Welcome to "Willy Field"! This is the skiway where several aircraft operate from in Antarctica. Its about a 10 mile drive from McMurdo Station and maintenance folks live out here for 12 hours or longer depending on their shift. The maintenance folks are top notch and I was privileged to work with all of them. They take their job very seriously and always show professionalism. In addition to military LC-130 aircraft, there are also DC-3 and Twin Otter aircraft which are operated by a Canadian company, Kenn Borek Air. The only aircraft that use this runway are those equipped with ski's, all wheeled aircraft land at Pegasus or Phoenix Field.
There is a fire station and a control tower, a dining facility, and every maintenance shop you would have at any Air Force Flight line. There are a few differences in this flightline from back home, first, there isn't a hangar to pull aircraft inside, if there is a need to change a motor or a prop and it's -20, guess what, it gets done outside. Maybe flight controls need to be rigged or a hydraulic line needs to be changed, you guessed it, it ALL gets done outside in very cold weather. The other thing that is different is that fuel isn't delivered to the aircraft via a pump truck. The aircraft actually taxi to the fuel tanks to minimize any potential for a truck/aircraft mishap or a large fuel spill.
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| LC-130 |
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DC-3 Bassler
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| Twin Otters |
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| Mt Erebus (See the cloud of steam coming off the lava pit) |
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| Castle Rock in the distance |
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| Town (Each of the little white huts is a maintenance shop) |
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| Dining Facility |
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| Mt Erebus close up |
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| Nothing out there but ice and mountains for miles and miles |
So, that's a quick tour of Williams Field...stay tuned I'll start posting the various hiking trails and a few pictures from Thanksgiving day, Veterans Day, and Halloween in the next few posts.
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