A winter's tale - 1963 and 2004
Aerial photos have been an important part of documenting CERN's progress ever since construction of the laboratory began. Some, such as the one on the right, have an interesting history of their own. Roger Anthoine, the first editor of the CERN Courier, was also a qualified pilot and on 23 January 1963 he flew a Piper Super Cub up to an altitude of about 1220 m (about 730 m above CERN) to take some photographs. Here he recalls his flight as pilot/photographer.
"The day was endowed with a crystal-clear atmosphere after a three-day blizzard. I used that particular aircraft because it was possible to open a large side window, thus avoiding the optical distortion caused by Plexiglas panels. The drawback was of course the gale-force freezing wind that was howling in the cockpit. According to my diary, the temperature at ground level was -20 °C and if the laws of meteorology are correct it must have been around -25 °C where I was flying. I should add that the pilot/photographer wore for the occasion two padded army jackets, a leather flight helmet under a woollen balaclava and...one glove, the unprotected hand being used to trigger the shutter of my Rolleiflex 6 x 6 cm camera, which was safely strapped around my neck.
For those who would ask how one can simultaneously operate a camera and a light aeroplane lacking an autopilot, this is no complicated trick, no different from what you do in-flight to adjust maps. All you have to do is to trim the plane level, adjust the power setting, squeeze the stick between the knees and all is set for enough time to aim the camera, press the trigger and reload as required with the Rollei.
In those days air traffic was not as heavy as it is today. Airspace control was also much simpler, however, my notes show that I managed to share the approach with a Caravelle coming into runway 05 at Geneva's Cointrin Airport."
Forty-one years after Roger Anthoine's experience, almost to the day, a helicopter flew around the CERN site on 30 January 2004. The mission was to film CERN for the Swiss television channel TSR, who kindly allowed CERN's photographer Maximilien Brice to hitch a ride to take some stills. Again it was crystal clear and cold, around -10 °C. As a "hitch-hiker", Max had a small aperture through which he could aim his Nikon F5, clasped in his gloveless hands. His photographs, two of which are shown here, reveal how a handful of buildings and a first accelerator have blossomed into an entire machine complex.