Kodiak Described As
Challenge To Airmen
CLivittg as we do' in an area
described by some as a leather
laboratory—and by others, as the
"banana belt" of Alaska, we me
not able sometimes to evaluate its
significance as a field of operation
f >r the flyer. The views presented
herewith frtfm the airman’s out
look give cognizance to the fact
that weather and flying are two
vital factors for -training and de
fense. The below article entitled
Texas of the North," is a reprint
from the AirPac Bulletin, official
publication of the Air Force, Pa
cific Fleet, which gives an insight
into the AIRPAC operations here.)
One thousand fifty-seven miles
Northwest of Seattle, Washington,
lies the Island of Kodiak, Alaska—
a center of aviation extremes.
This is the land of the "Midnight
Sun,” heSdquafWs' for Command-1
-ei. Alaskan Sea Frontier and Com
mandant, Seventeenth Naval Dis
4rict—where AIRPAC ■’pilots.+ly f
white the birds staj^bn the ground.
Alaska is the Tefesr-of the tfbrth
for it-is bigge^-uighs* jitore-tth
nsual and ctf&Jtfcgteg than any
••her fahd’under the- If?‘S'.'nag:
Alaska is a land of extremes, all
Oi a-’.rkness, eighty de
*" •> h--' or 80 below. It has the
. .ix uiias and the biggest
.'1—jties. One day an AIRPAC pilot
can clearly see In lountams 200
230 miles away, the next he will
have to fly at 300 feel for 1,000
miles to remain clear of ntavy
cloud conditions.
Alaska must be protected from
the air, for most of her sea lan?s
are choked by the vice-like grip of
pack ice throughout the long wint
er. This is the challsng,; which
AIRPAC’s Alaskan airmen have
met and mast ..red..
I fte Naval Air station ivodiak 13
a challenge in itself for che avia
tion newcomer. Two of its major
runways are obstructed by moun
tains. This invariably means a
downwind landing in minimum
visibility conditions. It is not at all
uncommon for an AIRPAC pilot
to touch down here at a ground
speed of 125 knots—without a tail
book! Once committed for a land
ing at Kodiak there’s no wave-olf.
When a pilot has become just
slightly familiar with the routine,
along comes old man weather to
ice up the runway like a Minne
sota mill pond. Landing a P2V on
aii ice-glazed runway during a stiff
crosswind is like trying to stop a
crack passenger train with your
bare hands.
All experienced -naval aviators
>n the Alaskan area-are constantly
on the alejrt for sudden wind shifts
or severe changes in wind velocity.
It is not at all uncommon to be
holding 20 to 30 degrees drift and
suddenly discover the drift has
dropped to 5 degrees. Compass
variations will change from 6 to
26 degrees during a 6-hour flight.
To the careless pilot th s usually
has a fatal significance
Aaaea to suon problems as these
is the scarcity of suitable airfields.
Imagine yourself planning a flight
of some 800 to 1,000 miles—say
Dallas, Texas, to San Diego, Cali
fornia—with your nearest possible
alternate to be Fallon, Nevada
Mere, airfields are few and far
between. Most flights outbound
• along the Aleutian chain or north
west of Nome are fau*J with such
distance alternates.
Alaska is a weather factory.
Storms generated from the low
j pressure areas along the Aleutian
- chain cause headlines when they
lash the Northern United States—
even aft^r thgyt havfe been drastic- '
ally reduced in* "intensity after |
j _ crossing the Gulf of Alaska, South- j
eastern Alaska and Western Cana- I
l '
da.
At Alaskan airfields the Vollow
Me” jeep will at times get lost in
swiring snow whie leading a taxi
ing aircraft to the takeoff position.
There are winds so violent that
they can tear the rudder olf a
parked plane before it can be tied1
down. The weather is so cold that
an aircraft’s tires must sometimes
be thawed, to remove the flat spots
where the plane’s weight rested.
S'Wn & Equipment
Two things however—skill and
equipment have reduced all this -
from a flying impossibility to a
surmountable difficulty. A1RPAC £
pilots, flying the latest and most ■
(Continued to Page 11)
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