ANNIVeRSARY AIR SHow! - Royal New Zealand Air Force

The ice runway; note that
a cross wind is blowing!
boeing Flight
by FlTlT Nathan barrack
The boeings’ ice season finished successfully with their last
flight of three to the Ice, in early March. our last flight to and
from Pegasus (one of the Ice runways) this summer season
was done during a small window of forecast good weather.
The crew had to manage their available crew duty time while
also taking into consideration the impending Antarctic night,
the dwindling support on the ice, and forecast bad weather on
the horizon. everything aligned however, and the mission was
completed.
our boeing Ice operations start with high-level meetings
months before, to sort out the number of flights and available
flying hours for supporting the US Antarctic Program and
Antarctic New Zealand. our ice and cold weather survival
training, along with weather and procedures briefs has to
be fitted in, while the Squadron’s other commitments are
met—No. 40 is a busy squadron that always seems to have
many tasks on the go.
A few clever individuals within boeing Flight have created a
rigid planning cycle worksheet, to minimise possible errors on
the day of each ice flight. Flight plans are run the night before
a flight, so that only a re-run is required at 0500 in the morning
when heads may be groggy. our planning spreadsheets are
then combined with Jeppesens ‘jetplans’ to provide us with
a fuel graph based on forecast winds. This graph is then used
to plot the actual fuel burns against the predicted burn, and
allows us to come up with the all important Point of Safe
Return (PSR).
Antarctic weather is notoriously difficult to predict, and this
16 Air Force news
NZ7571 and its crew bring the 75th
Anniversary message to the Ice
The b757 is still new
to ice operations;
we first proved
the boeing could
operate there in
2009... however,
there are many
rules and limits in
place to ensure we
are operating safely
and as efficiently as
possible.
is one of the reasons for our weather limits. Not meeting our
weather criteria approaching PSR is the most common reason
for turning around and flying all the way home (which is a 7 hour
round trip using approximately 24 tonnes of fuel on the b757).
Flying to the ice with no alternate runway or airfield
available, often feels like the forecasters are trying to lure
us into some kind of a trap! but of course the forecasters are
trying hard too, yet the fact is that the weather can change
rapidly with little warning.
The b757 is still new to ice operations; we first proved the
boeing could operate there in 2009. but many had thought
sending a civilian-type airliner to Antarctica was ridiculous.
However, there are many rules and limits in place to ensure we
are operating safely and as efficiently as possible.
even though we have an auto pilot, unlimited coffee and
delicious treats being passed forward by the flight stewards at
all times—being awake for such long days takes its toll. early
morning planning, monitoring the weather, the fuel and the
flight’s progress, all combine to be very tiring. we have rest
facilities onboard which extend our crew duty period out to 20
hours. This enables us to delay in the morning, if the weather
isn’t looking great, and attempt a take off later in the day.
cross winds combined with a slippery ice runway at -15ºc
can make for challenging landings. However the aircraft seems
to enjoy the cold turnarounds, but I imagine an overnight stop
for the b757 with blowing snow would be different!
we don’t have as many years of experience with the b757 as
we have with the Hercules—and we don’t have as many engines
either! Yet I have no doubt that we are likely to see more use of
the boeings in this role after another successful season for us
down to “The Ice”.