Radio Beacon Transmitting Station and Antennas at Ford Airport, 1926

Summary

Early pilots depended on landmarks, preventing reliable navigation in bad weather. Henry Ford's engineers developed a radio beacon that simultaneously transmitted two Morse code letters, allowing pilots to steer until the separate signals merged into a steady hum. The original beacon station at Ford Airport (shown here) was removed in 1933 and is now on display inside the museum.

Early pilots depended on landmarks, preventing reliable navigation in bad weather. Henry Ford's engineers developed a radio beacon that simultaneously transmitted two Morse code letters, allowing pilots to steer until the separate signals merged into a steady hum. The original beacon station at Ford Airport (shown here) was removed in 1933 and is now on display inside the museum.

Artifact

Photographic print

Subject Date

10 September 1926

 On Exhibit

By Request in the Benson Ford Research Center

Object ID

P.189.3684

Credit

From the Collections of The Henry Ford. Gift of Ford Motor Company.

Material

Paper (Fiber product)

Technique

Gelatin silver process

Color

Black-and-white (Colors)

Dimensions

Height: 8 in

Width: 9.938 in

Radio Beacon Station Building Used at Ford Airport...

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Radio Beacon Transmitter, Patented by Ford Motor C...

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