Abstract: A rotary head helical scan tape record and/or reproduce apparatus has an upper rotatable cylindrical drum tape guide section and a stationary lower cylindrical drum tape guide section that includes a narrow upper ridge which is displaced radially from the axis of the stationary cylindrical drum tape guide section in a direction towards the location where the rotary head ends the scan of the tape. Magnetic tape is transported in a helical path from the lower stationary drum guide section, over the radially displaced upper ridge to the upper rotatable drum guide section, which carries the record and/or reproduce heads that transfer signals to and from the tape.

Abstract: A foil member is stretched over a body of pressurizing material so as to be caused to balloon outwardly toward a rotating shaft. A fluid (e.g., air) film bearing is formed between the foil and shaft. The pressurizing material for the foil may be incompressible, but capable of plastic flow (e.g., water). Consequently, the foil is substantially stiff and unyielding to movement of the shaft toward the foil, but is locally yielding as to particles of foreign material that may get into the air film zone between foil and shaft or to misalignment of the shaft, and elastically recovers its original shape when the particle is gone, or the misalignment is corrected, having meanwhile suffered no damage.