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Helicopters |
  Petroleum Helicopters Inc. (PHI) of Lafayette, Louisiana, in 1996 won a
competitively bid contract from the NSF to provide
McMurdo-based helicopter operations as a part of the
planned withdrawal of the U.S. Navy from Antarctica. The
first austral summer season of operation was 1996-1997.
The contractor provides four commercial
helicopters–three AS350B2 Squirrels and one Bell 212
civilian Huey. The Squirrels are smaller than the Huey,
carrying half the passengers and 60 percent of the
maximum cargo load, but have an altitude and airspeed
advantage over the medium-lift Huey.Right: PHI helicopter being unloaded from AirForce C-5 Transport on the sea-ice runway near McMurdo station |
    1997 Office of Polar Programs |