Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1926-06-27
Mans Instinct for Adventure Lures
Him Into Arctic Exploration, Byrd Says
Continued from First Page)

Continued from First Page)
but for the most part there was clear
sunshine for "a hours every day, and
on the day of our flight 1t was perfect.
OF course. we were on the ground
much earlier than we had reached
Greenland and. later i'll the Summer
at Spitzbergen, there is a good deal of
fog. The Summer is never as good
as the Spring for exploration in the
Arctic for this reason, and at Green
land we had wind, fog, rain and snow.
l think that if we do any more fly
ing in the Arctic we will Winter there.
so as to take advantage of an early
Spring weather, which is cold and
clear. and excellent for flying, but
which begins long before Arctic land
suitable for the purpose can be
reached by boat.
Protecting the Motors.
But this pioneering work this year
solved several problems. We learned
how our skis should be built, or rather
how they should not be built, in order
to give the most efficient results. We
learned how to overcome motor
troubles due to the cold by inclOSing
the motors in specially constructed
fireproof canvas cover under which we
placed q heating stove. And by coWl-
ing the motors we found that, even
under way in zero temperature, we
could keep the motors running in
temperature equal To that of New
York City.
we found that by heating our oil
and using a heavier oil than had been
thought possible we overcame lubrica-
ton difficulties due to the cold. and by
| using graphite in our instruments on
the board In front of the pilot and i'll
the navigation. instruments, such as
the sun compass, we found that the
congealing which would have stopped
them was avoided. I learned some
thing about the variations of the
magnetic compass, and i found that
all the knowledge of navigation l had
gained during years of study could
be applied successfully TO the unfore-
seen problems of navigation i'll the
! most difficult spot on earth.
! Altogether, l feel that this years
! expedition was successful. and that
the knowledge we gained will be of
value to aviation. We built on what
we learned the year before in Green
land. and other attempts will be built
1
only in this way that progress is
made in any science.
Tile South Pole Next?
| And what of the future of Arctic
| exploration in the air? There is so
much left to be done that it is hard to
say Possibly the South Pole. Per
haps a more vigorous thrust into that
UNEMPLOYED region traversed by
Amundsen and Ellsworth, starting
| from base at the north of Green
land or Ellsmere Island. 1 established
two bases On Ellsmere Island last
| year, and one of them has not been
| touched since.
| The South Pole offers perhaps the
most romantic bit of exploration, be-
! cause there is vast unknown conti-
nent. only the edges of which have
been explored, and two narrow paths
to the Pole traversed by Amundsen
| and by Scott, who persisted so glori-
| ously on the way back. 1t is not easy
| to explore by airplane. for although
! the snow rests on solid ground and
does not shift as it does on the Arctic
ice foes. it is 10000 feet in the air
and bitterly cold.
There is this great advantage, how
ever-that bases may be set down at
intervals between tina edge of the con-