From Air Force Magazine: It’s that time again. As the Northern Hemisphere experiences shorter days and colder weather, the Southern Hemisphere is moving towards summer. This is when research activity really begins to pick up around Antarctica. The 109th’s ability to operate off snow makes them invaluable for moving supplies and people around the continent. They operate the largest aircraft in the world routinely using skis. From Brian Everstine’s report:
The 109th predominantly flies support for the National Science Foundation. The wing’s year is split between Antarctic operations and training, both at home and in Greenland, where they practice snow operations. The NSF has a presence in Greenland that the unit supports, but the bulk of the Greenland flying is training.
There are not that many LC-130s, but the mission they serve is important. If you are looking for climate research coming out of Antarctica and Greenland, odds are the 109th’s support makes it possible. They are kept busy.
While deployed to Antarctica, crews maintain 24-hour operations with day and night crews. Getting there takes about a week, ferrying from New York, to the West Coast, to Hawaii, on to Christchurch, N.Z., and then on to McMurdo Station. The deployment is unique because of the personnel the unit flies: scientists in the back of the C-130 instead of soldiers. Sometimes they also carry VIPs. For James, her very first flight to the South Pole, on her first deployment, had a special VIP: her dad, who once was a pilot and now works with the NSF, she said.
The 8-bladed props are a real plus for the wing — they give improved take-off performance. Operations in the center of Greenland have them taking off from ski ways at about 10,000 feet above sea level; the new props mean they can do it without the rocket assist from JATO bottles. Just as important, they are much easier to maintain than the 4 bladed props they replaced.
The new propellers system makes maintainers lives easier, especially in the frigid weather. The older T56 four-bladed system was prone to cracking and seal leaks. Airmen had to take the jet down for a day or two, depending on weather, and remove the entire blade assembly just to replace one of the blades. This work has to be done without a hangar. About four seasons ago, SSgt. Jason Candido, maintainer and engine specialist with the 109th, said his aircraft was set to return home on the last day of the season when a blade cracked, prompting the team to unpack the aircraft and start the lengthy replacement process outside when it was -38 degrees.
The weather conditions the wing deals with can be extreme; when a snow storm hits, it has been compared to flying inside a ping pong ball. There’s nothing to see but white in every direction. An LC-130 made history by landing at South Pole Station to evacuate a medical emergency in winter; the temperatures at the time pushed the aircraft’s operating limits.
They also fly other missions — like Operation Boxtop. Flying in the polar regions takes a special set of skills; the 109th represents a pool of experience that is unmatched. With warming of the polar regions, their capabilities may take on increasing importance as more civilian and military activity begins to build. The Air Force is aware that climate change impacts in the arctic are going to call for adjustments to U.S. military strategy.
As the ice cover recedes, resources that were once inaccessible and locked beneath it are coming within reach. A 2009 US Geological Survey estimated that about 30 percent of the world’s undiscovered gas and 13 percent of its undiscovered oil is likely to be found north of the Arctic Circle.
At the same time, Canada, Denmark, Norway, and Russia are all making seabed claims based on the extended continental shelves beyond their exclusive economic zones. Those claims, based on the United Nations Law of the Sea Convention, set the stage for potential territorial disputes.
The receding ice also opens up new ocean transit routes for commerce and tourism. For example, in August, the Christophe de Margerie, a Russian tanker on its maiden voyage, made the northern passage without an icebreaker escort for the first time. It carried liquefied natural gas from Norway to South Korea in just 19 days, a trip that was an estimated 30 percent faster than the conventional southern route via the Suez Canal, according to press reports. In 2016, the cruise ship Crystal Serenity sailed a new route, from western Alaska to New York across the Arctic Ocean.
The 109th Air Wing operates out of Scotia, New York. When they’re not flying around the poles, their aircraft are a common sight in the Albany, NY area. For more information about what they do and how they do it, there’s an hour-long video from WCNY: Arctic Air — a Greenlandic Journey. For a more general look at the experience of doing research in Antarctica, Werner Hertzog’s 2007 film Encounters at the End of the World is a compelling documentary.