FlightGlobal.com
Home
Premium
Archive
Video
Images
Forum
Atlas
Blogs
Jobs
Shop
RSS
Email Newsletters
You are in:
Home
Aviation History
1922
1922 - 0282.PDF
miles, going nearly due west from The Pas, crossing Saskeram Lake and then following the Saskatchewan River to within about 20 or 25 miles of the Sipanok Channel, and flying at a height of from 1,000 to 4,000 ft. We were only able in two hours to cover a part of the interior. " I cannot speak too highly of the benefit derived from a flight of this kind in connection with survey work on a project of the magnitude of the proposed Carrot River Triangle Drainage Project, involving as it does an area of from 800,000 to 900,000 acres, a large part of which is practically inac cessible in the summer season on account of the flooded condition of the interior. Much of this district is unsurveyed, and very little information of the topographical features of this section is obtainable without running a traverse survey. From the air you can see the various drainage channels in the interior quite distinctly, and information of this kind would prove of great value in determining to a large extent where it would be necessary to run our interior traverse lines and where lines would not be necessary, thereby saving time and money. Information regarding the timber in the interior could also be obtained. " From my personal experience I feel confident that I obtained more general information of the area covered in the two hours' flight that I made in the air than I could have learned in a month's trip on foot in the late fall or winter when it is only possible to travel in this section." Geodetic Survey in British Columbia.—During the summer of last year Mr. H. F. Lambart, Engineer of the Geodetic Survey Branch, was engaged upon establishing a preliminary triangulation scheme in British Columbia, and with the assistance of seaplanes from the Vancouver Air Station, the work was very greatly facilitated, a considerable saving both in time and expense being effected. In Geodetic Survey operations, one of the main problems is to find means of view ing the country so as to enable the engineer to determine and identify the position of the points constituting his triangulation scheme. To minimise as far as possible the fatigue and loss of time in long excursions over bad country or through almost impassable woods, extension ladders and temporarily erected wooden towers have to be resorted to. One of these, at Norway House, is shown in one of the accompanying illustra tions. By making use of seaplanes, observations could be made rapidly and easily at any point desired, and thus the work was greatly facilitated. We can do no better than note the assistance rendered by seaplanes in the words of Mr. Lambart in a report to the Air Board of Canada:—" Now, through the introduction of the aeroplane [Should have been seaplane, strictly speaking—ED., FLIGHT], " for the first time as far as I know," Mr. Lambart says, "into this class of survey work, we have met with signal success, and estab lished a record not hitherto approached by this Survey. " It is very difficult indeed to give any comparisons that are reliable, as conditions differ so greatly, but we have arrived at some rough, and which we think conservative, conclusions as follows :—Firstly, that the ground covered this summer (300 miles) in the short period from June 1 to the end of August, was three times more than could have been covered by any of the previously known methods; and secondly, that the saving in expense as a direct result of the assistance rendered by aircraft was over twelve thousand dollars. - "Although it is possible the soundness of these conclusions may be disputed, there is, however, no doubt whatever left in my mind as to the certainty that this Survey has secured through one of the most rugged portions of the Dominion a primary system of triangulation which would be difficult to improve without increasing the cost of the ultimate survey beyond all reason. " The greatest benefit has been derived from the recon naissance flights, giving a clear and distinct view of the whole country and making it possible to secure a careful and detailed inspection of the points selected for the stations of the scheme. The information so obtained can hardly be over-estimated, and is not realised until the actual ground work on the stations is taken in hand. " We are earnestly looking forward to a vigorous pursuance of this work next summer with a still greater use of aircraft, and feel confident of being able to turn out final results of the Survey, for the use of the surveyor and engineer in general, years in advance of what would otherwise be possible." Observalim and Photographic Reconnaissance of Mosquito- breeding Areas.—The valuable assistance of seaplanes in materially aiding investigations into the mosquito pest of low-lying swampy areas was strikingly demonstrated in operations carried out from the Vancouver Air Station over sections of the Lower Fraser Valley. B.C. Following are extracts of what Mr. Eric Hearle, Entomologist of the Ento mological Branch of the Department of Agriculture, said in a report submitted to the Air Board :— " I would like to state my appreciation of the courtesy and co-operation that the officials of the Air Board have shown in connection with our investigations of mosquito breeding areas in B.C., and I may say that nothing has helped us to a satisfactory conclusion of our investigations in the Fraser Valley, so much as the observation flights and aerial photo graphs undertaken by the Air Board. " For years there have been demands for an investigation into the mosquito pest of the Fraser Valley, B.C. During bad seasons all outdoor activities have been seriously affected, lumber camps have been obliged to close down, small fruit picking has been much hampered, and great material loss has been incurred through the drop in milk production in the dairy sections. Cases are even on record where cattle have actually succumbed through the attacks of mosquitoes. " For tw5 years efforts were made by various surveys (by auto., on foot, and by boat) to locate and define the position and extent of the various breeding areas (which often ran to many thousand acres). It was found impossible to obtain sufficient data over such an extensive territory, and the value of aerial surveys in this connection presented itself. The results obtained during the present season have justified our expectations, and I am of the conclusion that this is the most feasible method of covering such an extensive territory, where detailed maps are not available. From the observa tion flights and the aerial photographs we have been able to- more or less accurately map the important breeding areas, showing the extent of flooding at 17 ft. 6 ins., and the more extensive flooding at levels where conditions suitable for a serious outbreak occur. " The field notes obtained during the flights, together with the photographs, have enabled us to obtain a comprehensive idea of the Fraser Valleys situation, and have placed us in a position to make concrete recommendations dealing with the control of the pest." Geological Reconnaissance by Air in Northern Ontario.— Another example of the useful work done by seaplanes in Canada is provided by the account of a seaplane flight made by a machine belonging to the Air Board Mobile Unit at Sioux Lookout, Northern Ontario. This flight was made to assist in the geological examination of that district by the Mines Department of the Government of Ontario. Prof. E. L. Bruce, of the Dept. of Mineralogy, was the geologist taken up as observer on this occasion. The nature and importance of the geological information which he was able to obtain from the air in a few hours' flying are set out in a report by Prof. Bruce, from which the following passages are quoted :— " The district lying north of Sioux Lookout is a network of lakes, of which the southern ones drain to Lake Winnipeg, the northern to the Albany River and James Bay. From the railway to Lake St. JosepfTrequired for our survey party, with outfit, four days of travel. By seaplane the distance was made in a little over one hour. . . Most of that district between the railway and Lake St. Joseph is prac tically unmapped, and many large lakes are not shown at all or very imperfectly. Of those shown on Map No. 9A of the Geological Survey of Canada, Green Grass Lake is one of the largest. Its outline is quite different from that on the map. Long Lake lies a considerable distance to the east of Green Grass Lake. The flight did not take us over this, but it was recognisable to the eastward of our course. It is narrower than mapped, and the bend in the middle of the lake is more pronounced than shown. The lakes not shown at all are almost numberless, and vary in size from mere ponds to lakes larger than Green Grass Lake. . . . " Geologically some additions to the previous knowledge of the districts were made, even by this brief aerial examina tion. On map No. 9A of the Geological Survey the district about Green Grass Lake is left uncoloured, indicating lack of geological information. This solid rock is undoubtedly granite. Ridges of that rock were easily recognisable for considerable distances in all directions from the lake during our flight over that part of the area. " These are briefly the observations made during the flight, and they seem to indicate that much time and labour could be saved by using a seaplane for a few days in examining an area such as that about Lake St. Joseph. It would be pos sible in this way to eliminate from ordinary-detailed geological examination the areas of granite which are not important economically, and the areas where the solid rocks are covered by heavy glacial debris. This would leave the geologist more time for the exploration of the areas of promising rocks, and so make it possible to cover larger areas in the field, season." 282
Sign up to
Flight Digital Magazine
Flight Print Magazine
Airline Business Magazine
E-newsletters
RSS
Events
