Pilots Hear Feminine Voice In Headphones
Jul 4, 2022 21:35:38 GMT 12
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Post by Dave Homewood on Jul 4, 2022 21:35:38 GMT 12
Pilots Hear Feminine Voice In Headphones
“Zero six zero, 10 knots, runway zero two, clear to land.” These words, in the headphones of the pilot of a National Airways Corporation DC3 approaching the Christchurch Airport, from a soft pleasing feminine voice, cause no surprise. Pilots using the airport are accustomed to receiving their landing instructions from a woman. The voice is that of assistant air traffic control officer, Miss Ruth Morris, the only woman in New Zealand to hold such a position. Working under stress at peak periods at the Christchurch Airport control tower amid the clatter of a teleprinter, the ringing of telephones and the metallic-sounding voices over the very high frequency radios, Miss Morris displays a calm efficiency.
To many persons an air traffic control officer’s job has an aura of drama about it but to Miss Morris it is just a routine job. She handles the DC6 aircraft from Australia with the same acumen as a DC3 from Wellington. However, she does admit that she much prefers the position to an office job.
Miss Morris joined the Women’s Auxiliary Air Force during the war and was stationed at the Christchurch Airport, or Harewood as it was then known, for a great deal of her six years and a half service. Explaining how she came to enter air traffic control work Miss Morris said that a W.A.A.F. was posted to the tower, but after a fortnight she found the position too much of a strain.
When first asked to take over the job Miss Morris doubted her ability to handle it. She accepted and quickly adapted herself to the conditions although at times the control tower staff was working under great strain. There was an elementary flying school for the R.N.Z.A.F. at the airport at the time and at times there were as many as 20 to 30 Tiger Moth aircraft in the air at the one time and none of them was equipped with radio.
Signals Not Seen
“We did not know what the trainee pilots were going to do next and often they failed to see the signals flashed to them by an Aldis lamp. All we could do was to stand by and wait to ring the crash bell.” said Morris.
During the first fortnight Morris was in the control tower two Tiger Moths on the circuit collided in mid-air and both pilots were killed. “I had my doubts about wanting to stay in the tower but I have not regretted the decision.” she said.
Since then she has seen many thousands of aircraft take off and land but has not seen an air crash. Just after dawn on a cold wet morning when rain was sweeping across the runways in fierce gusts occurred an incident which Miss Morris regards as one of the most dramatic moments of her career. It was the finish of the England to New Zealand air race when Flight Lieutenants R.L.E. Burton and D H. Gannon, flying an R.A.F Canberra, touched down in the record time of 23 hours 51 minutes.
Although it could have had serious consequences at the time, there was one incident at the airport which caused a great deal of laughter later, said Miss Morris. The runways were being extended when a pilot landed his Tiger Moth in a restricted area. When he went to take off he found that there were banks of soil in the way. He walked to the control lower to get instructions on how to get on to the tarmac. He returned to his aircraft, swung the propeller, but he had forgotten to put chocks in front of the wheels and unfortunately he had also left the throttle open. Immediately the engine roared to life, the aircraft began to roll forward gathering speed. The pilot managed to seize the wing tip and hang on while the plane, with ever increasing momentum, described wild circles. The fire tender arrived and the firernaster, at considerate risk to himself, for by this time the plane vas moving quite fast, seized the other wing. With a combined effort the two men managed to halt the aircraft by tipping it on to its nose.
Wife in Cockpit
All this time the pilot’s wife was huddled in the rear cockpit petrified with fear as she did not know how to switch off the engine. “I hate to think what would have happened if the plane had got away because it would probably have gained sufficient speed to take off,” said Miss Morris.
The services operated from the control tower with which Miss Morris assists include Aerodrome control, approach control, area control and flight information. Aerodrome control entails the supervision of Local flying — Landings, take-offs and circuits; approach control, the supervision of aircraft flying under instrument flight rules in the area between Ashburton and Motunau — the height, rate of climb or descent; area control, the supervision of aircraft flying on routes outside the approach area. The control tower also provides information on the serviceability of aerodromes and radio aids, the weather, danger areas and general aeronautical data.
Describing the procedure tor an aircraft arriving from the north, Miss Morris said that the pilot usually contacted the control tower when in the vicinity of the Waimakariri river mouth and request landing instructions. The aircraft was cleared into the circuit and information on the wind, velocity and direction, other aircraft in the vicinity, the runway on which the plane was to land, and finally permission to land, was given.
Overdue Aircraft
Asked what happened when an aircraft was overdue, Miss Morris said the procedure varied according to whether the plane was equipped with radio or not. A check was made back along the various air radio stations on the route the plane was to fly. In the case of light aircraft one elementary precaution was to see that the plane was not in the hangar. “Small planes sometimes slip in without us noticing,” she explained.
After the routine checks were carried out, the Air-Sea Rescue Organisation was alerted and a search organised. Occasionally information was received about a top-dressing plane which would be landing in a damaged condition. Arrangements were made for the fire and crash tenders to stand by in case the undercarriage collapsed or some other mishap. “But modern aviation is almost accident free.” said Miss Morris.
During the United States Antarctic expedition’s activities a 24-hour “watch” was kept in the control tower at the Christchurch Airport because United States aircraft were to arrive and depart at any time and radio contact had to be maintained with aircraft on the long flight from New Zealand to the Antarctic, Miss Morris said.
“At the moment the authorities are not encouraging women to take up air traffic control work, but I think that before long we may follow overseas trends and more female staff will be recruited. I understand that the senior air traffic control officer in San Francisco is a woman.” said Miss Morris.
Born in Christchurch, Miss Morris was educated at Rangi-ruru. She attended Canterbury University College, School of Art, and after war broke out joined the W.A.A.F. She spent some time at the control centre in Wellington. and she was posted to Wigram when a centre for the southern area was opened. She was later transferred to Harewood. After her discharge she joined the Civil Aviation Administration.
‘‘No great technical knowledge of radio is required as the equipment is serviced by technicians — all we have to do is operate it,” she said.
Her hobbies? Well she has little time for them because of shift work, but she is fond of gardening and her well-kept garden bears testimony to this.
PRESS, 11 SEPTEMBER 1957
“Zero six zero, 10 knots, runway zero two, clear to land.” These words, in the headphones of the pilot of a National Airways Corporation DC3 approaching the Christchurch Airport, from a soft pleasing feminine voice, cause no surprise. Pilots using the airport are accustomed to receiving their landing instructions from a woman. The voice is that of assistant air traffic control officer, Miss Ruth Morris, the only woman in New Zealand to hold such a position. Working under stress at peak periods at the Christchurch Airport control tower amid the clatter of a teleprinter, the ringing of telephones and the metallic-sounding voices over the very high frequency radios, Miss Morris displays a calm efficiency.
To many persons an air traffic control officer’s job has an aura of drama about it but to Miss Morris it is just a routine job. She handles the DC6 aircraft from Australia with the same acumen as a DC3 from Wellington. However, she does admit that she much prefers the position to an office job.
Miss Morris joined the Women’s Auxiliary Air Force during the war and was stationed at the Christchurch Airport, or Harewood as it was then known, for a great deal of her six years and a half service. Explaining how she came to enter air traffic control work Miss Morris said that a W.A.A.F. was posted to the tower, but after a fortnight she found the position too much of a strain.
When first asked to take over the job Miss Morris doubted her ability to handle it. She accepted and quickly adapted herself to the conditions although at times the control tower staff was working under great strain. There was an elementary flying school for the R.N.Z.A.F. at the airport at the time and at times there were as many as 20 to 30 Tiger Moth aircraft in the air at the one time and none of them was equipped with radio.
Signals Not Seen
“We did not know what the trainee pilots were going to do next and often they failed to see the signals flashed to them by an Aldis lamp. All we could do was to stand by and wait to ring the crash bell.” said Morris.
During the first fortnight Morris was in the control tower two Tiger Moths on the circuit collided in mid-air and both pilots were killed. “I had my doubts about wanting to stay in the tower but I have not regretted the decision.” she said.
Since then she has seen many thousands of aircraft take off and land but has not seen an air crash. Just after dawn on a cold wet morning when rain was sweeping across the runways in fierce gusts occurred an incident which Miss Morris regards as one of the most dramatic moments of her career. It was the finish of the England to New Zealand air race when Flight Lieutenants R.L.E. Burton and D H. Gannon, flying an R.A.F Canberra, touched down in the record time of 23 hours 51 minutes.
Although it could have had serious consequences at the time, there was one incident at the airport which caused a great deal of laughter later, said Miss Morris. The runways were being extended when a pilot landed his Tiger Moth in a restricted area. When he went to take off he found that there were banks of soil in the way. He walked to the control lower to get instructions on how to get on to the tarmac. He returned to his aircraft, swung the propeller, but he had forgotten to put chocks in front of the wheels and unfortunately he had also left the throttle open. Immediately the engine roared to life, the aircraft began to roll forward gathering speed. The pilot managed to seize the wing tip and hang on while the plane, with ever increasing momentum, described wild circles. The fire tender arrived and the firernaster, at considerate risk to himself, for by this time the plane vas moving quite fast, seized the other wing. With a combined effort the two men managed to halt the aircraft by tipping it on to its nose.
Wife in Cockpit
All this time the pilot’s wife was huddled in the rear cockpit petrified with fear as she did not know how to switch off the engine. “I hate to think what would have happened if the plane had got away because it would probably have gained sufficient speed to take off,” said Miss Morris.
The services operated from the control tower with which Miss Morris assists include Aerodrome control, approach control, area control and flight information. Aerodrome control entails the supervision of Local flying — Landings, take-offs and circuits; approach control, the supervision of aircraft flying under instrument flight rules in the area between Ashburton and Motunau — the height, rate of climb or descent; area control, the supervision of aircraft flying on routes outside the approach area. The control tower also provides information on the serviceability of aerodromes and radio aids, the weather, danger areas and general aeronautical data.
Describing the procedure tor an aircraft arriving from the north, Miss Morris said that the pilot usually contacted the control tower when in the vicinity of the Waimakariri river mouth and request landing instructions. The aircraft was cleared into the circuit and information on the wind, velocity and direction, other aircraft in the vicinity, the runway on which the plane was to land, and finally permission to land, was given.
Overdue Aircraft
Asked what happened when an aircraft was overdue, Miss Morris said the procedure varied according to whether the plane was equipped with radio or not. A check was made back along the various air radio stations on the route the plane was to fly. In the case of light aircraft one elementary precaution was to see that the plane was not in the hangar. “Small planes sometimes slip in without us noticing,” she explained.
After the routine checks were carried out, the Air-Sea Rescue Organisation was alerted and a search organised. Occasionally information was received about a top-dressing plane which would be landing in a damaged condition. Arrangements were made for the fire and crash tenders to stand by in case the undercarriage collapsed or some other mishap. “But modern aviation is almost accident free.” said Miss Morris.
During the United States Antarctic expedition’s activities a 24-hour “watch” was kept in the control tower at the Christchurch Airport because United States aircraft were to arrive and depart at any time and radio contact had to be maintained with aircraft on the long flight from New Zealand to the Antarctic, Miss Morris said.
“At the moment the authorities are not encouraging women to take up air traffic control work, but I think that before long we may follow overseas trends and more female staff will be recruited. I understand that the senior air traffic control officer in San Francisco is a woman.” said Miss Morris.
Born in Christchurch, Miss Morris was educated at Rangi-ruru. She attended Canterbury University College, School of Art, and after war broke out joined the W.A.A.F. She spent some time at the control centre in Wellington. and she was posted to Wigram when a centre for the southern area was opened. She was later transferred to Harewood. After her discharge she joined the Civil Aviation Administration.
‘‘No great technical knowledge of radio is required as the equipment is serviced by technicians — all we have to do is operate it,” she said.
Her hobbies? Well she has little time for them because of shift work, but she is fond of gardening and her well-kept garden bears testimony to this.
PRESS, 11 SEPTEMBER 1957
