18 April 2017 Grounded Due to Weather

The plane was grounded today because it was too cloudy and the instruments would not be able to get good data. This is a mixed blessing. We are going to Kangerlussuaq (Kanger) early Thursday morning, so the crew gets an extra day to get some maintenance done on the plane, pack, and make arrangements for moving the gear. The weather meeting is held at 6am, so by the time I heard about the cancellation I was already on my way to the hanger. I came back to the room, switched out some gear, and after a brief warm up in the hotel I was back at the hanger to work on the 360 camera. As I said before, this day off gave the crew a chance to do some maintenance, and with the help of Kelly Brunt and John Sontagg, I was able to work on the 360 Camera. I am still trying to master using the camera and they are helping me to figure out how to work with the camera and trouble shoot some areas where it is not functioning the way I would like it to. The camera is not turning on properly. Problems occur with new equipment in the field. It was fun to be able to try and trouble shoot a problem. With the help of Kelly who has experience working out problems in the field we were able to get a better understanding of what may be affecting the camera's performance. Kelly approached the problem using the scientific method. She came up with a hypothesis. Maybe the problem is related to temperature. We started the camera in the cold yesterday and the camera did not turn on. So today we tried it in the warm hanger. The camera is still not working the way we would like it to but at least now we know it is not the cold that is affecting it. It was exciting for me to actually use the scientific method in a field setting and to see that YES scientists really do work this way. At the beginning of every science class that I have ever taught we review the scientific method. It truly is the best way to approach a problem to hopefully find a solution. And as I tell my students, even though the hypothesis might not be accepted, just by testing the hypothesis you still learn something.

The rest of the day consisted of going to the Thule Cultural Center, getting some work done, returning my borrowed movie, and preparing to leave for Kanger. It takes a lot of logistical work to organize everyone to make the move from Thule to Kanger. We have to prepare our own belongings and all of the equipment for the flight. The crew and our personal gear will be flying on the P-3 Orion. There will be a C-130 coming for cargo which includes some science equipment and tools and parts for the airplane. When I went to return the movie, I was surprised to find a craft show. The pieces being sold were hand made by native people and they were gorgeous pieces of art and clothing. I wanted to buy a seal fur hat but there was no way I would ever wear it in Florida. It was gray and black with a red flower on the front. I couldn't take a picture of it, but trust me it was well constructed and looked warm. The Cultural Center was interesting. It was a history of Thule Air Force Base with no explanations. I enjoyed looking at the memorabilia at the center but I don't know what most of it was. There was a cute replica of a dog sled, bunk beds, clocks with times from all over the world, an old office, and stickers from different visitors who have used the base for their missions.

Tonight I am washing clothes and getting ready to head to Kanger on Thursday morning. We have to be packed and ready to go by Wednesday night. There is going to be a crate coming that will carry our luggage to the hangar. Thursday morning we have to check out around 7am and hopefully we will be off and in the air by 10am. It takes a while to get everything packed up and moved. This is not a commercial airport. They have a bag loader machine that is a belt. We put our suitcases on it and it transfers them to the plane. This plane has no baggage holding area. The bags will fly inside the plane with us. Our spacious home in the sky will be slightly crowded for the three hour flight to Kanger. No peanuts, drinks, or movies unless we bring them with us. We will be flying along the coast so I am going to try to get a window seat so I can take some good photos.