Word: pilotless
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Several weeks ago a pilotless Hellcat, remote-controlled by radio, was catapulted from the carrier Boxer in the Japan Sea. For the first few minutes the robot's flight was controlled from the carrier's deck; then a piloted AD attack bomber, serving as a guide plane, took over. The Hellcat had a 2,000-lb. high-explosive bomb strapped to its belly, and a television camera under one wing. A TV screen in the guide plane enabled the observer to see just what the robot plane's camera "saw." Another screen on the Boxer also reproduced...
...make them want what he designs. Right now, Northrop is worrying about the "thermal barrier"- the speeds where air friction will disintegrate metal planes. He is experimenting with fuselages made of glass fiber, which will not melt at those speeds. Looking further ahead to the days of pilotless planes, Northrop already has about 14% of his work force on guided missiles, expects a production contract soon. Against rainy days, Northrop Aircraft has no more plans for scooters; instead it is making pilotless target planes, on the assumption that come what may, the Air Force will always need something to shoot...
...employees on the payroll, Ryan thinks he is finally flying smoothly again. The Navion has been temporarily shelved, and Ryan now produces components for every big U.S. airframe maker. He is pioneering in the new field of ceramic-coated parts for jet engines and is developing a complicated pilotless jet target plane...
This week H.M.S. Perseus, light (12,265 tons) carrier of the Royal Navy, was en route to Philadelphia, prepared to demonstrate a new catapult designed to handle hefty modern aircraft. The new catapult has been tested for more than a year. Weights, dummies, pilotless planes and finally regular carrier craft have been flung into the air at speeds up to 135 knots-fast enough for flight even when the ship is riding at anchor...
...Force calls its swift missile the "Matador," the airman's latest argument in the debate over close ground support. With it, the U.S. Air Force has the first operational pilotless missile which can plant an atomic bomb in support of U.S. troops in the field...