Experimental evaluation of an array technique for zenith to horizon coverage

An experimental study of a new array concept with application to providing low cost efficient antennas with hemispherical coverage for aircraft to satellite communication links is described. The combined array-surface wave antenna consists of 64 waveguide elements scanned conventionally except at endfire. At endfire the array is shorted to become a corrugated surface-wave antenna and excited by an eight-element feed to provide a directional beam near the horizon. The array is rotated to give hemispherical coverage.