This information was originally compiled and placed on the Internet by the Blackberry Bramble Network, a group of community people and educators who worked to network the local schools with telecommunications and teach technical skills through the medium of creating a database of Humboldt County natural and social history. It is presented here to continue its availability on the Internet.
 
THERMAL FOG-DISPERSAL, HIGH PRESSURE SYSTEM

BY

DAVE ZEBO, DIRECTOR

DEPARTMENT OF AVIATION

HUMBOLDT COUNTY

AUGUST 16, 1957


TABLE OF CONTENTS

FOREWORD........................ii

REFERENCES......................iii

INTRODUCTION ...................1

THE FOG REMOVAL PROBLEM.........4

TEST INSTALLATIONS AT ARCATA....7

THE BURNER .....................9

HIGH-PRESSURE PUMPING STATION...13

FUEL DISTRIBUTION LINES.........15

APPROACH ZONE EXTENSIONS........16

NORMAL FIDO OPERATIONS..........17

COMMERCIAL FIDO OPERATIONS......19

CONCLUSIONS ....................21


FOREWORD

The writer, having lived on the base during 1947-1948, and in close contact with the FIDO operations during the ensuing years, wishes to acknowledge the source of technical information contained in this paper. During the years of experiments at the Landing Aids Experiment Station - Arcata, California - reports dealing with the operation of the base and it's Fog-Dispersal system were compiled. It was not possible to determine the exact authorship of some individual reports; but, considered as a whole, credit belongs to Dale H. Hutchison, Robert L. Champion, and Vance Gudmundsen, stationed on the base during the experimental days. Most facts concerning FIDO and it's operation have been drawn from these reports and the references listed on the next page. The writer wishes gratefully to acknowledge these sources.

1.LAES Annual Progress Report,1946, Fog Dispersal Department

2.LAES Annual Progress Report,1947, Fog Dispersal Department

3.LAES Annual Progress Report,1948, Fog Dispersal Department

4.LAES Thermal Fog Dispersal Manual, 1950



INTRODUCTION

In 1946, after years of research, fog finally succumbed to the ingenuity of man. FIDO (Fog, Intensive Dispersal Of), created during World War II, has given man a certain amount of control over the weather. Before the entry of the United States in the conflict, Great Britain found that the exigencies of war necessitated a device which would enable bombing missions to take off and land under heavy fog conditions. This task was assigned to the Petroleum Warfare Department of Great Britain, which pioneered in the development of FIDO.

FIDO was the first used by the United States when the Seabees built a FIDO installation on Amchitka in the Aleutians in April, 1944. Lack of fog was never a problem in the Aleutians. The actual building installation of the system was a considerable problem. Small lakes had to be drained and filled, bulldozers which had all but disappeared in the tundra and muskeg had to be rescued and reserviced, and supports for burners had to be found. All in all, it was a construction problem which tested even the ingenuity of the Seabees.

Finally the system was installed and tested several times. Those who had scoffed at and scorned the project became converts. On July 25, 1944, just before dawn, the burners were ignited, and the fog lifted from zero-zero weather conditions so that the sky became visible. A Navy PBY-5A took off and disappeared into the fog. The plane then made a normal instrument approach and broke into the clear at 150 feet over the runway. After this successful take-off and landing, the Army C-47 made two take-offs and landings with FIDO. Again in August of the same year, when President Roosevelt was visiting the Aleutian area, all stations with patrol planes were fogbound. FIDO was lighted and six PBY-5A's took off to fly anti-submarine patrol.

The success of the Amchitka installation indicated a need for additional experimental work emphasizing efficiency and economy. A Landing Aids Experimental Program was established under the sponsorship of the Landing Aids Section, Maintenance Division, Bureau of Aeronautics, and was under the command of Commander J. P. Lunger and Commander R. L. Champion. The war was still in progress at this time, and the immediate goal was the development of equipment suitable for the use in the islands north of Japan for aircraft operations from that area. After the pressure of war was removed, the experimental work was continued, and it was closely observed by flying interests in the United States, Canada, and England. In addition to the work of the Navy, several large universities made contributions to the program through National Defense Research contracts. During the stateside experimentation, the Naval Auxiliary Air Station at Arcata, California, was chosen for experimental work because of its high incidence of fog. The station was an ideal site, situated on a bluff rising abruptly 200 feet above the surf. The warm, moist air from the semi-permanent eastern Pacific cell of high pressure becomes fog-laden as it moves eastward over the cold California current, and this fog pours over the bluff onto the airfield in a thick mass. This station had the added advantage of having no hazards, either natural or artificial, in the vicinity of the field, a condition allowing for excellent blind-flying operations.