NSF PR 98-44 - August 14, 1998
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"Winfly" Heralds Beginning of Antarctic Research Season
Beginning August 20, five flights of a U.S. Air Force
C-141 Starlifter aircraft will bring personnel and
supplies from Christchurch, New Zealand to McMurdo
Station in Antarctica, ending six months of isolation
for the research station. The winter fly-in, or "Winfly,"
sets the stage each year for the United States Antarctic
Program (USAP) austral summer research season. The
USAP is managed by the U.S. National Science Foundation
(NSF).
The flights will bring in 217 people and more than
100,000 pounds of cargo, including supplies, mail,
and fresh fruits and vegetables to McMurdo station.
"The population of the station will double very quickly,"
said Dave Bresnahan, systems manager for operation
and logistics in the NSF's Office of Polar Programs.
"Winfly allows scientists, for whom early observations
are important, to get a head start on the research
season. It also brings in support staff to prepare
the infrastructure for the influx of people who will
arrive in late September and early October."
"Main Body" flights that mark the start of the research
season will begin this year on Tuesday, Sept. 29.
The summer population at McMurdo will reach about
1,000 scientists and support staff until the end of
the season in February when only about 150 people
will remain to spend the long, dark winter. Over the
winter, atmospheric and weather observations are gathered
while upgrades and maintenance work are carried out.
This year's Winfly scientists include some who will
study ozone and seals, as well as provide science
support to prepare for the Cape Roberts Project. This
effort includes researchers from the United States,
New Zealand, Italy, Germany, the United Kingdom, and
Australia to establish a drill rig on the sea ice
and extract sediment cores from the sea floor. The
cores will span a period of 25-70 million years ago
to establish the paleoclimate record.
Winfly flights are scheduled two days apart from August
20-28, leaving Christchurch at 5 a.m. and arriving
at McMurdo at about 10:30 a.m. In the long twilight
and brief daylight, crews will spend several hours
offloading equipment in frigid temperatures (near
-40 degrees F) before the aircraft heads north again.
The C-141 Starlifters are huge, four-engine jets with
up to 11 crewmembers and the ability to carry up to
150 passengers. They are operated by the U.S. Air
Force's 62nd Airlift Wing headquartered at McChord
Air Force Base in Seattle, Washington.
The planes will land on Pegasus Runway, a blue-ice
runway on the Ross Ice Shelf that partially covers
the Ross Sea. Since no flights have used the runway
since February, McMurdo-based crews have been busy
preparing and testing the runway. They have removed
snow and, to ensure the runway is strong enough to
hold the weight of a loaded airplane, dragged a "proof
cart" over it to simulate the landing pressure of
a fully loaded C-141 Starlifter. The steel cart is
loaded with concrete blocks weighing 384,000 pounds,
and rolls on eight actual C-141 tires.
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