A flying head, helical scan magnetic recording device comprises a tape source, a mandrel for supporting a helical wrap of magnetic tape, a rotor which is lobed with respect to the mandrel axis and a tape sink. The lobed rotor carries one or more magnetic heads at substantially the peak of the lobe around a flying scan path in non-contact, microinch adjacency to the magnetic tape supported on the mandrel. The major portion of the rotor, however, is recessed with respect to the magnetic tape, thereby minimizing the tendency of the tape to shear off the air bearing film carried by the rotor. The result is enhanced dynamic air bearing support of the tape in the immediate vicinity of the flying head.

A tape scanning assembly including a fixed drum and a coaxially mounted rotating drum defining a gap therebetween, with the tape wrapped in a helical path around the drums and across the gap, the rotating drum being driven to produce a pressurized gas bearing film between the tape and drums, with the bearing film being vented by the gap to tend to produce a variable film thickness gradient on the upstream side of the gap; the assembly is provided with venting means such as relieved portions or grooves on the rotating drum to reduce said gradient and to control the film thickness upstream from the gap.

A recording/playback apparatus including a stationary drum on which a traveling magnetic tape is wound, a plurality of magnetic heads for recording and playing back data, a rotary portion which is rotated while carrying the heads thereon, a drive portion which drives the rotary portion, an air injection device which spouts air from the vicinities of the magnetic heads toward the magnetic tape in order to separate the tape from the heads, and a control device which controls the start and stop of the air spouting of the air injection device. In the standby mode of the apparatus, in which the rotary portion is rotated though the heads perform neither the recording nor the playback operation, the tape is separated from the heads, so that the heads are prevented from wearing away. As soon as the standby mode has ended, the tape is brought into contact with the heads, so that the recording or playback operation can be immediately started.

A magnetic tape apparatus is disclosed in which the tape is held stationary on the surface of a drum while the drum is rotated at a high velocity, thereby providing an air bearing for supporting the tape adjacent a rotating recording head. The tape is spaced from the drum because of an air bearing. To minimize the gap between drum and tape, grooves or notches are formed in the transducer head to cause the tape to cup or deflect down toward the head in the area of the transducer. The transducer heads in a multiple transducer arrangement are especially mounted on a parallelogram-shaped brace arrangement to eliminate undesirable lateral deflection of the heads during recording.

A tape recording/retrieving system includes a tape helically-wrapped about a cylindrical headwheel. When the headwheel rotates, the tape is hydrodynamically lifted above the rotating surface of the headwheel. A plurality of tape edge guides, illustratively three, disposed about the circumference of the headwheel, provide support surfaces for the tape. The edge guides include surfaces adjacent the cylindrical headwheel surface which are also subject to hydrodynamic forces when the headwheel rotates, causing the edge guides to "fly" away from the rotating surface, thus reducing wear problems on the headwheel and the guides. Using a knowledge of the system parameters, the edge guides are fabricated with a prestress so that they fly at a particular distance above the rotating surface which provides a supporting surface for the flying tape.