Getting Organized -19- 



GROUND OPERATIONS 



In addition to the flight program, the Operations Group had the re- 

 sponsibility for conducting numerous operations on the ground. These 

 operations were of two kinds: photography and silver iodide seeding. 



When it became apparent that such operations would be necessary as 

 part of the project from time to time, a system of numbering each operation 

 was established. A record of all the numbered ground operations was main- 

 tained by the Operations Group, and a tabulation from this record is attached 

 as Appendix III. 



WEATHER STATION 



Weather observation being essential to operations of the type carried 

 on by Project Cirrus, one of the first steps to be taken by the Operations 

 Group was to set up a complete weather -observing station as part of the fa- 

 cilities at the General Electric hangar. Daily radio contact was established 

 with the Weather Equipment Flight Test Facility at Middletown, Pennsylvania, 

 and circuits for weather teletype services were installed. 



The primary requirements of the weather station were agreed to be as 

 follows: 



1. Preparation of aerological flight data prior to take-off 

 on flight tests . 



2. Gathering of data to supplement that obtained in the air 

 on seeding missions, gathered after the flight for the area 

 concerned during the time of test. 



3. Co-operating with the Research Group in its study of weather- 

 analyzing instruments and test flights, and supplying it with 

 such special weather reports as needed for analyzing purposes. 



In order to meet these requirements, the Weather Station performed 

 the following functions: 



1. Daily small-cloud maps were prepared of conditions dur- 

 ing the last hour before take-off on test flights, covering 

 an area having a radius of 200 miles from the Schenectady 

 County Airport. 



2. Daily flights were made to record the air conditions up 

 to 8000 feet above the airport. 



