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Aviation History
1938
1938 - 0018.PDF
FLIGHT. JANUARY 6, 1938. 1IGHT FORECAST METEOROLOGICALh 1 |Scn B i TIME 1 WEA \ do i CICr 1 CLD : TORS : VIS : WIND j 2ooc/ ! 5000' i I0O0O i iciNQ \ Loaho : REMARKS j 1300 : chart 20. 30 Llgbt showers 8-10 Se. & Cb. 1000-2003 rt. eooo rt. 6-12 ml. SO dog 7-l£ Si. 310 12-17 310 25-30 310 £5-20 3006-9000 rt. In cloud alight i I ir s- J) •MMm light abowers 0-10 5c. & CD. 500-1000 ft. 8000 ft. 6-12 ml. 300 dog 10-15 310 20-25 310 25-30 310 25-50 L.3OO-9OOO ft in clouJ moderate A deep depression is central a across the course at 43 W. and course SERVICE OF S 3 S tf? Zone 8 OS cloudy 5-4 Ac. £000-3000 ft. 9000 ft. 12-31 ml. J00 15-20 310 ib-30 300 30-35 300 30-35 6000-iOOO ft. In cloud onderate o * A 4 CANADA __J \^\iU Zone 7 .40 0. overcast S-10 Sc. it Cb. 4-5 Ac. lnc to 100-iOO 1 1^000 ft. 6-12 ml. 263 25-30 290 30-35 300 35-40 300 30-40 6000-9000 ft. in cloud moderate course at 40 •. moderate etiotreri •t cold front. 58 N. 50 V. and la coving slowly is oovlo£ east 25-30 m.p.b. A veai oorta oaCK- ZOnfl 6 30 o; partly cloudy 3-4 Sc. 3-4 ic. .1000-2000 ft. 9000 rt. 6-12 ml. 220 £8-33 220 30-35 230 35-40 240 35-40 nil rougQ ROUTE &-A : Z. oy)C b .16 03 partly cloudy S-4 V-C. 3-4 Ac. 2000-3000 ft. 9000 ft. 12-31 ml. 220 20-25 230 25-30 240 30-35 250 30-35 nil rougn Sfcn A : .38 : partly cloudy • 3.1 Ac. : 20O0-30O0 ft. : 9000 ft. • 12-31 ai. : 230 15-20 : 240 25-30 = £50 25-30 • 250 25-30 : nil : moder&te • and filling. A cold front rron tao centre lies : Dent occlueion will lie entirely anove the ; A typical meteorologicalinformation sheet han- ded to the pilot before de-parture on one of the Atlantic crossings. Thediagrammatic map is divided into differentareas, for which the con- ditions are duly given inthe typed table. The amount of recording andforecast work involved in the compilation ofthe sheet may well be imagined. flight, and the results thus obtained, coupled with the eye readings from the strut psychro- meter and ':he pilots' observations, gave the only definite informa- tion available on the structure of the "fronts" moving out over the Atlantic, the associated icing con- ditions and cloud sys- tems. The information from these ascents, to- gether with weather and pilot balloon re- ports, were transmitted daily to Foynes, Port Washington, Montreal and the Head Office in Toronto. The combined staffs were faced with a strenuous task in get- ting everything in shape tor the summer's pro- gramme. The receiving rnd transmitting of the meteorological data alone proved a formid- able task with the equipment available. The demands of the meteorological officers increased hourly until, on the eve of the first flight, between 10,000 and 12,000 words of meteorological information were being handled daily. Half of this was received in the form of broadcast collective messages from Arlington, Rugby, Louisberg, Julianehaab and Norddeich. The other half was in point-to-point communication with Foynes, St. Huberts, Port Washington and North-We?,t River. The broadcast meteos and communications with St. Huberts and North-West River were handled on three receivers and a key in the meteorological office; the remain- der were dealt with in the wireless receiving building. Communication between this building and the meteorologi- cal office was still limited to a boy on a bicycle, but the dis- tance was now only slightly over five hundred yards. Radio Co'Operation An account of the troubles experienced in the establish- ing of the necessary wireless schedules, which reached a maximum of fifty-three per -day exclusive of air-to-land communication, with the dawn effects in the early morning schedules with St. Huberts, in the northern lights and their effects on short waves, and with skip distances would be out of place here. But without the untiring efforts of the Botwood wireless staff and the full co-operation of all the stations involved, the meteorological office would have been seriously handicapped by lack of information. The meteorological data collected, comprising over ninety per cent, of the total traffic handled by the wireless sta- tion, provided the material for four weather maps per day, each covering the region from the Pacific Coast of North America to the Eastern boundaries of Europe and from latitude Twenty North to Northern Greenland, two aero- logical maps of North America, and various upper air charts and forms. Part of this information, consisting of a selected list of American station reports and ship reports, was relayed four times daily to Foynes. The first test of this organisation came on June 27. On the 26th a twenty-four-hour notice of departure was received from Clipper III for a flight from Port Washington to Botwood via Shediac, leaving at 12.00 G.M.T. on June 27. At 10.00 on the 27th a weather report for Botwood and a flight forecast for the route Shediac to Botwood was despatched to Port Washington. At 11.00, and every hour thereafter, on the hour, a Bofwood weather report was sent to the machine. With the fourth of these the Botwood upper wind report was included and fifteen minutes before the machine was due at Botwood the landing report was sent. In return, the crew sent hourly weather reports and these were checked step by step with the forecasts. Clipper HI left Port Washington at 11.35 G.M.T. and, after a stop of one and a half hours at Shediac, arrived in Botwood at 22.21. The return flight on the 29th was con- ducted on similar lines. The round trip ran very smoothly and, as was to be expected, brought to light a few weak links in the organisation. These faults were quickly removed and the necessary revision of schedules made. The complete test began on July 3 when Clipper HI left Port Washington for her first Atlantic crossing. The trip to Botwood was uneventful. All schedules were satisfac- torily maintained and the machine covered the route, in-
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