INTRODUCTION

The total solar eclipse of 23 November 2003 poses somevery challenging logistical problems in organizing an observing expedition. The total phase of the eclipse becomes visible at sunrise at a latitudeof 52.5 degrees S, southwest of Australia, then moves southward towardthe Antarctic, and traverses the continent from approximately longitudes80E to 15E. The weather on the Antarctic coast at that time of year isoften cloudy, accompanied by high winds. Accessibility to, and mobilityin, the path of totality on the continent is severely limited. The inlandplateau is generally inaccessible along the path.  Some have optedto secure the use of a Russian ice breaker for transport and/or shipboardobservation.  Additionally, a ground-based expedition to the RussianAntarctic station at Novolazarevskaya, very close to the end of the eclipsepath and sunset, is planned. I certainly wish all those who are optingfor either of these very exciting endeavors the very best of luck. But, for many, the costs are high, the duration of travel (for the sea-basedexpedition) is very long, and while some limited cloud-escaping mobilityis possible, success is still questionable as ice fog, white-out, and coastalcloud can be more the rule than the exception.

For some, such as myself, it appeared quite some timeago  that the most viable option for observing the Total Solar Eclipseof 23 November 2003 would be fromthe air.   Having successfully planned and carried outtwo previous airborne eclipse observations (03October 1986 and 30June 1992), over the past two years I have worked toward the goalof developing a viable flight option for the 23 November 2003 eclipse. During that time numerous concepts and considerations ebbedand flowed, until a concrete path manifested itself in the form ofCroydon Travel in Melbourne, Australia.
 

The Eclipse Flight(s)

"Tourist" flights over the Antarctic are implemented ona regular basis by CryodonTravel, an Australian based company. Croydon periodically chartersa Boeing 747-400 aircraft from QANTAS for this purpose, and has done sowith great success 40 times over the past decade. Some time ago I beganimposing myself on Phil Asker (managing director for Croydon Travel) asto the consideration of the concept of combining an Antarctic sightseeingflight with an eclipse flight under a "shared use" plan, for economic viability,but structured and dedicated to enable and optimize a high-altitude airborneobservation of the 23 November 2003 total solar eclipse. Following a meetingwith Phil in Melbourne in December 2002, that concept matured into an offeringfor a flight dedicated eclipse flight, supplemented with (and by) Antarctic"sightseeing".  Croydon's usual Antarctic flights are carried outfully subscribed (or very nearly so) and implement a "seat rotation plan"to provide low-altitude viewing opportunities of Antarctica to all on board. For the 23 November 2003 flight, eclipse observers will have exclusiveuse of the sunside windows to conduct their observations during a dedicatedhigh-altitude eclipse-intercept phase of the flight.  This shareduse of the aircraft enables the flight at a cost to eclipse-chasers whichis substantially less than would otherwise be the case.  Though theaircraft will have such a dual purpose, the flight is specifically designedwith the eclipse intercept at the forefront, and no compromises in thatregard have been made in the implementation of this plan.  Havinga non-conflicting Antarctic sightseeing segment of the flight, subsidizesthe cost to eclipse chasers, who would otherwise have to pay (and sharethe costs) of an aircraft flying to/from the Antarctic with a very smallpassenger load.

The Cryodon/QANTAS eclipse flight will depart from Melbourne,and after flying to Antarctica will engage in sightseeing along the Antarcticcoast for about two and a half hours before breaking off for the eclipseintercept and observation.

It has been my privilege to server in a technical role,planning the details of the eclipse portion of that flight (example). In doing so I have been working and corresponding with QANTAS flight operationspersonnel, who have been keenly interested, receptive, and responsive tothis concept.  This includes, in particular,  Cpt. John Dennis,senior check captain for the QANTAS 747 fleet, who will be in command ofthe eclipse flight.  In a recent (March 2003) meeting in Los Angeles,I met with Cpt. Dennis to review and discuss the flight requirements aswe worked through many of the operational and logistical details to movetoward a specific implementation plan.  This also included how bestto utilize and interface the operation of EFLIGHT,which has been integral in planning the mission, in situ to permit a fullyoptimized "totality run" in response to real-time in-flight conditions. In July, I met again with Cpt. Dennis, this time in Sydney, Australia,where he very successfully "dry ran" the "totality run" and eclipse interceptin a three hour session in the QANTAS Boeing 747-400 simulator. While thereis more work to be done, we are well past "issues" and now working on dottingthe "is" and crossing the "t" for the final form of in-flight operationalprocedures.

• Click HEREfor Frequently Asked Questions regarding technical details of the Croydon/QANTASeclipse flight and the 23 Nov 2003 total solar eclipse.

• Click HEREfor information regarding the charter from Croydon.

Subsequent to the development of the Croydon/QANTAS flight,and my commitment to it, I was contacted by Sky & Telescope to assistin the planning of a second eclipse flight, using a Lan Chile Airbus A340from Punta Arenas, Chile.  This too went through some earlyiterative thinking, but has now matured into a definitive flight conceptwhich is being offered through TravelQuest. It has been my pleasure to work with them and Cpt. Hans Fueslocher in doingso, and acting as a point-of-contact between the two flights to help assuremutual success in a non-interfering manner.

• Click HERE for a schematicmap and additional information on both the Croydon/QANTAS and Sky&Telescope/LanChileflight plans.