Volume 11, 1958 - The Arctic Circle - Home

VOL. XI No.4
THE ARCTIC CIRCULAR
61
In 1958 Mr. Phipps had equipped his aircraft with very
large low.pressure tires ( 5 lb. pressure; 25 X 11 X 4-inch) for
landing on rough terrain. These proved very satisfactory. With
the large tires the cruising speed of the 150 h.p. Lycoming engine
was reduced from 115 m.p.h. to 95 m.p.h. The fuel tanks on the
aircraft normally carry 30 gallons which at the average gasoline
consumption of 6 1/2 gallons per ho\\r gives a range of about 400
miles. For the flight north an extra fuel tank was added in the
form of a 45-gallon drum, so arranged that fuel could be pumped
into the wing tanks in flight, increasing the range to 1,000 miles.
The take-off run of the aircraft is about 200 feet and the landing
roll is somewhat greater, both distances depending very much on
wind speed. In Canada the aircraft is licensed to carry a
disposable load of 700 pounds.
During the operation radio communication was maintained
between the aircraft and the weather stations at Resolute and Mould
Bay and daily flight plans were filed. In addition a 2-watt radio set
at the base camp permitted intermittent contact with the aircraft
and the weather stations. Emergency and survival equipment was
carried on all flights, which totalled 300 flying hours. The
performance of the aircraft throughout was most satisfactory and
there were no mishaps; on six occasions it became mired on
landing but it seldom sank deeper than the height of the hubs and one
man lifting on the wing strut while the other built a support of rocks
under the tires was sufficient to extricate the machine.
The 300 hours flown include the flight from Carp to
Resolute and return, about 60 hours. Approximately 450 landings
were made du:.-ing the investigation of which about 400 were on
unprepared surfaces, involving 249 different places. One hundred
and sixty of these places were on Melville Island, 29 on Mackenzie
King Island, 27 on Prince Patrick Island, 15 on Borden Island,
10 on Eglinton Island, 4 on Brock Island, 3 on Cameron Island,
and 1 on Emerald Ioland.
Belcher Islands. The geological reconnaissance of these
islands was initiated by G.D. Jackson. His party was flown from
• Moosonee on June 19 in a Canso aircraft of Austin Airways Ltd.,
and brought back in the same manner On September 16. The eastern
part of the Belcher Islands group wa.s examined and also several
I
of the clusters of small islands lying to the north,including the
Bakers Dozen. T;,e party used the services of local Eskimo and
a whale boat but were not able to travel as much as they had hoped