Radar applied last week for its first practical job on regular commercial airplanes. The "airline radar" developed by Electronician Dave Evans of the Hughes Aircraft Co. aims to accomplish only one thing: "terrain avoidance" (keeping the plane from hitting a hill). Many an airplane passenger, fidgeting in the overcast and wondering where the nearest "terrain" is lurking, will feel that this new gadget is worth the 15 Ibs. of dead weight and $400 installed cost.
The Hughes radar, like all others, sends out brief bursts of high-frequency radio waves both ahead of the plane and below it. When these echo back from...
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