Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-11-29
BYRD HURDLES MOUNTAIN WALL
IN JOURNEY TO POLAR PLATEAU
Jagged Peaks Jut to Over 10000 Feet, Ris-
! ing AbrnptlyFrom 66 Feet Above
Sea Level In 5O-Mile Stretch.

perfect conditions, q cloudless sky and
winds from the south, which generally
means clear weather and good visibility.
and with a favorable report from the
geological party, the sky may be over
cast in an hour.
That matter of southerly winds also
bears on the flight. Winds from the
north. which would be tail winds on
the way in, bring with them warmer
air and moisture from the sea and cover
the sky with canopy of cloud. South
erly winds, which usually clear the air.
are head winds during the time when
the plane is most heavily loaded.
So perfect wind condition cannot
be found. 1t was supposed before the
balloon soundingS of the upper air dur
ing the past months that q favorable
northerly wind would be encountered at
high altitude, but even II increased
fuel consumption and decreased speed
did not forbid climbing to and flying
at such height it has been found that
the Southerly drifts which clear the air
frequently extend upward for two or
three miles or even further =
But, to return to the general weather
problem, Comdr Byrd thinks that the
chances Of making a flight directly
and back to the inland base are just
about even.
Sudden BIanketing of Fog.
The rapidity with which the weather
changes here Is almost inconceivable
to those who have not experienced 1t.
Why such sudden changes taken place
is still one of the mysteries Of meteorol-
ogy. But they do occur.
A clear sky from which the sun shines
down warmly on a sharply defined
snowscape of dazzling white may change
IN moment. Even as one looks the
air becomes opaque. Thicker and
thicker the blanket of mist forms, until
in a few minutes 1t obscures the sun
and hides the barrier surface in q
| fllmy veil which blends snow and sky
The horizon vanishes.
A pilot caught in such a predicament
is helpless. The pilots here say that it
is worse than flying blind in any fog
| at home. There some shadows show
where the earth lies below, but here are
no shadows, and what is sky and what
is earth is impossible to tell.
One seems flying in a gray void as
! if the world were not. There Is no
earth. only the instruments which show
that the plane is on a level keel assure
the pilot that somewhere beneath him
Is something solid. But his altimeter
! gives him only a rough estimate of how
far below him the surface may be- for
the altimeter 'eads from sea level.
If he knows approximately the eleva-
ton of the surface beneath him. he
may feel his way down, stalling, stalling
downward in expectation of feeling q
crashing jar as skis touch the surface.
And then it Is In the lap of the gods
whether he finishes right side up.
Such conditions, of course, are ex-
| IRENE, but they must be anticipated
and they show how important it is to
choose the besSpossible day for q flight
and, If bad weather Is encountered dur
ing the flight, to wait on the way until
it clears
Billiards come up with astonishing
suddenneSs. One day recently q big
blizzard appeared in a very short time
At noon the sun. was shining so warmly
that one could walk around outdoors
without cap or gloves and not be
uncomfortable. There was not q breath
of air. An hour later the sky was over
cast and it began to blow, gently al
first In a short time it was blowing
20 miles an hour and the snow was
drifting thickly.
Peril Of Motor Failure.
One of the greatest dangers on the
flight Is motor failure. So long as the
550-horsepower motor In the nose Of
the plane keeps turning it will provide
sufficient power over the plateau tc
make up for the failure Of one of the
smaller wing motors, particularly as the
load will have decreased considerably
by this time
If the big motor quits, gasoline will
be dumped and the pane may be abe
to maintain altitude and stagger Out
over the edge Of the plateau. This rea-
son, and for survey work, 1t is probable
that the flight over the plateau will be
made at the maximum service ceiling
of the plane which will give the great
est margin of safety in case Of long
stretched-out glide.
! And, paradoxically enough, the nearer
to the Pole motor failure occurs on the
way in, the greater is the chance OF
flying out, because of the reduced fuel
| load.
1t is even possible that If the plane
were forced down to the surface of the
plateau it could be TAXED for q long
way toward home, reducing By that
much the distance to be walked, man.
hauling a sled.
But the chances are that the motors
will hum merrily all the way, as they
did on the North Pole flight, the trans
atlantic flight and the transpacific
flight of the Southern Cross. Three
moeored planes have a good record of
reliability.
However. this polar flight is not so
simple as it might appear.
If it Is successful it will be only be-
cause all possible conditions have been
anticipated.
(Copyright. 1929. by the New. York. Times
! Co. and the St Louis Post-Dispatch. All
rights for publication reserved throughout
/ the worldly