Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-06-08


the Arctic can compare. am sure, with
the feeling Of awe with which one f1rst
looks upon the mountains OF Antarctlca.
Rising as they do from the sea on the
fiat plain of the Barrier only few feet
above sea level, they leap into the air
are approached by foothillS; not so many
of these great peaks. They spring
abruptly out of the plain. and $50 miles
away one can see them gllStenlng IN
their jeweled splendor.
1t was over these mountains that we
had to fly. While we puzzled over fg-
ures. estimating load and plane per-
Torrance, juggling the whole complex
| problem of how to make plane 90
what it could not do, Sea-level flight
would have been easy. And yet think
every one of us rather looked forward
to that struggle up the mountains and
wondered what it would bring forth.
Gets Pictorial Record.
We were not willing to leave Capt.
Mckinley behind. With his great aerial
camera, films, food and trail equipments,
| there was just enough extra weight to
make the loading problem. But would
not be able to look my scientific friends
in the face had we not brought back a
pictorial record Of every mile OF that
flight.
WLbIh al OuI tuiCuld1AOAlo Jul posoooSC
over fhe mountains proved tight
squesS And l can still feel the plane
slipping at the top of its climb and feel
| 1t ride as food was thrown over and the
plane just topped the divide and
Strengthened out toward the Pole.
Polar Weather.
| Aside from these physical differences
between the Arctic and Antarctic, which
had so much to do with our flying in
both regions, the other most important
governing factor was the weather. We
| found that in both places the weather
| is clearer and flying more possible in
the Spring, before the warm winds of
| Summer churn up the air and form
| fog and low clouds. When we went
| north on our second trip-the North
Pole venture-we arrived there early in
the Spring, for the Gulf Stream opens
up an avenue of approach to the Arctic
Ocean such as does not exist in the
South. In the latter part of April we
were able to reach SpitZbergen, which
corresponds roughly with the latitude
of Little America in the south, without
meeting any ice worthy of being called
a pack. The weather was ideal, calm
and clear. There, as in the South, we
found that an upper-air drift from the
Arctic Ocean cleared the air. But as
soon as the warmer weather arrived fog
covered the sea- A few days after our
North Pole flight was made atmospheric
conditions would have blocked our
attempt.
This condition of fog and low clouds
also occurred in the South whenever
there was a wind from the north off
the sea, even though it might be high
UP. We went down there with the idea
that the air flowed IN toward the Pole
several miles above the earth and then
flowed out again. but the meteorolo-
gists soon found that this was not nee
esSarily the case. Sometimes such con-
ditions existed but they generally were
accompanied by clouds which obscured
the horizon and kept the planes ground
ed In the early Spring, while 1t was
still too cold to fly, the drift was al
most steadily from the South and the
air was clear. AS the season progressed
it was learned that flying could be done
only when there was a drift from the
southwark several miles high, and as
soon as 1t was checked, or the upper
air was reversed, clouds again formed.
So all flights were made early in the
season and only when balloon sound
ings showed q high Southerly drift.
Sky Was Obscured.
On several occasions, both after the
polar fight and the flight to the north
east, the sky was obscured by shift
of wind within a short time after the
plane landed. To those who are used
to flying over the dark surface of fields
or woods, this obstacle OF clouds may
seem somewhat overrated, but in the
polar regions, particularly in the Ant
arctic, where the surface below Is white.
clouds cause SO much diffusion OF light
that the surface cannot be seen, the
horizon is invisible, and one never
L. Ar, lfok L.
meter, which Is subject to barometric
change, just how far the plane is above
| the ground So 1t can be seen that
clear weather Is of paramount tmpor-
lance in both polar regions when flying
is being done, and in both places the
clearest weather is early in the year.
| This is the reason that it Is necessary
to stay in the Antarctic over the Win
ter in order to do any extended geo.
graphical work by airplane, for in the
early Spring the land Is inaccessible be-
cause of its rim of pack ice. BY giving
thought to polar flying and exercising
patience, flights can be made with
reasonable chance of success. OF course,
an engine failure would 9 times out of
10 be bad. But carelessness or slip
shod methods in the south polar re-
| gion are almost certain to end disas-
trously. The flying seems easy, but a
] ASS "a NAANASAS AAAeAoS 6N AAAtO N0NAA AAASAAS
Haines' Great Part.
This calls to my mind the very great
contribution William Haines made to
/ four Of our f1ightS-the North and
South Pole and the base laying and
eastern flight of exploration in Ant
arctica. Polar weather conditions are
tricky, and Haines had no scattered
weather stations to give him reports.
Yet on all four of these flights we had
sunshine all the way. Had Haines hesi-
tated in making his decision, those
flights would have been failures and
possible tragedies, for he selected the
only periods where the weather was
| possible. So 1t will be seen that things
were not SO simple and certain as they
seemed. All honor to William Haines.
He had great responsibility. For eX-
ample, should We arrive at Little Amer
lea with that bowl of milk visibility that
we so often got. we could not have
landed without cracking up. With the
same conditions at the mountains we
could not have put down our base.
| One can exist either in the Arctic or
the Antarctic without much dif1lculty
IL sufficient preparation has been made.
| There is more fresh food in the Arctic;
at least animal life exists there on the
shores of the Polar Sea during the en-
tire year, whereas in the Antarctic
! there is never any life that SoJourns
there during the Winter months. But
one can live in the Antarctic with Sc
curity and health, in which respect it
differs from the jungle; but it is not a
place where one can tread without
warineSS and without adequate prepa-
ration. Like aviation, one small error
may bring tragedy. Here. again. If I'M
properly prepared, death may be the
penalty.
Little America Comforts.
| We were less uncomf fort a ble in the