FORECASTING FOR FLIGHT OPERATIONS 



1. Forecasting for helicopter operations is difficult at the best. 

 For ideal operations the weather should be CAVU. Since this 

 condition seldom exists in the Antarctic and much of the opera- 

 tion depends on helicopters, the aerological officer will be con- 

 stantly asked, "Is it safe to fly?" To answer this query necessi- 

 tates constant observations of the weather elements. Every effort 

 must be made by the forecaster to be one jump ahead of the 

 weather and not hesitate to advise the pilot to return to the ship 

 if the weather appears to be closing in. 



2. Too much cannot be said for the need of flight instruments 

 in helicopters. Equipped as they are now, a pilot is nearly help- 

 less when caught in an antarctic white-out. This is a condition of 

 low stratus blending into a solid ice field, producing a situation 

 where the horizon cannot be determined, and where the pilot has 

 no depth of perception. The aerological officer must be es- 

 pecially cautious on days where a low stratus deck persists at 

 1,500 to 2,500 feet and a fight is to be made over an unbroken 

 ice field. From the ship, visibility will appear very good, and 

 conditions favorable, with icebergs and dark objects showing up 

 very well. However, soon after takeoff, as the pilot proceeds out 

 over the ice field, he may encounter a situation where only flat ice 

 extends ahead of him. When dark objects, such as open water 

 leads, icebergs, or ridges in the ice do not exist, the pilot is un- 

 able to determine the horizon. The ice and clouds seem to blend 

 together and it is impossible to distinguish the point where one 

 begins and the other ends. 



The combination of light glare in the atmosphere, uniform 

 clouds, and uniform surface all rendering the same color, con- 

 stitute the ivhite-out. Task Force 39 lost one helicopter due to 

 this phenomenon. The pilot said, "It was like flying inside a 

 bottle full of milk. I was so confused and so lost, it was actually 

 a relief when we hit the ground." 



GENERAL 



1. The Antarctic Front is subject to wave disturbances in the 

 exact manner and under the same conditions as those of polar 

 fronts in the northern hemisphere. Waves forming on the Ant- 

 arctic Front to the westward of the Ross Sea area generally move 

 rapidly eastward as an open wave, then slow and occlude in the 

 vicinity of Scott Island. The wave will then veer to the south- 



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