EXPLORATION BY AIRSHIP 42 1 



airship able to fly on a non-stop flight of ten days at an average speed 

 of 80 to 100 kilometers an hour. In other words with such a ship it 

 would be possible to explore a zone from 19,000 to 24,000 kilometers 

 long. Because of the greater load capacity it would be possible to 

 carry on board a complete scientific laboratory with all the instru- 

 ments and personnel necessary for a thorough investigation of the 

 area to be explored. 



The feasibility of establishing scientific observation stations in 

 the Arctic has often been discussed. Such establishment is possible. 

 The type of large dirigible just referred to could deposit the materials 

 and the personnel, and the station could then keep itself in contact 

 with the rest of the world by means of radio communication or through 

 airplanes. 



Meteorological Conditions for Arctic Flying 



All the advantages of the dirigible hold equally for any region to 

 be explored, be it the Arctic or the Antarctic, innermost Africa or 

 Australia. But with particular reference to polar exploration it is 

 necessary to add something about the meteorological conditions of 

 the regions through which one must fly. 



As far as the Arctic is concerned the general conditions cannot be 

 regarded as unfavorable. It is true that all around the north polar 

 area, and especially over Barents Sea and Bering Strait, low-pressure 

 cyclones with very strong winds are frequent; but it is also true that 

 meteorological conditions over the central polar area itself are general- 

 ly good. This fact had already been observed in the past by Nansen 

 and the Duke of the Abruzzi. In that area there is no record of storms 

 and, what is more important, of electrical storms, which indeed con- 

 stitute the real danger of aerial navigation, especially for dirigibles. 



Another favorable condition for Arctic flying is the continuous 

 daylight of the summer months. The darkness of night is not favorable 

 for observation and is also a depressive moral factor. Even so, I do 

 not believe it is impossible to fly in the Arctic during the polar night. 



FOG 



The real danger of summer flying in the Arctic is the fog. Accord- 

 ing to our experience it is the fog that makes flying dangerous and 

 makes impossible any work of observation and exploration. This 

 was the case in our 46-hour flight from Kings Bay to the northern 

 coast of Alaska, during which time we flew in or over the fog for about 

 16 hours. Happily the fog was low, never over 3000 feet, and it was 

 generally possible to fly over it and avoid the danger of ice incrusta- 

 tions. But according to our experience I believe that in many cases 

 it is possible to fly under the fog when it consists only of a thin layer 



