Pictorial Parade No. 181 - Christchurch: Weathermen Look Up

Short Film (Full Length) – 1966

This 1966 edition of National Film Unit’s magazine slot heads to Christchurch International Airport to explore weather measuring devices being launched there. Helium 'Ghost Balloons' are sent into the sky by an outpost of the United States' National Center for Atmospheric Research. Meanwhile Christchurch weathermen send up hydrogen balloons, read satellite data, and provide a flight plan for a U2 reconnaisance plane from the US Air Force. The pilot’s preflight routine involves breathing pure oxygen to prepare him for the ultrahigh altitude plane’s steep ascent into the sky.

May I also add that helium has a strange effect upon the vocal chords.
– A team member for the US National Center for Atmospheric Research in Christchurch