BLIND FLYING ON THE BEAM: AERONAUTICAL COMMUNICATION, NAVIGATION AND SURVEILLANCE: ITS ORIGINS AND THE POLITICS OF TECHNOLOGY. PART II: POLITICAL OVERSIGHT AND PROMOTION

This is the second in a series of papers tracing the history of aeronautic communication, navigation and surveillance. This paper considers the effect of federal regulatory and administrative policy on the development of aeronautical communication and navigation in the United States in the 1920s and 1930s. The first attempt at coordinating aeronautical telecommunications research was begun after Herbert Hoover became the Secretary of Commerce in 1921. By 1926, Hoover had achieved two very important political objectives in relation to aeronautical telecommunication, ensuring interagency coordination. The first was the Air Commerce Act of 1926, which placed all research and development of communication and navigation within the jurisdiction of the Department of Commerce. The second was the Federal Radio Act of 1927, which provided the necessary federal oversight of frequency allocation and protection for aeronautical frequencies. Although Hoover's direct involvement in the air transportation industry decreased when he became president in 1928, he continued to support the growth of aeronautical communication and navigation infrastructure during his presidency. By the end of his presidency, the industry had evolved from it early days of single-engine open-cockpit aircraft without radios to one in which multi-engine, instrument aircraft could electronically communicate and navigate.

• Availability:
  • Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://worldcat.org/oclc/49807676
• Corporate Authors:

  Aviation Institute

  University of Nebraska, 60th and Dodge Streets
  Omaha, NE  United States  68182-0508
• Authors:
  • JOHNSON, R
• Publication Date: 2003

Language

• English

Media Info

• Features: Figures; References;
• Pagination: p. 57-78
• Serial:
  • Journal of Air Transportation
  • Volume: 8
  • Issue Number: 2
  • Publisher: Aviation Institute
  • ISSN: 1544-6980

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Administrative procedures; Aviation; Communication systems; Cooperation; Federal government; History; Interagency relations; Navigation systems; Policy analysis; Politics; Radio frequency; Regulations; Telecommunications
• Identifier Terms: U.S. Department of Commerce
• Subject Areas: Aviation; History; Law; Policy;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00964730
• Record Type: Publication
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Oct 22 2003 12:00AM