Blind take off in fog experiments.
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Blind take off in fog experiments.
In the Fifties I think a BAC One-Eleven was used for the first of Cat 3 landing experiments at Heathrow in thick fog. About that time trials took place on the practicability of blind take offs using a device called a PVD (Para Visual Direction?) I understand it was a device that showed you if you were tracking correctly during the take off run in zero visibility.
Does anyone have any information on the use of the PVD?
Does anyone have any information on the use of the PVD?
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If it was the 50's then It didn't involve the VC-10 or 1-11 due to the fact that they first flew in 1962 and 1963 respectivly. Not sure what It was though. Sorry!!.
M5DND
M5DND
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Quite right m5 - it was, I think, the BLEU Varsity that trialled the units. We are looking, however, to find which - if any - a/c had them fitted operationally? I would guess the aagggh!! TRIDENT (there, I said the word
) did?

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Done a quick bit of reading - it was the Hatfield product (could this be aviation's variation on "the Scottish play" theme?) that made the first fully automatic landing by commercial aircraft in fog at Heathrow in 1966 - John Cunningham was part of the crew. Aircraft was G-ARPB. Sorry, don't know nuffing about the take off kit that A37575 mentions.
The DH Trident was one of the earliest commercial aircraft to be equipped with PVD (Para-Visual Display).
A device resembling a horizontal striped barber's pole, it uses the ILS localiser signal to assist centre-line guidance during low-viz take-offs. The stripes remain stationary so long as the aircraft is on the runway centre-line. If the aircraft deviates, the stripes appear to move in the direction of the runway centre-line, helping to guide the pilot back to the middle of the runway.
A device resembling a horizontal striped barber's pole, it uses the ILS localiser signal to assist centre-line guidance during low-viz take-offs. The stripes remain stationary so long as the aircraft is on the runway centre-line. If the aircraft deviates, the stripes appear to move in the direction of the runway centre-line, helping to guide the pilot back to the middle of the runway.
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This topic was previously discussed here:-
http://www.pprune.org/forums/showthread.php?t=240962
http://www.pprune.org/forums/showthread.php?t=240962
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Did the Varsity have an observers position in the Belly? When I was an apprentice at Aberporth in the Late 70's early 80's The fire training hulk was a twin in RAE colours with BLIND LANDING EXPERIMENTAL UNIT down the side and afore mentioned window just aft of the nose wheel. It was burned out and scrapped shortly after I finished my time there. A shame it wasn't placed with a museum considering it probably had more historic value than the examples that have been preserved.