other words, into areas with equal flight line
spacings. These, as well as the theoretical
spacings for 30°/'o overlap, are then plotted
on flight maps.
The guide point for the first run als well as
other conspicuous landmarks along the different
lines of flight, such as lakes, indented coast
lines, river bends, highway crossings, settle
ments etc. are also marked. Thus, every run
is previously “flown“ mentally on the map.
The weather forecast for the territory to be
photographed permits to study the probable
wind conditions, which may be fairly con
stant in some areas according to the seasons.
This permits to select the navigational plot
ting sheets which have been prepared for the
different possibilities, such as turns with head
or tail wind, with “intermediate run“ or ad
ditional “S“ turn. According to the annual
change the isogones are reduced to the date
of the flight and recorded at V2-degree inter
vals along the plotted flight paths. Diagrams,
compass correction tables etc. should be pre
pared and pasted on cardboard of convenient
size for use on board the airplane. A careful
briefing of the entire crew on the intended
mission will substantially contribute to its
success. On the other hand, a discussion of
the results obtained after the completion of the
mission will prove a valuable incentive for fu
ture flights.
The crew of a two-engine photographic
airplane should consist of 4 persons: naviga
tor, pilot, photographer and radio operator.
The duties will be assigned in such manner
that they can be performed dependably and
accurately despite the physical strain of ex
tensive flights at high altitudes. The naviga
tor as captain of the aircraft is responsible
for the control and observation of all naviga
tion instruments; he computes the settings of
the automatic pilot system, flies the turns with
the aid of direction indicator lever and stop
watch, issues instructions to the photographer
and checks all phases of the run. The pilot is
in charge of the engines and the controls of
the airplane, trims the aircraft, sets the auto
matic pilot on the course according to the
data computed by the navigator and con
tinuously checks the statoscope readings so as
to maintain the ship constantly at the same
level. The photographer operates the aerial
camera at a signal from the navigator, cor
rects the drift, the correct intervals of the
consecutive photographs and the vertical po
sition of the camera, and changes the maga
zines according to the readings of the meter
ing mechanism. The radio operator maintains
contact with the ground station, obtains the
bearings for the return trip as soon as the
photoflight is over, acts as steward and is
responsible for the safety of the flight. One
of the most important means for maintain
ing the proper coordination during the entire
trip is the intercommunication telephone.
In particular, the following suggestions
should be observed on photoflights:
Immediately before the start, the wind con
ditions in the higher levels of the target area
should be obtained from the weather station.
This permits to make a preliminary naviga
tional computation during the climb and pro
vides a certain check on the own determination
of wind, which, however, is much more ac
curate. After the correct photographic alti
tude has been reached, the pilot sets the en
gines for optimal r.p.m. so as to ensure a well
balanced flight altitude. This engine speed
remains constant during the entire photogra
phic flight. Measuring and computation of wind
and navigation data will take between 10
and 12 minutes. The filling in of the plotting
sheets will practically eliminate the occuren
ce of errors. Magazines are changed always
at the end of a run. The aircraft continues on
its course beyond the target area until the
photographer has changed the magazines. On
ly then will the ship go into the turn. During
the run, the navigator picks up distant targets
on the line of flight through the prism of the
Lotfe and simultaneously marks those points
on the flight map which have been crossed
and unequivocally identified. Immediately
after the end of the photoflight a record of
the actual flight path is therefore available on
the map, which will greatly facilitate the
matching of the individual photographs at a
later date.
Resalts :
The above described methods have been
employed on photoflights covering a total
area of approximately 300 000 km 2 . On sec
tions covering a total area of approximately
80 000 km 2 , the statistical data on the results
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