Civil air transport communication

Any form of transport calls for a communication and signalling system, and by its nature civil air transport has to rely on radio-telegraphy and radio-telephony for the majority of the services it requires, and is peculiarly dependent on navigational help by radio. As a result an extensive communication system has been built up to provide these services throughout the world, a system which is closely interconnected internationally and which provides a service for the aircraft of any country operating on the various routes. It is proposed to give in this paper a description of the system in this country and its immediate connections to the Continental and Empire networks, with some reference to the American system as an indication of the general differences between American and European practice. The paper is divided into the following Sections:? (1) The growth of the communication system. (2) Technical considerations and requirements of groundstation equipment. (3) Aircraft radio equipment and installation. (4) The Atlantic and Empire routes to the East. (5) A brief outline of the communication system in the U.S.A. (6) Future developments.