SOXO AIR SIG S7 ILS, FROM EARLY DEVELOPMENT TO AN ENDURING WORLD STANDARD

Frank B. Brady

Peer Reviewed

Abstract:	The Instrument Landing System (IL9 may set a record for major electronic system longevity. Stemming from early experiments dating back to 1919, it was developed into its present basic signal format in the mid-1930s. It was well on its way to national standardization by the time of U.S. entry into World War II. At that time, it was strictly a national system, almost unknown outside of the United States. In January 1944, the Aircraft Radio Laboratory at Wright Field sponsored a mission to have the SCS-51 military ILS tested by the RAF and the 8th Air Force. The code name for the mission was SOXO AIR SIG S-7. A small team and production ground and airborne equipment were sent to England for joint British-American trials. Tests were conducted at an RAF Flight Research airfield in central England. The tests gave a large number of key aviation officials their first look at ILS. As the program progressed, the ready availability of ground stations allowed both military and civil operators to become familiar with the system, so that when postwar international conferences were held to select a landing system, ILS had a distinct advantage and was selected as the international standard.
Published in:	NAVIGATION: Journal of the Institute of Navigation, Volume 40, Number 2
Pages:	109 - 120
Cite this article:	Brady, Frank B., "SOXO AIR SIG S7 ILS, FROM EARLY DEVELOPMENT TO AN ENDURING WORLD STANDARD", NAVIGATION: Journal of The Institute of Navigation, Vol. 40, No. 2, Summer 1993, pp. 109-120.
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