Pilot's Helper

When a single-engine airplane loses its power, the pilot has always had a problem. Unless he bails out and abandons his air, he must search for an emergency anding place. This is a perilous business, but until the development of modern jet planes, the pilot at least retained control.

The pilot of a jet plane lacks this advantage. Jets move so fast that their controls are too stiff to be moved entirely by hand power. Instead they are "boosted" by strong-armed hydraulic devices that get their energy from the engine. When the engine stops and there is no auxiliary power, the pilot is in a tough spot.

For the Navy's Chance Vought XFSU-1 tighter, Marquardt Aircraft Co. has developed a new gadget to take care of this sticky situation. It is a "ram-air power unit," weighing less than 50 lbs., that can be popped into the air stream if the engine stops. Air blowing through it spins a turbine at 6,000 r.p.m., and the power developed (25 h.p.) provides electrical current for the airplane's radio. It also keeps pressure in the hydraulic system that works the controls and landing gear. With the little turbine spinning outside the fuselage the pilot can call for help and try an emergency landing as if he were in an old-style airplane with hand-worked controls.

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