Northwest History. Aviation 8. Wilkins' Expedition, United States.

• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Published: 1926
• Subjects: blind spot; radio communication; Sweard; Alaska; George H. Wilkins; Australian aviator-explorer; Carl Ben Eielson; Point Barrow; Spitzbergen; north pole; Fairbanks; Robert B. Woolverton; exchange message; Arctic ocean; Northwest; Pacific > History > 20th century; Aviation; Arctic; Arctic Ocean; Eielson; North Pole; Pacific; Wilkins; Barrow; Tundra
• Online Access: http://content.libraries.wsu.edu/cdm/ref/collection/clipping/id/86109

Wilkins And Pilot Preparing For Dash Across “Blind Spot”: Radio Communication Established With Explorers Again Last Night./Hop-Off Across North Pole Set For April 15. WILKINS AND PILOT PREPARING FOR DASH ACROSS "BLIND SPOT'' Radio Communication Established With Explorers Again Last Night HOP-OFF ACROSS NORTH POLE SET FOR APRIL 15. Seward, Alaska, March 21.—(AP)—Captain George H. Wilkins, Australian aviator-explorer, and Lieut. Carl Ben Eielson, his Alaskan pilot, are safe at Point Barrow, preparing for their contemplated flight into the Arctic "blind spot" en route to Spitzbergen on the other side of the north pole. Fears that they had met with disaster Monday at the end of their hazardous 500 mile hop from Fairbanks to Point Barrow were allayed when Wilkins re-established communication with Seward last night. Doubts as to the safety of the adventurers were expressed when Wilkins' radio log of their flight abruptly ended with the words: "Going to land. Going to land." The plane had just passed through a storm and repeated efforts to establish contact with their radio were unsuccessful. Last night Wilkins radioed Captain Robert B. Woolverton, Seward radio officer, saying, "All Okeh." He repeated the message several times then added, "Clear and cold." At this point an amateur radio station began sending on the same wave the Wilkins was using, making further reception impossible. Captain Woolverton said that presumably Wilkins' was not able to get his radio into operation Monday night after his flight and delayed setting it up until last night, as night was the time agreed upon for the exchange of messages. The explorer's radio is the only means of communication between Point Barrow, the most northerly tip of Alaska, and outside points, expcet by a long trek over the frozen tundra. Wilkins and Eielson on their third serial attempt to penetrate the "blind spot" of the Arctic, presumably were beginning to prepare themselves for the rigors of their 2,100 mile flight over the top of the world. They planned to eat during their stay at Barrow, the same kind of food as their emergency rations. The hop-off for Spitzbergen was tentatively set for April 15. Prior to that time they plan to make several short exploratory flights over the Arctic. Wilkins hopes to discover the fabled frozen continent of the north, often reported but never reached by other explorers. He likewise intends to find suitable locations for weather observing stations, study the trend of the upper air currents and the movement of the ice floe and the Arctic ocean.