Serving on a SAGE Combat Crew [pdf]

https://archive.computerhistory.org/resources/access/text/2022/06/102792720-05-01-acc.pdf

by danbr • 4 years ago

3 1 4 years ago

archive.computerhistory.org

danbr• 4 years ago

As a controller I would be in charge of the whole show, moving the aircraft around like a giant ballet in the sky as I turned the target on its target run and controlled the interceptors to use various tactics on their attacks. And doing this with a SAGE radar scope was really a high-tech operation for the time. My display was computer generated and the interceptor pilots would slave their aircraft autopilots to follow whatever instructions I put into my computer display. My inputs into the scope would go to the computer and the computer would broadcast those inputs to the autopilots of the interceptors, and the interceptors would then follow those commands. In essence I would be flying the airplanes using my radar scope while the pilots focused on looking at their onboard radar systems to find their targets and simulate shooting them down.

Serving on a SAGE Combat Crew [pdf]

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