European Aviation Radio

The author summarizes observations made on an inspection trip over the major European airways. Aviation radio in Europe differs from aviation radio in the United States in the prevalent use of intermediate frequencies exclusively. European aviation radio may be divided into three major classifications as follows: (1) Communications from ground to plane and plane to ground. (2) Point-to-point communications in connection with the traffic dispatching of aircraft. (3) Meteorological communications relating to safe flying conditions. The type of equipment used for receiving and transmitting on ground and on aircraft, together with the frequencies and power used, is described. The present system of direction finding is given in detail. The use of high frequencies for aviation radio in Europe is still in a highly experimental stage.