Lady Aloft

The female voice sounds out of place in the cramped cockpit of a high-flying B58 bomber: "Oxygen quantity low. Oxygen quantity low. Descend to safe altitude.Monitor oxygen system until descent is accomplished."

Air Forcepilots are learning to recognize and respond to those warm, well-modulated tones--and to rely on their disembodied presence. For the voice of Northrop Corp. Secretary Gina Drazin rides with the big delta-winged birds, ever alert to warn against airborne dangers.Recorded on tape and coiled into the complex innards of VIPS, Northrop's Voice Interruption Priority System, Gina's voice makes instant report then ever something goes wrong. She gets instant attention, while in other planes the buzzers, horns and flashing lights that sig nal the same sort of trouble sometimes go unheeded for vital moments.

Plenty of Warning. Northrop scientists began working on VIPS when they discovered that pilots react quickest to spoken commands; even when a pilot is beginning to black out from G forces and can no longer see warning lights, he hears and understands a distinctive voice. A feminine voice was chosen for VIPS to avoid confusion with the voices of other crewmen. The whole system weighs only 8 Ibs., but its quick-acting brain can even assign priorities when several warnings are called for at once. If engine oil is low, Gina's voice reports the problem, but in case of more urgent danger--say, engine fire--VIPS would replace the oil warn ing with Gina's recorded fire alarm.

The B58 VIPS can handle 50 emergency situations, and many warnings are followed by brief instructions for appropriate action. After a high-priority problem has been corrected, Gina continues to report any lower-priority problems until they in turn have been taken care of.

Plenty of Oomph. Northrop had little trouble selling VIPS to the Air Force. On a test flight in Texas, the system worked perfectly; its calm voice gave prompt warning of many simulated hazards. Then the pilot, Major H. T. Deutschendorf, started his landing approach. Gina spoke once more, warning that his airplane's alternator was out and that fuel pressure was low on the port side. The major had had enough tests for the day. "Shut the damned thing off," he shouted to his crew. A crew member replied that no more hazards had been simulated. Suddenly the major realized that this time the warnings were real. He followed VIPS's instructions, and made a safe landing.

Northrop is already planning other applications for VIPS--submarines, missile countdowns, fire warnings in public buildings. But Gina belongs to the Air Force. Said one SAC pilot last week: "That dame has plenty of oomph in hervoice."

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