The Years Of Steady Progress
The years 1937 and 1938 were to bring further expansion of the Aviation Department.
By 1937, more staff had been recruited and additional aircraft were equipped with radio. A problem arose about this time concerning the training of pilots to operate radio installations.
Many new pilots had joined the Airlines and in most cases were without knowledge of radio.
The AWA overcame this difficulty by conducting regular morse classes at various centres and by making available the services of skilled aircraft radio technicians to act as radio opera-
tors/instructors.
Charlie Matheson, (fresh from his triumphs in Western Australia where he had but recently erected the D station at Forrest), Bill Gibbings and Laurie Robinson were among the technicians who regularly flew the air routes, imparting knowledge and acquiring invaluable experience.
Many notable events occurred in this year. Service Depots were established at Adelaide and Brisbane together with aeradio and D.F. stations at both points. The field staff of the Aviation Department now totalled 15 technicians and operators. Much had been done in the technical field. – the eagerly awaited A.W.A. designed communication equipments, known as the AS3
transmitter and AS4 receiver, were now available.
During 1937, the business commitments of the Aviation Department warranted the services of a full time Accountant. Chris Ritchie had been working part time on Aviation accounts since 1934
and was appointed to the post.
These equipments, or modified versions thereof, were to give splendid service to the Airlines for the next six or seven years. In anticipation of more precise navigational requirements, the Company commenced experimenting with radio compass apparatus.
In collaboration with the Civil Aviation Board, the Company also investigated the possibility of providing air routes with VHF 2 course approach and marker facilities.
Early in 1938 some of the plans of CAB and AWA came to fruition. Work was commenced in installing aeradio stations at many points in the Commonwealth. These modern and well equipped stations were designed, manufactured and installed by the Company and were operated and maintained by the Aviation Department under an agreement between the Commonwealth Government and A.W.A
Growing pains in the Aviation Department were now really intense. With aeradio stations springing up all round the country, it was time to take stock of the situation. Consequently the decision was made to place the control of aeradio under George Clark, who was then Superintendent of the Coastal Radio Service.
Despite divided control, Aviation Servicing and Aeradio Sections continued to work closely together. Even today, many years after aeradio ceased to be an A.W.A. responsibility, there exists a bond between the Aviation Department and Aeradio which quite obviously sprang from the common origin.
The loss of Aeradio left the progress of the Aviation Department unaffected – big things were in store.
To cope with the requirements of night flying and the greater and safer utilization of aircraft during adverse weather conditions, it was decided by the Commonwealth Government to equip the busier air routes with a modified 2-Course Lorenz approach system operating on 33 mes.
The advent of this navigational aid, later to be known as the Radio Range, together with its associated airborne equipment the A.W.A. designed and produced, AS-12, was to be an important milestone in Australia’s aviation history.
Equipped aircraft could now fly at any hour of the day or night, under all but the worst weather conditions, with the pilots happily confident in their course and, with the aid of radio markers at terminals and along the route, checking off their position until the final “over the top” signal was heard.
By 1939, fully equipped Depots had been established at Melbourne, Mascot, Adelaide, Brisbane, Perth, Cairns and Rose Bay.
Limited repair facilities were available at Darwin, Hobart, Townsville, Port Moresby and Rabaul.
With the opening up of more air routes by the now greatly enhanced airline fleets, the Company’s foresight in earlier experiments with radio compass development, commenced to pay off.
An additional navigational aid was needed to enable pilots to assess with speed and greater accuracy, the essential information from which position, ground speed and drift could be calculated. In providing for this need the Company developed a radio compass. (Some months before this the Company had developed an attachment for the AS-4 receiver where, by the flick of a switch, the receiver was converted to a radio compass. These equipments had been installed in W. R. Carpenters DH-86 aircraft. The fact that these aeroplanes with only this the sole radio navigational aid carried, could regularly maintain schedule over the then, tremendous distance between Sydney and Rabual, speaks volumes for the navigational skill of the pilots and the quality and reliability of the equipment.)
The new radio compass equipment, known as the AS-10, found a ready market in Australian Airlines. Most of the heavier aircraft were equipped with this device.
