<P> Photographic expeditions and geological surveys were undertaken for the duration of that summer, and constant radio communications were maintained with the outside world . After their first winter, their expeditions were resumed, and on November 28, 1929, the first flight to the South Pole and back was launched . Byrd, along with pilot Bernt Balchen, co-pilot / radioman Harold June, and photographer Ashley McKinley, flew the Floyd Bennett to the South Pole and back in 18 hours, 41 minutes . They had difficulty gaining enough altitude, and they had to dump empty gas tanks, as well as their emergency supplies, in order to achieve the altitude of the Polar Plateau, but they were ultimately successful . </P> <P> As a result of his fame, Byrd was promoted to the rank of rear admiral by a special act of Congress on December 21, 1929 . As he was only 41 years old at the time, this promotion made Byrd the youngest admiral in the history of the United States Navy . He is one of only three persons, one being Admiral David Dixon Porter and the other being arctic explorer Donald Baxter MacMillan, known to have been promoted to the rank of rear admiral in the United States Navy without having first held the rank of captain . </P> <P> After a further summer of exploration, the expedition returned to North America on June 18, 1930 . A 19 - year - old American Boy Scout, Paul Allman Siple, was chosen to accompany the expedition . Unlike the 1926 flight, this expedition was honored with the gold medal of the American Geographical Society . This was also seen in the film With Byrd at the South Pole (1930) which covered his trip there . </P> <P> Byrd, by then an internationally recognized, pioneering American polar explorer and aviator, served for a time as Honorary National President (1931--1935) of Pi Gamma Mu, the international honor society in the social sciences . He carried the Society's flag during his first Antarctic expedition to dramatize the spirit of adventure into the unknown, characterizing both the natural and social sciences . </P>

What was the advantage of byrds permanent place