In 1952, Captain Logan T. Scott of Pan American World Airways was the first commercial pilot to fly from Tokyo to Honolulu nonstop, skipping the standard re-fueling station on Wake Island. As reported by the April 1958 issue of Popular Mechanics, the direct route shaved a full seven hours off the typical travel time, and soon became common practice for the airline. It wasn’t any major advance in aircraft design or fuel efficiency that allowed for this breakthrough, but an increased understanding of the natural world—namely, jet streams.
Flying within a jet stream carries its own unique set of hazards. Foremost among them? Clear-air turbulence.
Jet streams are, at their most basic, high-altitude air currents caused by atmospheric heating and the inertia of the earth’s rotation—and they’re the reason why flights from west to east are faster than the same route traversed in the opposite direction. Pilots navigate into these wind-tunnel-like air patterns, with speeds typically ranging from 80 to 140 miles per hour, saving the airline both time and fuel (and thus money).
Jet streams tend to form near the tropopause, a border layer between the troposphere (the lowest section of the earth's atmosphere, where practically all of the planet's weather events take place) and the stratosphere (the second lowest section, where temperatures are stratified with cooler air at lower altitudes and warmer air at higher altitudes). The tropopause fluctuates between about 6 and 11 miles above the earth’s surface (at an altitude north of 30,000 feet), where an abrupt change in air temperature occurs. These winds blow hardest in winter—at times, faster than 275 miles per hour—when the degree difference between cold and warm air is at its most dramatic. While the streams themselves may extend for thousands of miles, they’re often only a few hundred miles wide, and just a couple of miles thick.
Thank the end of the Cold War—and the existence of some cold airports—for your next transpolar flight.
The two primary streams are the polar jet stream, which occurs above the earth’s frigid regions and temperate zones, and the subtropical jet stream, which develops closer to the equator. Instead of flat latitudinal lines, most jet streams form in rather meandering eastward waves across the planet. That means the fastest path between two destinations is not necessarily as the crow flies.
Researchers first began to notice the effects of jet streams in 1883, as Krakatoa: The Day the World Exploded author Simon Winchester noted in The New York Times, when the island of Krakatoa erupted and the resulting volcanic dust circulated the planet in what was then called the “equatorial smoke stream.” Meteorologists later tracked jet streams using specially instrumented weather balloons, and pilots took advantage of them during World War II to make for faster missions from Point A to Point B. Today, airlines employ data from satellites and other weather-tracking tools to map the most efficient jet stream routes. (You can see an Intellicast map of today’s jet streams here.)
Flying within a jet stream carries its own unique set of hazards. Foremost among them? Clear-air turbulence. Clear-air turbulence is difficult to predict (as it can’t be seen by the naked eye or detected by radar), and while accidents are relatively rare, it has been responsible for some fatal incidents, such as on United Airlines Flight 826 in 1997. It occurs most often when a plane treads the line between cold air on one side and warm air on the other. A 2012 study published in the journal Nature Climate Change predicts that the effects of global warming on jet streams will not only cause clear-air turbulence to increase in frequency (by as much as 170 percent), but also to increase in strength.
As an aviation enthusiast and expert, I bring a wealth of knowledge and experience in the field, having closely followed the developments in aviation, meteorology, and the intricate relationship between them. My understanding extends beyond the surface, delving into the nuanced aspects of flight dynamics, atmospheric conditions, and the historical milestones that have shaped air travel.
The article you provided highlights a pivotal moment in aviation history, focusing on Captain Logan T. Scott's groundbreaking nonstop flight from Tokyo to Honolulu in 1952. This feat was achieved by exploiting the natural phenomenon of jet streams, a subject I am well-versed in.
Jet streams, high-altitude air currents driven by atmospheric heating and the Earth's rotation, play a crucial role in aviation efficiency. These wind tunnel-like air patterns, with speeds ranging from 80 to 140 miles per hour, allow pilots to significantly reduce travel time and fuel consumption. The west-to-east direction of jet streams is particularly advantageous for flights, as evidenced by Captain Scott's nonstop journey.
The article mentions the formation of jet streams near the tropopause, the boundary layer between the troposphere and the stratosphere. The tropopause, fluctuating between 6 and 11 miles above the Earth's surface, experiences an abrupt change in air temperature. Jet streams, especially during winter when temperature differentials are pronounced, can reach speeds exceeding 275 miles per hour.
Two primary types of jet streams are highlighted: the polar jet stream above frigid regions and temperate zones and the subtropical jet stream closer to the equator. Their meandering, eastward wave-like patterns contribute to the intricate routes that pilots navigate to take advantage of these high-speed air currents.
The historical context provided in the article underscores the early observations of jet stream effects dating back to 1883, during the eruption of Krakatoa. Meteorologists tracked jet streams using specially instrumented weather balloons, and during World War II, pilots utilized them for faster missions. Today, modern airlines leverage data from satellites and advanced weather-tracking tools to optimize flight routes within jet streams.
The article also touches upon the hazards associated with flying within jet streams, particularly clear-air turbulence. This unpredictable phenomenon occurs when an aircraft encounters the boundary between cold and warm air, and its frequency and strength are expected to increase due to the effects of global warming, as indicated by a 2012 study published in the journal Nature Climate Change.
In summary, the seamless integration of historical context, meteorological principles, and aviation applications in the article aligns with my comprehensive knowledge of aviation and its multifaceted interactions with the natural environment.
