Hewitt-Sperry Automatic Airplane for eight years, and yet Sperry became intrigued with the concept of applying radio control to them. He realized that for radio control to be effective, automatic stabilization would be essential, so he decided to adapt his naval gyro-stabilizers (which he had developed for destroyers). In 1913, the Navy provided a flying boat to test and evaluate the gyro-based autopilot. Sperry's son Lawrence served as an engineer during the test phase. In 1914, Lawrence Sperry was in Europe and observed the developing techniques of aerial warfare, including the use of aircraft. In 1916, the two Sperrys joined Peter Hewitt, an
Sperry Marine Northrop Grumman Sperry Marine Northrop Grumman Northrop Grumman Sperry Marine is part of Northrop Grumman Electronic Systems and, through various mergers, has built a heritage that includes Decca Radars, Sperry Marine, and C. Plath. Northrop Grumman purchased Litton Industries in April 2001 forming Northrop Grumman Sperry Marine. Sperry Marine Northrop Grumman offers a range of marine navigation products and solutions including Marine Radars, Gyrocompasses, Steering Systems, Autopilots and Integrated Bridge Systems. Sperry Marine is one of the oldest manufacturers of gyro compasses. Its founder, Elmer Ambrose Sperry, was working on the first prototype of the gyrocompass at the same time as Hermann