Radio Beacon Station Building Used at Ford Airport, 1927
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Early pilots depended on visible landmarks, preventing reliable navigation in bad weather. Henry Ford's engineers developed a radio beacon that simultaneously transmitted two Morse code letters. Pilots steered until the separate signals merged into one steady hum. The original beacon station building at Ford Airport was removed in 1933 and is now displayed in Henry Ford Museum of American Innovation.
Early pilots depended on visible landmarks, preventing reliable navigation in bad weather. Henry Ford's engineers developed a radio beacon that simultaneously transmitted two Morse code letters. Pilots steered until the separate signals merged into one steady hum. The original beacon station building at Ford Airport was removed in 1933 and is now displayed in Henry Ford Museum of American Innovation.
Artifact
Radio station
Date Made
1927
On Exhibit
at Henry Ford Museum in Heroes of the Sky
Object ID
00.136.446
Credit
From the Collections of The Henry Ford. Gift of Ford Motor Company.
Material
Wood (Plant material)
Metal
Glass (Material)
Paint (Coating)
Color
Yellow
Black (Color)
Dimensions
Width: 120 in
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