Ernie's Antarctic Adventure

The US Antarctic Program is run by the National Science Foundation with a conglomeration of many countries' scientists studying Antarctica.

Headquarters hanger in Christ Church New Zealand

Some put the steering wheel on the wrong side! ;)

Antarctica out the pilot's window

Chilly & bright on the ice
and it's evening!

That's actually a volcano in the background! On Antarctica! And we're on a glacier!

The guys and I (left, standing) on the "ICE"
By the way, this is 1:30AM (yup, in the morning). Bright as could be.
Interesting how the Earth's rotation keeps the daylight flowing.

Big Wheels!

Draggin the fuel hose

How's this for a fire truck?

Little did I know that there are at least 5 sizes of penguins on Antarctica, the Empire Penguin can be 4ft tall!

Cool! How many postmarks do ya see from the South Pole?
Should have had a penguin stamp, but hey, we went to Libertly Island this year too!

Here's the story:

March Reservists Make Historic Landing in Antarctica.
When an Air Force Reserve Command C-141C cargo plane touched down in Antarctica Jan. 29, the event not only marked the command’s first Operation Deep Freeze mission of 2002 but also a new approach to landing on the frozen continent. A Reserve air crew from March Air Reserve Base, Calif., made the first-ever landing on a compacted snow runway near McMurdo Station at about 10:30 p.m. local time. The combined crew from March’s 4th Air Force and 452nd Air Mobility Wing delivered 102 passengers, from a variety of nations, along with 20,500 pounds of cargo for the National Science Foundation’s U.S. Antarctic Program. “When we landed, it was about 10:30 at night, but it was more like an afternoon,” said Maj. Mike Hames, the pilot who was at the controls for the landing. “The temperature, for Antarctica, was a balmy 14 degrees with clear skies and a lot of sunshine. It was just like the middle of the afternoon.” Reserve and active-duty crews have been landing on the hard ice runway known as Pegasus for several years, according to Lt. Col. Kelly Curtis, overall mission commander from the 452nd AMW. “What’s new about this one (landing) is the fact that they put about six inches of dry snow and super-compacted it so it becomes bonded with the ice,” he said. “This provides a 2- to 3-inch insulation cover for the ice when the sun angle gets significant, so they don’t have any melting that will degrade the continuity of the ice surface to land on.” Curtis said C-141s and other large aircraft have restrictions on how much loose snow and ice can be on a runway because flying snow can cause structural damage, tearing off components and ripping holes in the aircraft’s skin. “There was a concern about the integrity (of the runway) — whether the compressed, compacted snow would hold up,” Curtis said. But Curtis said everything seemed to go very well. “The first crew that went in had nothing but good things to say about the runway,” he said. “They said it was actually a smoother, better surface to operate on, and the braking was good, so everyone was thrilled with the test.” Landing on the ice is becoming old hat for one of the aircraft’s flight engineers, Senior Master Sgt. Rick “Rock” Binkley from 4th Air Force. With 66 missions to Antarctica under his belt, it has gotten to the point that most members of the support ground crews recognize his face. But waiting for Binkley at Pegasus was one of the most familiar faces he’s ever seen: his 23-year-old son, Rick Jr., who works for Raytheon in Antarctica. “When we landed and got off the airplane, I saw my son right away,” Binkley said. “He was walking across the ramp. It was really great to see him. We had a good conversation and a good visit.” On the return flight to Christchurch, New Zealand, staging area for Operation Deep Freeze missions to McMurdo Station, the March reservists carried 89 passengers and 20,900 pounds of cargo. Reserve crews were scheduled to fly another 12 missions into and out of Pegasus during a 30-day window. About 70 reservists from March deployed to Christchurch in support of Operation Deep Freeze. Most of them worked out of Christchurch for two-week periods.

(AFRC News Service from a 4th Air Force news release)

Ref: http://www.afrc.af.mil/hq/citamn/apr02/roundthereserve.html#story#3