Document created: 31 December 03
Air University Review, May-June
1972
A New 10,000-foot runway is constructed every year for the Military Airlift
Command’s annual participation in Operation Deep Freeze, which supports
The old runway—spread atop 95 inches of ice—softens, melts, cracks, and
drops into the 900-foot-deep waters of
Ice borings determine the actual thickness and provide the signal for the wheeled aircraft to begin their airlift role in resupplying the vast scientific operations in the Antarctic.
In anticipation of this signal, planning for the Military Airlift Command’s participation in Deep Freeze 72 started in spring 1971. Climaxing this planning and staging-out of Quonset Point Naval Air Station, Rhode Island, for the overseas operation and out of Christchurch, New Zealand, for the flights to the ice—the C-141 Starlifters begin their missions in early October and continue until the McMurdo Sound runway is closed down for the year. The life span of the icy airstrip is determined by the weather; a “hot” summer (with temperatures reaching the high 30s) can cause an early closure, as it did in mid-season last year.
On cue, activity at the Antarctic stations blossoms with the milder weather. A tremendous amount of work—experiments and logistics activities in support of these experiments—must be accomplished during the brief four to five months’ respite from Nature’s frigid grip. Pressed into service are icebreakers, tankers, cargo ships, helicopters, bulldozers, electronic vans, generators, and many other vehicles and equipment. In comparison with the overall operation, the Military Airlift Command’s assigned mission is modest. Yet, from an airlift standpoint, MAC’s role is formidable. This year, C-141s were to carry 1700 passengers, with their personal gear, and almost a million pounds of cargo to the ice.
The U.S. Navy, serving as executive agent for the Department of Defense in providing logistic support for the U.S. Antarctic program, has the major role. The U.S. Coast Guard and other government agencies also are involved.
Starting in late September, MAC Starlifter aircrews began their role in Deep
Freeze 72, flying 16 missions from Quonset Point to
From
C-14l major maintenance normally is performed at
The mission route from the
Crews are augmented for the flight to the ice because they are on a turnaround mission with time on the ground—or on the ice—just long enough to offload the cargo, refuel and obtain other basic ground support, take on retrograde cargo, and begin the return flight. The crew includes the aircraft commander and two other pilots, two navigators, engineers, and loadmasters. There is only one especially imposed qualification: the aircraft commander must have participated in a previous flight to the ice. If the aircraft commander has not made a previous flight to the ice, then his initial trip to McMurdo is made under the supervision of an ice-qualified flight examiner.
Grid navigation is required for all flights to McMurdo. The navigators
usually do a little brushing up on grid navigation during the long flight from
The margin for navigational error is slim, for return to
While the flight is over water all the way
from Christchurch to Antarctica, two navigational fixes can be made en route:
the first at Campbell Island, which is about one-third of the overall distance
out of Christchurch; the second at the Balleny Islands, about 200 miles west of
the flight pattern, about midway between the takeoff and landing points. A
radar fix can be made on these islands to check the accuracy of the grid
procedures. And the last 100 miles of the polar flight is within sight of the
shoreline of
Generally, the C-141 is the only aircraft in the sky above 25,000 feet, and the aircrew can select its own altitude without worrying too much about hemispheric separation. Normally, however, the Starlifters are flown down to the ice and back at 37,000 feet, staying at that altitude as long as possible to conserve fuel. Descent is almost always initiated VFR within 75 miles of destination.
Aircrews are enthralled by their first sight of
A navigational landmark of immense gratification to the navigator as it
looms into view is
Pilots freely admit a moment of anxiety as they touch down on the ice, despite repeated assurances from others with experience that there is little difference from regular landings. And it is true, the landings are accomplished without difficulty. The runway, damagingly rough one day and smooth the next, is maintained by efficient Navy ground crews. They continually scrape the rough spots and then “blow” three to four inches of snow back on the 10,000-foot strip. The snow acts as a slowing agent, and full reverse thrust is seldom required to halt the rolling aircraft. In fact, power frequently must be applied to taxi off the runway.
The 10,000-foot runway is more than ample for the landing, the roll, and the
taxiing. A very physical incentive favors keeping the aircraft on the runway:
at the end of the
Exact measurements are taken on the thickness of the ice and on the impact and load effects of the aircraft landing and parking on the ice. The immediate parking area of a fully loaded C-141 is depressed a half inch, according to these measurements; the landing impact causes less of a depression because the ice is thicker in that area.
The flight from
Hq Military Airlift Command
Edward J. Belz is an Information Officer, Military Airlift Command.
After 21 years with a midwestern daily newspaper as reporter and city editor,
he became associated with the Air Force in 1967, first with AFCS and in 1969
with MAC. Mr. Belz attended
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