Table of Contents
| CHAPTER I | |
| The Signal Corps Aviation School at San Diego, California | [7] |
| CHAPTER II | |
| Applied Meteorology for the Aviator | [11] |
| CHAPTER III | |
| Weather Observations from an Airplane | [16] |
| CHAPTER IV | |
| Investigating the Upper Air | [25] |
List of Plates
| Figure No. | Page | ||
| Army airplane gliding to North Island Over U. S. Cruiser “San Diego” | [Frontispiece] | ||
| 1. | Congressional Medal awarded Wright brothers | [33] | |
| 2. | Ascent of sounding balloons at Avalon | [34] | |
| 3. | Meteorograph which made the ascent of July 27, 1913 | [35] | |
| 4. | First flight of airplane carrying two persons | [36] | |
| 5. | Sub-station at Mount Wilson Observatory | [37] | |
| 6. | Type of airplane used in 1911 on North Island | [38] | |
| 7. | Discussing a flight | [39] | |
| 8. | Captain Culver and parachute for determining wind-direction | [40] | |
| 9. | Lieutenant Gorrell, U. S. Infantry, as observer | [41] | |
| 10. | Point Loma from the eastern shore of North Island | [42] | |
| 11. | San Diego, across Spanish Bight, from U. S. Aviation School, at twilight | [43] | |
| 12. | Instructor Brindley and Meteorologist Carpenter in Military Tractor No. 50 | [44] | |
| 13. | Military Tractor No. 50 | [45] | |
| 14. | “Trimming” Tractor No. 50 | [46] | |
| 15. | Military Tractor No. 50 just before leaving the ground | [47] | |
| 16. | San Diego harbor at over two thousand feet altitude | [48] | |
| 17. | San Diego viewed from an altitude of thirty-five hundred feet | [49] | |
| 18. | Military Tractor No. 50 viewed from the ground | [50] | |
| 19. | Flying Squad’s Wind Direction Pennant Tower | [51] | |
| 20. | The Aviation School Motor-Boat “Pronto” | [52] | |
| 21. | U. S. Aviation Field at three thousand feet altitude | [53] | |
| 22. | Repair Shop, U. S. Aviation School, San Diego, Cal. | [54] | |
The Aviator and the
Weather Bureau
CHAPTER I
THE SIGNAL CORPS AVIATION SCHOOL AT SAN DIEGO
History.—The year 1911 marked the beginning of the United States aviation school at San Diego. There is no finer tribute to the equability and general excellence of the climate of southern California than that given in the history of aëronautics. It was here, in 1900, that Chanute completed his early and epoch-making observations of the flight of gulls and pelicans. These contributed largely to the success of the Wright brothers a few years afterward. It was in southern California, six years ago, that Harkness, in an Antoinette, made his record monoplane flight to Tia Juana. San Diego witnessed the flying of the first seaplane, by Curtiss, five years ago. It is in this district that not only the War Department aviation school and a number of commercial flying schools are located, but also one of the large airplane[B] factories in this country.