Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1927-12-18
States Navy Produces First Pilot Charts of Upper Air

at certain points in short intervals.
Data are given of wind conditions at
certain stations at o'clock in the
morning and 8 in the afternoon. which
information is of value to flyers who
journey that way.
Another diagram shows the amount
Of wind increase In nautical miles per
hour for different elevations, ranging
from the surface TO an altitude OF
1000 feet for the North Atlantic. Mid.
die Atlantic. East Gulf and West Gulf
areas. A second graph shows what
this change is for any particular sur
face direction. A third diagram indi-
Gates the angular change in the winds
direction with increasing altitude.
Storm tracks for December are pre-
sented in the form of a 10-year aver
age. both over the United States and
over the Atlantic Ocean, with the aver
age daily movement of storm ex-
pressed in nautical miles. The routes
of travel suggested on the Decerlber
pilot map are south of the great storm
tracks. The average barometric pres
sures over the Atlantic Ocean are pre-
scented graphically in a special insert
chart.
A valuable chartiet. which never has
been published previously. appears on
the back of the December pilot chart
of the North Atlantic atmosphere. The
radio engineers of the Bureau OF En-
gineering and Naval Communications
assisted the Photographic Office in the
preparation of this important chartlet.
1t shows the night and day receptive
range of all the stations within the
area of the pilot chart that broadcast
synoptic weather reports. A careful
study of this chart depicts the rapid
forward progress which radio has
| made in the conquest of worldwide
communication.
| From this and other chartlets may
be studied the problems of the world
weather map, the dream ideal of mod
ern meteorologists. The radio broad
casts at present are in different code.
Confusion and chaos obtain where the
| flying birdman receives weather warn
| ings from the ether which he cannot
decode. The recent international radio
conference which convened in Wash
| ington considered this matter in detail
| and hopes to foster potential uni
versal code and world organization
| for the broadcasting of weather news.
/ THE aviator who flies under present
circumstances from Bermuda to
! the Azores and thence to Lisbon would
4
the ether circulated in American, Ger
man, International and several other
! codes. These many codes now in
! crease the hazards of ong-distance
| flights. The deplorable situation. how
ever. can easily be improved and
standardized by the simultaneous
preparation of all weather data and its
dissemination in one code to the four
corners of the compass. The interna-
tional weather map. which probobly
will be an important eventuality of
| the next decade, will iron" all such
1 wrinkles from the mantle of future
aviation. This international weather
map is needed serely, for there is no
information upon which nations are
more interdependent today than that
| of reliable weather news.
| For the benefit of European aviators
who plan to fly to the United States.
! our naval program i'm pilot chart pro-
ductio-l is presented in brief form 50
that these foreign flyers may know
what charts are completed and avail
able and what others are contemplat.
| ed. Other invaluable features of the
December chart are compass varia-
tions over the North Atlantic as well
as the main lanes of steamship travel.
4 To illustrate the important varia-
tons in wind direction at different
| attitudes, the conditions which exist
at New Orleans, overlooking the Gulf
of Mexico, are notable. At this his
toric river port, which is separated
from the Atlantic only by the Mexican
Gulf, practically no surface winds
blow during December from the south
west quadrant. Southwest and west
erly winds appear and increase in vc.
locity at attitudes ranging from $500
to 5000 feet. At an altitude of 10000
feet no winds are recorded in the
easterly quadrant. while 36 per cent
of the wind comes from the south
west. The prime value of such infor-
| nation to aviators who fly in that vi
cinity is Immediately apparent.
! Before taking off for his hop" to
Mexico Col. Charles Lindbergh spent
several hours at the photographic Of
| flee of the United States Navy study
| ing the new pilot chart of the upper
air over the North Atlantic Ocean and
| gaining familiarity with its mysteries
| which he previously did not under
stand Col. Lindbergh will carry these
pilot charts of the upper air issued
| monthly by the United States Navy in
his future transatlantic trips, and, like
all other seasoned aviators who have
become familiar with the new pilot
| charts, he compliments them highly as
| invaluable contributions TO the adj
vancement of American aeronautics
and the progress of worldwide flying.