ANNIVeRSARY AIR SHow! - Royal New Zealand Air Force

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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”.
celebrating 75 Years of service to new Zealand LAuncHinG our Air Force AnniVersArY A special event was held at Parliament on 14 March, to officially recognise the Air Force’s 75th Anniversary, and launch the series of events that are being held to celebrate this. The evening included a video message from our Air commodore in chief, His Royal Highness the Prince of wales, an opening speech from the Minister of defence, remarks by the chief of Air Force and the launch of the new stamp collection, the specially minted silver coin, and our new official history. A fanfare, by the trumpeters of the central band of the RNZAF, announced the arrival of the official party. First, was the video message from our Air commodore in chief. His Royal Highness had, just two days before, recorded a special message to the men and women of the RNZAF to commemorate our 75th Anniversary and this was played at the Parliamentary event. The Minister of defence, Hon dr Jonathan coleman, and the Minister for Arts, culture & Heritage, Hon chris Finlayson, were present. In his speech, dr coleman highlighted the new purchases for the RNZAF; he noted that he had flown in one of our new A109 helicopters for the first time, just the day before. He was very complimentary of the history of the RNZAF and noted that our Air Force has a bright future. Air Vice-Marshal Stockwell said that the night was the first major event of our 75th Anniversary celebrations. “we are honoured to have so many distinguished guests with us tonight. This evening we officially launch the RNZAF 75th Anniversary book, as well as the commemorative stamp and coin collection.” He concluded his remarks by saying that the RNZAF vision is we will be ready, resilient and respected. “Not only is this a forward-looking vision to guide us into the future, but it has also been evident throughout our 75 year history.” Margaret Mcclure spoke of the new book, Fighting Spirit: 75 years of the RNZAF [see page 30]. She mentioned some of the heroic deeds of our past, notably SGT James ward Vc, as well as remarking on the resilience of the Air Force in the wake of organisational and financial challenges in recent decades. both the author and the chief of the Air Force acknowledged the support of Random House, the publishers, and the RNZAF History board, chaired by AVM John Hamilton, who made ‘sterling efforts’ to facilitate the new history. The chief executive of NZ Post, Mr brian Roche, introduced the stamp and coin collection, which showcases the Air Force’s history from the early Tiger Moths to our most modern helicopter, the NH90. The stamp collection vividly illustrates the RNZAF’s past, present and immediate future. The assembled guests and their hosts enjoyed a lively and fulfilling evening; it was an auspicious start to our anniversary celebrations. AVM Stockwell with dr coleman, Margaret Mcclure and brian Roche Air Force news 17
Page 1 and 2: ANNIVeRSARY AIR SHow! FIGHTING SPIR
Page 3 and 4: First word First Word By Air Vice-M
Page 5 and 6: The chief of defence Force has laun
Page 7 and 8: Rear Admiral Steer, VcdF and AVM St
Page 9 and 10: SECoND P-3K2 ACCEPTED on 16 March P
Page 11 and 12: The tail of Hercules NZ7004 checker
Page 13 and 14: Air Movements personnel at work: lA
Page 15: Antarctica seen from a c-130 cockpi
Page 19 and 20: wwI dogfight; the Fokker dVII ( r)
Page 21 and 22: The c-17 on a slow pass with flaps
Page 23 and 24: A No.3 Sqn Iroquois is crowded with
Page 25 and 26: one of the warbird stars of the RNZ
Page 27 and 28: y simon gault ThunDER MuSTAnG! why
Page 29 and 30: Air Force Photographers corporals b
Page 31 and 32: dUMbo dIARY, RoYAl New ZeAlANd AIR
Page 33 and 34: y FlTlT lee bradford RNZAF personne
Page 35 and 36: Activity camps for young offenders.
Page 37 and 38: Avionics Pirates meet a watery end
Page 39 and 40: The 75 Years of the RNZAF stamp iss

ANNIVeRSARY AIR SHow! - Royal New Zealand Air Force

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