EXPLORATION BY AIRCRAFT 385 



With expert meteorological advice it is possible to fly in the Arctic 

 during the summer, in spite of unfavorable weather conditions. For 

 example, though there is fog in the summer in the region covered by 

 Peary's explorations, it is, from time to time, possible to start out 

 there with a reasonable assurance that the weather will remain good 

 for twenty-four hours; yet, even when fog is encountered, it is fre- 

 quently in spots, and the navigator can soon learn the peculiarities 

 of this kind of fog and fly in spite of it. The "spottiness" of this fog 

 would be far more apparent to the flier than it would be to the foot 

 traveler. 



Take-Offs and Landings in the Arctic in Summer 



In most parts of the Arctic in summer it seems preferable to fly 

 from the water, with flying boats or pontooned planes. The land is 

 generally too rough to fly from, and, though a field for take-ofifs might 



k, . 



Fig. 2 — Character of ice-cap surface of Greenland suitable for landing of planes (after Peary). 



be cleared, a forced landing away from home would very likely find 

 the pilot with no landing place below him, and a wrecked plane would 

 be the result. 



When flying in the summer, north of where the ice begins, there 

 are occasional open spaces of water where landings can be made. 

 Over the Arctic Sea open leads seem to occur with varying frequency, 

 depending on the location, and over land-locked harbors, bays, and 

 fiords there is sometimes open water at the foot of glaciers, for there 

 is a tendency for the wind to blow down the glacier and so to force the 

 ice away from its foot. The tide and winds, of course, make occasional 

 leads in harbor and bay ice, but these may close up with great rapidity. 



It is not possible to land on the summer ice because the snow is 

 largely melted, leaving the old ice rough. It looks smooth from a few 

 hundred feet, as do the rolling fields of snow. Indeed, it is sometimes 

 almost impossible to see from the air the rough or rolling spots in a 

 snow field that might cause a plane to crash on landing. Rough spots 

 frequently appear smooth. Snow is most deceptive from an altitude. 



