Control of aircraft during sampling operations required exactness

and” pilot coordination considerably above the level of otherwise competent
pilots,

According to Mr. Paul W. Cuthals of Los Alamos,

Pilots with the ability to succeed in sampling missions .

were difficult to find.

It was necessary for them to be adept

at piloting ander unusual, dangerous, and difficult conditions,

Additionally, they had to possess the ability to receive radioed

instractions,-make taped recordings of instrument readings, be

alert for excessive radiation and a myriad of other details

simultaneously.

I remember during the OAK event, a field grade officer
command pilot, volunteered to get an early sample
It was his first-sampling mission, As he entered
the cloud,
in a normal voice, reported an "R" reading of 30. -In rapid

*
hey

succession his "R*® reading reports came over the radio~-each

report higher in radiation intensity and each report in a
.
voice of higher pitch. As his instruments. passed 100 roentgens
per hour readings, his voice was pitched so high that it didn't

seem possible that a man was transmitting.

Of all the sampling pilots employed, to my knowledge,

was the only one who was not a command pilot.

Most pilots with less experience and proven ability were simply
overwhelmed~-so badly that they could not -fimction satisface
torily--by the awesomeness of the cloud interior,.

Sampler pilots and controllers found detailed requirements and methods

given in "Control and Sampling Procedures for Eager Beaver Aircrafts?
Tey found instructions for air filters used, the bags for collecting
gas samples, and a discussion of water samples in "Sampling Methods «24
These instructions were incorporated in operation planning for the squadron,

In 1953, an earlier approach to determining yield was directed toward
the collection of valuable material from the cotaminated aircraft itself,

In this test, scientists sealed the decontamination pod with a plastic

compound, washed the contaminated aircraft with citric acid soluticas,

213

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