Word: terrain
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Dates: during 1940-1949
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Leonard, who is frequently away on one scientific venture or another, attended one recently that was difficult to separate from its unscientific trappings: Howard Hughes' demonstration of Trans World Airline's new "terrain avoidance" radar (TIME, May 12). It was a junket complete with movie starlets, sirens (the shrilling, not the rock-sitting variety), motorcycle cops, a "Miss Arizona Aviation," parties, and all the familiar Hollywood accessories. During the actual demonstration Leonard was not surprised to find himself seated next to Gossip Columnist Hedda Hopper, who, he reports, "didn't turn a hair during all this mountain...
Radar applied last week for its first practical job on regular commercial airplanes. The "airline radar" developed by Electronician Dave Evans of the Hughes Aircraft Co. aims to accomplish only one thing: "terrain avoidance" (keeping the plane from hitting a hill). Many an airplane passenger, fidgeting in the overcast and wondering where the nearest "terrain" is lurking, will feel that this new gadget is worth the 15 Ibs. of dead weight and $400 installed cost...
...waves take to make the round trip. If any return quickly enough to indicate that an obstacle is within 2,000 ft. from the airplane, a bell rings and a bright light flashes in the cockpit. The pilot can then pull into a climb in time to avoid any "terrain" hidden in the overcast (see diagram...
...useful in approaching a fogbound airport or coming down through a low ceiling), it is not intended as a complete blind-landing device. Its chief usefulness is for flying between airports: if developed a year ago, it might have prevented several disasters when airplanes in thick weather hit unexpected "terrain...
Filmed in the arid bush country of Northern Austria, "The Overlanders" achieves its distinction through a scrupulous regard for simplicity and historical accuracy. The story of a thousand cattle being driven across 1200 miles of rugged terrain needs expert treatment to maintain a high level of interest without sporadic injections of high-octane melodrama. "The Overlanders" reaches the correct balance between fact and fiction, resulting in a refreshing absence of gun play or fiendish attacks by woolly-headed natives. By careful pruning, the producers have portrayed the grim struggle to save a herd from the Japanese with all its harsh...