Yol xxYr - The Arctic Circle

AIR TRANSPORTATION DEVEIOPMEIfI A\]D TIIE ABSIIC
Kenneth C. Maclure
When ttre Arctj-c Circle was fo:rred in Ottaua thirty years ago, the
revolution in Arctic transportation, vftrerebry aircraft would be
depended on for alnost all long range transportation save the
str-ipping of very hear4y and bulJqr cargo, and a great deal of shorE
range trarsporbation, too, had just begun. It was tn:e that before
World War II a very fel,r long range flights had been made across
the Polar Sea (not all of thgn successful, trcnlerrer) and sna1l bush
plarTes had been making nrcre r:outine flights to a fer^r Arctic settle
nents. But the forrrer had ceased altogether durilg the War, and
tlre relatirrcly static situation il ttre settlenents had neant little
need for nrrre frequent or furproved senrice. Consequently very slour
surface transportation was sti1l the norm for npst.
With peace again, trcnrever, ttte situation was obviously going to
change. In particular ttre gr@t developnents in aircraft and tfieir
equignent wlrich had occurred during and because of the War, resulting
in rm-rch larger and fa-ster aircraft witJ: far greater ranges and
weight-canlzing abilit1r, were going to be adapted to civil use as
quickly as possible. It sesred 1ike1y that no region stood to benefit
nrere frcm these advances than the sparsely-settled northlands of ttre
worId.
If one looks bacJ< ncrar at ttre further advances tlnt have taken place,
and whictr have had major ingncts on tr4an-in-theArctic, one notes
the develoEnents in snall aircraft giving then greatly irncroved re-
Iiability and perfornrance in tlre Arctic erlironnent, the advent, rapid
developnent and wide r:se of the helicopter in the NorLh, the vast
irrprorrcnents to large cargo aircraft and ttreir value to Arctic o