recent study by Wright Air Development Center's Flight Control Laboratory. Wright Air Development Center’s analysis, made by a team of Flight Control Laboratory engineers headed by George Xenakis, also points up some of the precision control problems involved in recapture of a lunar probe vehicle by means of a braking ellipse approach in which the vehicle slowly spirals into a circular orbit as a result of atmospheric drag.
1819
MANAGEMENT

U.s. Bypassed on Asw Plane for Nato

Requirements were withheld by committee for months; Navy fails in bid to keep competition open.

By David A. Anderton4 min

1617

Washington Roundup

Defense Department’s Advanced Research Projects Agency, jealous of its prerogatives and miffed once again at the Air Force, has dispatched a six-page teletype communication to military installations specifying that no information on missile contracts under its cognizance is to be released unless it is released by ARPA.

By Washington staff4 min

1213
EDITORIAL

Von Karman on Space

It is natural that spectacular, new scientific ventures should catch the public eye, particularly in the present impetus to “inaugurate the space age.” But the success of a few worthy projects in space technology has resulted in some extraordinary conclusions by a number of serious people including scientists, engineers and industrialists.

By Theodore von Karman4 min

July 211958 August 41958