AD-A273 018 Notes on Antarctic Aviation Malcolm Mellor August 1993 ................... ......... ................ ......... ..... ...... .. .... .. .. .. ...... .......... .. :.:....... .. .. .. a .**.*.*..*~.*/o.il B ~ *NN Abstract Antarctic aviation has been evolving for the best part of a century, with regular air operations developing over the past three or four decades. Antarctica is the last continent where aviation still depends almost entirely on expeditionary airfields and *bush flying,' but change seems imminent. This report describes the history of aviation in Antarctica, the types and characteristics of existing and proposed airfield facilities, and the characteristics of aircraft suitable forAntarctic use. It now seems possible for Antarctic aviation to become an extension of mainstream international aviation. The basic requirement is a well-distributed network of hard-surface airfields thatcon be used safely by conventional aircraft, togetherwith good international collaboration. Thetechnical capabilities already exist. Cover: Douglas R4D Que Sera Sera, which made the first South Pole land•,,g on 31 October 1956. (Smithsonian Institution photo no. 4007 1.) The contents of this report are not to be used for advertising or commercial purposes. Citation of brand names does not constitute an official endorsement or approval of the use of such commercial products. For conversion of SI metric units to U.S./British customary units of measurement consult ASTM Standard E380-89a, StandardPractice for Use of the International System of Units, published by the American Society for Testing and Materials, 1916 Race St., Philadelphia, Pa. 19103. CRREL Report 93-14 US Army Corps of Engineers Cold Regions Research & Engineering Laboratory Notes on Antarctic Aviation Malcolm Mellor August 1993 Accesion For NTIS CRA&I DTIC TAB Unannounced E] Justification By Dist, ibution I Availability Codes Avail a:dIor Dist Special Approved for public release; distribution Is unlimited. PREFACE This report was prepared by Dr. Malcolm Mellor, Experimental Engineering Division, U.S. Army Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory, just prior to his death in August 1991. We hope that final efforts to assemble and edit this lengthy and detailed document have not overlooked or created problems normally caught by his keen editorial eye. This report started as a much shorter note and grew, primarily because of Malcolm's long involvement in trafficability and transportation research in polar regions. His early interest in gliders, his experience as a pilot and a designer of snow and ice runways, and his decades of use of specialized aircraft for polar operations account for his enthusiasm in preparing this work. The commentary and perceptions found throughout the text, as well as the many photographs taken by Malcolm, some during his early involvement with the Australian Antarctic program, all reflect his first-hand experience and knowledge. Malcolm is shown here at the controls of a Soviet Ilyushin Il-18D used by the Soviet Antarctic Expedition. This report was prepared as part of CRREL's research and engineering efforts in support of the National Science Foundation's Antarctic Program. m,--"-II CONTENTS Page Preface .................................................................................................................................... ii A bbreviations ........................................................................................................................ viii Introduction ........................................................................................................................... 1 Brief history of A ntarctic aviation ..................................................................................... 1 Early history ..................................................................................................................... 1 W W II to the IGY ............................................................................................................ 6 Post-IG Y ............................................................................................................................ 8 Evolution of equipm ent and facilities ................................................................................ 21 A ircraft .............................................................................................................................. 21 Facilities for takeoff and landing .................................................................................. 23 Navigation and radio com m unication ........................................................................ 28 A viation w eather services .............................................................................................. 30 Flights to and from Antarctica ............................................................................................ 32 D eparture points .............................................................................................................. 32 Ports of entry in Antarctica ........................................................................................... 34 Aircraft in current use ................................................................................................... 37 Types of A ntarctic airfields ................................................................................................. 37 O pen-field landings on snow ....................................................................................... 41 Groom ed skiw ays on deep snow ................................................................................. 41 Runw ays on deep snow fields ....................................................................................... 46 C ompacted snow on hard ice ....................................................................................... 58 Runw ays on snow -free glacier ice ............................................................................... 62 Runw ays on first-year sea ice ....................................................................................... 65 Runw ays on m ulti-year sea ice ..................................................................................... 67 Frozen lakes ...................................................................................................................... 67 Conventional rock-fill runw ays .................................................................................... 70 Rock fill over glacier ice ................................................................................................. 71 M anufactured landing m ats .......................................................................................... 72 Bearing capacity, rutting resistance and surface roughness ......................................... 73 Bearing capacity ............................................................................................................... 73 Rutting resistance ........................................................................................................... 73 Surface roughness ........................................................................................................... 73 Runw ay dim ensions ............................................................................................................. 74 Runw ay length ................................................................................................................ 74 Runw ay w idth ................................................................................................................ 75 Exam ples of A ntarctic airfields .......................................................................................... 76 Groom ed skiw ays on deep snow ................................................................................. 76 Runw ays on deep snow fields ....................................................................................... 79 Compacted snow runw ays on hard ice ........................................................................ 81 Runw ays on snow -free glacier ice ............................................................................... 82 Runw ays on first-year sea ice ...................................................................................... 98 Runw ays on m ulti-year sea ice ...................................................................................... 102 Runw ays on lake ice ........................................................................................................ 102 C onventional rock-fill runw ays .................................................................................... 103 A ircraft for Antarctic operations ........................................................................................ 114 Flights to and from A ntarctica ....................................................................................... 114 Flights w ithin Antarctica ................................................................................................ 119 A ir drops ........................................................................................................................... 120 Aircraft characteristics for A ntarctic w ork .................................................................. 121 H elicopters ........................................................................................................................ 123 Maintenance and service life ........................................................................................