Stanley R. Mohler

An additional component, consisting of the men and electronic equipment comprising the air traffic system, is now as integral a part of civil aeronautics activities as are the pilots and their aircraft. Two intertwining threads wind inseparably through the above picture: (1) the maintenance programs related to the health and functional adequacy of airmen and equipment, and (2) the economics of "the dynamic, ever changing, often hard-pressed, aviation industry. The basic mission of a civil aviation flight is to return unharmed the occupants of the aircraft to terra -{firma. At times the pilot may be the sole occupant, at other times, the crew will be the only occupants, and in still other cases, the occupants will consist of the crew and more than a hundred passengers.

Any mission which results in death or injury to an occupant is not a successful mission. Successful missions must constantly be accomplished if civil aviation is to continue to grow and progress. This paper will indicate the ,role of aeromedical research in helping to prevent unsuccessful missions.

Involved in the safety of a mission are the matters of providing assurance that one aircraft in Height will not jeopardize another, and that the operation of an aircraft will not needlessly endanger the lives or property of the population-at-Large.

W. F. Roeser, T.E. Lonberger

Various methods used for testing thermocouples and thermocouple materials and the precautions that must be observed in order to attain various degrees of accuracy are described. In particular, the methods that have been developed and used at the National Bureau of Standards are outlined in detail, and some guidance is given to the reader in the selection of the method best adapted to a given set of conditions.

James D. New & Charles M. Middlesworth

A gas analyzer for evaluating aircraft fire-extinguishing systems was calibrated for use with carbon dioxide, methyl bromide and bromochloromethane. Extensive application of the analyzer in evaluating the carbon dioxide system of the XB-45 power plant provided it to be of practical value. Operation of the instrumentation flight proved satisfactory.

R.J. Leong

Epoxy resins are among the most versatile of modern plastics. They have been employed extensively in industry for surface coatings, high-strength adhesives, durable laminates, cold solders, and lightweight foams.

Carl Schmidt

The preceding papers have presented an apparatus and procedures for the study of heat transfer on contact with flame (1), and the validation of a mathematical system of analysis of the data so obtained (2). The present report describes the procedure for the determination of diffusivity and thermal conductivity and its application to fabrics made of the heat resistant synthetic (DuPont HT-1) discussed in the first of this series of papers.