Williams news., 1921-07-29
AIR SERVICE NEWS LETTER
Lieut.. Pearson's Flight to the
 Grand Canyon in Arizona

flight to the Grand Canyon ot
 Arizona, had another interest
 ing experience following his at
 tempt to negotiate the New
 York to San Francisco transcon-
 tfhental flight. It will be re-
 called that on this journey
 while flying from Fl Paso to
 San Antonio on February 10th,
 his plane developed motor trou-
 ble and he was forced to come
 down in a canyon south of the
 Rio Grande river. His plane
 was subsequently, recovered by
 an expedition sent into Mexico
 for that purpose; new engine
 was installed in the plane and
 it was flown back to the Del
 Rio Airdrome.
 The flight over and in the
 Canyon was made between
 500 and 1O:OO A. M. on June
 10th. Lieut.. Pearson states
 that at the beginning of this
 flight there was a slight east
 wind blowing and that 1t was
 very warm, the air being quite
 calm except for 'heat swells".
 It was just as smooth over and in the Canyon as outside except for a strip along each wall,
 where there was a very notice able rough region between one fourth and one-half mile wide, undoubtedly caused by strong uprising currents of air heated by the canyon walls. Lieut..
 Pearson thought that there
 would probably be downward
 current of air in the middle Of the Canyon to replace that ris-l ing near the walls, but it was
 not noticeable. This was prob
 ably due to the fact that if there were such a downward current, it's downward velocity
 would be not more than that of the rising current at the canyon
 wall. This conclusion was ar rived at by assuming that there
 was no longitudinal or up or down stream displacement of
 air in the Canyon and that the region of uprising air extended One-half mile back from the canyon walls. This would give. a rising air volume a mile wide
  the canyon is 10 miles 1t would , leave a downward column of air nine miles wide to replace { the rising air. Its downward velocity should therefore aver ':ge about one-ninth that of the ; rising air. Strong cross winds had the effect of greatly wid- ( ening the belt of uprising air { on the side of the canyon op- i posite to that from which the wind was blowing, but did not, change the column on the oth- I CT side. '
 Lieut.. Pearson started for the Grand Canyon from Nogal- ( es, Arizona, on May 31st, mak- l ing stops at Phoenix, Prescott, r Ashfork and Williams, and sell ecting landing fields at each of c these places. He arrived at the r Grand Canyon on June 4th and spent the day in conference t with the Superintendent of c Parks and in looking for pos, O sible landing fields. He states r no place closer than eleven t miles from the Grand Canyon V O1o tAOAA " co 1OuuO IudC was not II covered with timber. Fairly, h good emergency fields were V found to the north, west and V east of Anita and one near Co., f conio, one-fourth of a mile east ( of Anita, which is one mile long u and one-fourth of a mile wide. W Hat, and with good approaches u rom north, east and southwest. t, This field was covered with Il 'age-brush IS inches high and
 1ad prairie dog holes on it, but n ,ou1d be made suitable for y andlng at an expense of $50 a 'r less. Just to the northwest il 'f Anita is slight rise which W s flat on top and on which an D excellent field could be made, + Is-a space one-half mile square II with approaches from any dir fl .ction is available. It Is level u and without any prairie dog W loIes, but is covered with sage o, 'rash. The altitude of this re ract is 6,1OO feet, and it would n, nTy be necessary to drag it fc with a railroad iron to put it in pl xcellent shape This is the