Clear Lines-of-Sight From Aircraft

An in-flight observation program to collect observations of the presence, or absence, of clear lines-of-sight at several angles in the vertical plane has been completed. Approximately 72,000 observations were collected over a period of about 15 months. Observations were taken by flight crews of the Air Force, Navy, and Pan American Airways. Data were obtained over most of the Northern Hemisphere, except the area from 30 degrees E to 110 degrees E. All observations taken within a 10 deg latitude-longitude sector were grouped together by altitude and season. The relative frequency of a clear line-of-sight is plotted in the appropriate area on maps for various lines-of-sight. The number of observations on which the relative frequency is based is shown in parentheses. The relative frequencies are intended to serve as estimates of the probabilities of clear lines-of-sight. These estimates should be considered as a first approximation since, (a) the observations were taken in a very subjective manner, (b) the estimates are based only on about one season of data, and (c) cloud variability may be quite large within some 10 degree sectors.