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NSF PA/M 99-30 - November 29, 1999

Photos Available: Flight Commemorates 70th Anniversary of First Flight to South Pole

The LC-130 casts a shadow on the ice sheet as it flies over the South Pole. Photo courtesy of Josh Landis/National Science Foundation The Transantarctic Mountains. Byrd had to find a pass through the mountains low enough to reach the Polar plateau. The LC-130, with its higher ceiling, flies over the range. Photo courtesy of Josh Landis/National Science Foundation The flight crew of the LC-130 at the Pole. Photo courtesy of Josh Landis/National Science Foundation The LC-130 on the ground at Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station, unloading supplies. Photo courtesy of Josh Landis/National Science Foundation Byrd's Ford tri-motor aircraft, the "Floyd Bennett," in which he flew over the South Pole Photo courtesy of Byrd Polar Research Center, Ohio State University

Seventy years to the day after Adm. Richard E. Byrd became the first person to fly over the South Pole, a ski-equipped New York Air National Guard LC-130 landed at the National Science Foundation's Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station on Nov. 29, 1999 (local time).

While the destination was the same, the circumstances of the flights were not. Byrd's Ford tri-motor aircraft cruised at a maximum speed of 78.8 knots (90 mph) with a maximum ceiling of 8,000 feet (2438 meters). The turboprop-equipped LC-130 climbs to more than 26,000 feet (7924 meters) and cruises at a speed of 250 knots (287 mph). Because the magnetic pole makes compasses useless, Byrd used sun sightings to navigate. The Guard aircraft use computers, satellite receivers, radar, and a gyroscope.

Byrd did not land at the Pole (which had no station then), but dropped a U.S. flag from his aircraft, "The Floyd Bennett," to prove that he had successfully navigated to 90 degrees south latitude on Nov. 29, 1929. Today, regular Air Guard flights are the only way to resupply Amundsen-Scott Station.

Note to Editors: Digital images of the LC-130 at the South Pole and of the aircraft's New York State-based crew are available at a resolution of 300 dpi.

For more information contact: Peter West (703) 292-8070/pwest@nsf.gov

The cockpit crew of the LC-130.
Left to right: Technical Sgt. Mark Janey, Maj. Paul Sheppard, pilot, and Maj. Craig Roebuck , co-pilot.
Photo courtesy of Josh Landis/National Science Foundation

Richard E. Byrd
Photo courtesy of Byrd Polar Research Center, Ohio State University

 
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