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when his brother was killed in “
But he had been working on
his black box since 1945,
Mr Orgill who
a RAAF crash in New Guinea. committed suicide
By 1956 Mr Orgill’s black box in 1964 – homeless
was ready. and penniless and
Called the Orgill Air Safety without, it would
Unit, the rubber-studded alloy seem, anything to
ball was 19cm in diameter and
weighed only 4.5kg. distinguish his
It was a shockproof, fire- 40 years.”
proof and waterproof sphere,
designed to fit into the tail of a
plane and fascinatingly - given
the disappearance of MH370 But Mr Orgill had “a severe
- would eject itself at the attack of nerves” on the morn-
moment of impact. ing of the flight and it was
cancelled.
Inside the ball was a minute,
self-operating mechanism It took three months to per-
which could record any oil suade the DCA to make
failure, engine failure, fuel another aircraft available.
failure, fire, faulty pressurisa-
tion, metal fatigue, faulty radio Eventually the test was held at
transmitter and many other Melbourne airport on February
faults. 26, 1957, and Mr Orgill was
thrilled.
And as soon as fault was
detected a cockpit recording “The test, using simulated
device would activate to get faults in flight, was above my Mr Orgill alights from a
the pilot’s reactions. wildest expectations. The unit MacRoberston Miller Airlines
worked like a charm,” Mr Orgill Avro Anson in Perth in July 1956.
On Monday, July 9, 1956, told People magazine at the Geoffrey Thomas collection
colorised by Benoit Vienne
The West Australian reported time.
under the heading “Perth
Invention Passes Test” that The industry’s leading trade magazine that he had been
the Orgill unit was “completely journal, US-based Aviation struggling to get Australian
successful” in its first air test Week, also reported in March and British companies inter-
over Perth on the Saturday 1957 that the unit had been ested in his invention.
morning. bench and flight tested “with
satisfactory results”. “I would rather see it taken up
Four failures were simulated by a British firm but I’ve been
under flight conditions. And observers from various battling against brick walls
manufacturers of flight instru- for five years and I’m in the
After that success the ments were impressed by the mood to talk to the first party
Department of Civil Aviation tests. interested.”
(DCA) invited Mr Orgill to
test the device in a DC-3 in But in a portent of things to Hope lay with a company set
November 1956. come, Mr Orgill told People up by entertainer Bing Crosby.
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