[ARC5] OT: X-15 Radios

[Brian Clarke]

And I suspect the capsule when on the sea's surface had a hi-vis balloon; so, pinpoint accuracy would not have been required.
73 de Brian, VK2GCE

On Sunday, 2 December 2018 1:41 PM, you said:

I can tell of a system that worked:

I was copilot on the photographers helicopter as Apollo 7 came back to a water landing near Bermuda.  Our aircraft (the SH-3D) had been fitted with two antennas, one on each main landing gear strut, and presumably some sort of receiver (possibly the normal UHF radio, I don’t remember that part of the installation).  Each antenna was a small yagi and was fastened to the strut on each side.  This was a temporary installation for the event.

The returning space capsule had a beacon transmitter on it that was transmitting both during the last phase of descent (by parachute) and while in the water.  I assume that all three or four helos in the greeting flight were able to home in on the thing as it came down and floated in the water.  It did land within a mile or so of the target location.

The weather was good with plenty of visibility, so finding the thing was not a big challenge.  I have no idea of the expected accuracy of the bearings we got.  I can assume that the antennas and receivers were tested before the actual recovery of the space capsule.

Roy