Albuquerque morning journal. [volume] (Albuquerque, N.M.) 1903-1926, 1921-02-08

! iC pressure on aerial instruments,
| particularly the altimeter.
The changing conditions in the
air make it impossible to gather
| the necessary information in a sin
gle pathfinding flight over an area.
he continues, but by gathering data
in numerous flights at all times Of
! the year and under all circum-
stances, a system of averages could
| be devised which would aid greatly
in dispatching planes over aerial
routes. ...
Mr. Messenger discusses the va
rious meteorological factors in
aviation in the following manner;
"Wind-It is necessary in COM
mercial aviation to take advantage
of any conditions which will aid
in economy of time or fuel or will
be conducive to greater safety. The
pathfinder, then, must determine
the speed and direction of the pre-
vailing winds over the proposed
route These winds should be de-
termined, not at the surface alone,
but to as great attitudes in the free
air as possible. 1t is likely that
certain elevations will, in the long
run, be more favorable.
CIoudiness and Fog.
"ClOudineSs and fog-The influ-
ence of the lower clouds and fog
upon flying is very great. AS a
rule it is essential to retain sight
of the earth. When there are low
clouds and fog, however, to keep in
sight of the earth obviously is a
hazardous proposition.
"The danger of flying in clouds
is great, not only because the pilot
may lose his sense of balance, but
because the clouds may reach the
ground without the pilots knowl-
edge, thus making q crash likely.
at is necessary, therefore, in
laying out the proposed aerial
routes to consider carefully the
frequency of low clouds and fog.
Thunderstorms--It is true that
usually the thunderstorm IS essen
TALLY a local phenomenon. But the
frequency of occurrence OF thun-
derstorms along a given route IS
a thing that is vitality important to
know.
"remperature-Th knowledge
of mean temperatures over CIV
en- route is, perhaps, the most I'M
important of the weather factors
With Improvement of aircraft en-
gines so that they function at low
temperatures and the heating OF
cabins of planes, the influence OF
the temperature factor is les
sened." .,
! Concerning the meteorological
factors in selecting a flying field,
Mr.. Meisinger says:
10 Million Francs Wasted.
THE meteorological aspect can
not be neglected, for it is concelv-
able that. in spite of a hundred de-
sirable features on a landing field,
there may be certain meteorologi-
cal characteristics which would
make it utterly unfit for the
purpose. For example: During
the war Great Britain was
said to have spent 100000 in
building an experimental bombing
field. After the work was well
along it was found that neighhor-
ing hills gave rise to air eddles
which absolutely prevented sate
flying and 100000 francs were
wasted. The consultation of some
statistics probably would nave
saved this money.
"The altimeter, which measures
the height at which plane Is fly
ing is particularly sensible TO
changes in atmospheric pressure
For example: Chicago is six hun
bred feet higher than New York.
The pilot sets his altimeter at zero
in New york. Naturally we would
presume that it would read sou
feet at Chicago. But: suppose
there is a difference of 0.4O inches
in the atmospheric pressure IN
Chicago over New York. TINS
makes a difference of $50 feet IN
the altimeter reading"