Gaining An R.A.F Pilots Brevet In WW II

[Danny42C]

Chugalug,

IIRC, there was a visual aid on the panel, the "Kicker". This "kicked" L or R in response to the aural signal. I cannot recall exactly what it looked like. I don't think there was any visual indication of the Inner or Outer markers.

And somewhere in the old "Tee Emm", there was a wonderful poem about SBA training (there was also a "TBA" - Tuneable Beam Approach) - but what the difference was (apart from the fact that it was "tuneable"), I do not know.

I have a CD of "Tee Emm", but no idea how to find the poem again (it's the sort of thing you find only when you're not looking for it). I only remember a few scraps:

".....trying might and main....drift has changed with loss of height, round we go again....Gremlins rap the perspex, thoughts fly thick and fast...Stick to the Sperry Panel, or your thoughts will be your last !.....Is it right, or is it left ? what does the "kicker" say ?......"

All in all, better than nothing, but not quite as good as coming down an ILS slope on autopilot (spoken by one who has never done anything of the kind, but only read about it). The Radio Range was the standard aid for commercial air navigation in the US when we were there, and of course the SBA and the later ILS are its lineal descendants.

Don't worry about upsetting my picture - there's aways some Good Samaritan who can restore the status quo.....D.

Cheers, both. Danny.