386 POLAR PROBLEMS 



If landings are to be made in the water for scientific work on the 

 land it touches, it is advisable to use the amphibian plane that has, 

 in addition to its pontoon or boat, wheels that can be let down so that 

 the plane can be beached. Even if there is an ice foot around the bay 

 or fiord, it is generally possible to find an opening in the ice foot. 



In the summer the snow high up on the glaciers or high land is 

 firm enough to land on with skis or a boat. With the exception of its 

 soft stretches of snow, there are many places on the Greenland ice 

 cap suitable for landings (Fig. 2), 



Of course, a multi-motored plane that will fly with one motor dead 

 is preferable to the one-engined plane because of the greater factor 

 of safety from forced landings. 



There is no reason why the Arctic navigator should not fly at any 

 altitude he desires up to 10,000 feet. He can use shutters to regulate 

 the air that gets to his motors and so keep them at any desired tem- 

 perature. For any but long flights, he need not be caught in storms, 

 with an efificient aerologist to call upon for weather prognostications. 



Flying Conditions in the Antarctic 



Apparently there would be more hazard from storms in the Ant- 

 arctic regions than in the Arctic, because the spring and summer 

 storms there sometimes reach great intensity, and not only would it 

 be very dangerous to fly in them, but there would be a likelihood of 

 the airplane being blown about by the winds when on the ground. 

 Skis would have to be used when flying inland even in the summer, 

 because snow seems to cover a large part of the Antarctic Continent, 

 and the land is probably too rough anyhow for landing with wheels. 

 On the routes that may be flown across the Antarctic Continent there 

 would probably be many places where planes could land. 



It would therefore seem inadvisable to make long flights in the 

 Antarctic, it being more practicable, if possible of accomplishment, to 

 advance by bases — say, one base every 200 miles. That would de- 

 crease the hazard. In view of the absence of life in the interior of the 

 Antarctic Continent, it would be impossible to live off the country, 

 and, in case of a forced landing 500 miles or more from the base, it 

 probably would be likewise impossible for two or three men to pull on 

 a sledge enough food and other equipment necessary to get back safely. 



For flying around the edge of the Antarctic Continent an amphibian 

 type of plane would be desirable. 



Relative Functions of Arctic Exploration by 

 Aircraft and by Sledge 



Temperatures of areas distant from the base can be obtained by 

 the airplane, but these can only be taken when meteorological con- 



