A Flight to the Arctic Circle

There are 5 major lines of latitude that circle the earth:

·       The Equator

·       The Arctic Circle

·       The Antarctic Circle

·       The Tropic of Caner

·       The Tropic or Capricorn

On a flight from San Francisco to Hong Kong the flight plan had us going on a more northerly route to go around strong headwinds. At a moment in time, the route of flight reached an unusually high latitude of 66º30’00” north, only a few seconds flight time from the Arctic Circle (66º33’44”).

For Epoch 2010, the Arctic Circle is the parallel of latitude in the Northern Hemisphere that runs 66º33’44” north of the Equator. The reason I say for 2010 is because the position of the Arctic Circle is not fixed, but directly depends on the Earth's axial tilt which fluctuates within a margin of 2° over a 40,000 year period due to tidal forces resulting from the orbit of the Moon. The Arctic Circle is currently drifting northwards at a speed of about 49 feet (15 meters) per year.

The region north of this circle is known as the Arctic, the equivalent polar circle in the Southern Hemisphere is called the Antarctic Circle.

As we flew for hours and hours, and as far as we could see, there was nothing but ice, ice and more ice. Not a sign of human, plant or animal life for thousands of miles.

Even though we are on constant vigilance for a safe flight, our vigilance was heighten because one of our added concerns is where to put this big-ole jumbo jet in the unlikely event we have to make an emergency landing. Our first choice was not on the ice, our second choice was not on the ice, so we stayed mentally aware of our options in the unlikely event of an unplanned stop while this far from civilization.

The climate of the Arctic is mostly long cold winters and short cool summers. Some parts of the Arctic are covered by ice (sea ice, glacial ice, or snow) all year-round, and nearly all parts of the Arctic experience long periods with some form of ice on the surface.

Average January temperatures range from about −40 to 0 °C (−40 to +32 °F). Winter temperatures can drop below −50 °C (−58 °F) over large parts of the Arctic. Average July temperatures range from about −10 to +10 °C (14 to 50 °F), with some land areas occasionally exceeding 30 °C (86 °F) in summer.

Little did anyone know or could have imagined that while all 397 passengers at 35,000 feet were snuggled inside this hermetically sealed homeostatic eco friendly aerospace vehicle, in the comfort of movies, food, beverages and a dreamy temperature of 74 ºF, less than 6 inches from their window seat was a blistering, staggering temperature of minus 65º C (minus 85º F).

So how cold is -65º C (-85º F)?

At about -78º C (-108º F), CO₂ (Carbon Dioxide), becomes a solid. INSTANTLY. This solid is popularly known as dry ice.

While transiting the Arctic region in your aerospace vehicle, the air approximately 6 inches from your arm is almost cold enough to turn Carbon Dioxide to dry ice. Now that’s cold!

This temperature is so cold, it will make your mother say…. Boooyow! Well not really, just joking, but on the serious side, this temperature is so cold that:

Because of these colder winter temperatures, there are special aircraft procedures, concerns and considerations while flying in this environment.

The Arctic consists of an ocean that is mostly surrounded by land. Therefore, the climate of much of the Arctic is moderated by the ocean water, which can never have a temperature below 28 °F (−2 °C). In winter, this relatively warm water, even though covered by the polar ice pack, keeps the North Pole from being the coldest place in the Northern Hemisphere, and it is also part of the reason that Antarctica is so much colder than the Arctic.

The Arctic Circle marks the southern extremity of the polar day (24-hour sunlit day, often referred to as the "midnight sun" at the June solstice) and polar night (24-hour sunless night at the December solstice). North of the Arctic Circle, the sun is above the horizon for 24 continuous hours at least once per year and below the horizon for 24 continuous hours at least once per year.

Relatively few people live north of the Arctic Circle due to the Arctic climate. The three largest communities above the Arctic Circle are situated in Russia: Murmansk (population 325,100), Norilsk (135,000), and Vorkuta (85,000).

Tromsø, Norway has about 62,000 inhabitants. In contrast, the largest North American community north of the circle, Barrow, Alaska, has approximately 4,000 inhabitants. Rovaniemi, Finland), which lies slightly south of the line, has a population of approximately 58,000, and is the largest settlement in the immediate vicinity of the Arctic Circle.

The Arctic Circle passes through the Arctic Ocean, the Scandinavian Peninsula, North Asia, Northern America and Greenland. The land on the Arctic Circle is divided among eight countries: the United States, Canada, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Russia, Greenland, and Iceland.

So let’s make this more interesting, conversely, the outside temperature of an engine is near -65º C (-85º F), a few feet away from this extreme cold turns 4 humongous Pratt & Whitney engines that keep this nearly 1 million pound airplane flying. Inside these engines comfortably rests the opposite blistering temperature of 300-400º C (572-752º F)…. Hot! Hot! Hot!

Because your safety is our concern, every time I fly this heavy metal, I sez to myself….. I really, really thank Boeing, Airbus and all the other aircraft manufactures, their very smart engineers and scientists, the FAA and governments around the world that have procedures, limits and requirements in place to ensure that these 2 extreme temperatures can co-exist very close to each other at the same time to safely get you and your loved ones to your destination. And to all the other aviation professionals and un-seen heroes that also comply and ensure these procedures are enforced to get you from A – B safely, I say thanks.

Every time I make these flights around the world (about  3-4 times a month for many, many years), I’m still impressed by how well this big-ole piece of metal hurls itself around the world, lands thousands of miles away, re-stocks and in less than a few hours makes a return flight home again and again and again.

In your private place, the place you go to have a time out, the place you go to chill for a moment, try to imagine the logistics, training and coordination it takes to safely fly this aerospace vehicle over 3-4 countries that all speak a different language, around thunderstorms and then land in the early morning sunrise or midnight hour…. You would be amazed and impressed to see what we make seem so normal and matter of fact.

The next time you get a chance to say hi to one of these guys or girl in that very secure cockpit that take you on this 15 hour non-stop flight, or even a 20 minute flight, give them a smile, say hey, say thanks.

We know sometimes mother nature is not so cooperative or understanding, but if we don't takeoff or land or cancel, we understand it may interfere with your well thought out, anticipated, long wanted and needed expensive plans, but we do the things we do for you, for you safety.

Flyboyzs