By Derek Royal  

It's a rare person who is willing to leave behind his family and the comforts of home to live in Antarctica, where minus temperatures are considered balmy summer conditions and zero is often looked upon as a heatwave. Helicopter Resources' legendary Antarctic chopper pilot Leigh Hornsby is one such man. Derek Royal caught up with Leigh and discovered a 67-year-old still driven and inspired by the adventure of flying around the world's last frontier.

It’s early morning at Antarctica’s Davis station and a group of men are discussing an upcoming mission. The group includes Helicopter Resources pilots Leigh Hornsby, Dave Pullinger, and Chris Wilcock, six scientists and station leader Alison Dean. Leigh, 67, will today head a three-helicopter convoy to fly the scientists to the Amery Ice Shelf, a huge floating ice mass located some 240km from Davis.

The scientists are a part of the Amery Ice Shelf Ocean Research (AMISOR) project, whose objective is to measure ocean characteristics, seawater circulation and the melt-freeze processes occurring at the base of the shelf.
The chopper pilots will dispatch the scientists to different locations on the ice shelf to retrieve data, but due to the specialised nature of the scientists’ work and unpredictable weather conditions, the mission could take up to 24 hours to complete.

“Over the years we’ve done a lot of work on the Amery Ice Shelf,” Leigh explains. “The AAD (Australian Antarctic Division) and University of Tasmania have been doing ice core drilling and photography under the ice shelf for years. Today we’ll hop between the sites and when one’s finished, we’ll move to another. By the look of the workload and predicted weather conditions we’ll probably have to spend a night on the ice – in which case I’ll either share a tent with the scientists or sleep in the chopper.”

After checking the weather and finishing their brief, the pilots and scientists emerge from the bunker and trudge their way to a trio of Eurocopter Squirrels – the company workhorse. The sun is shining and the temperature is ‑10°C, typical summer conditions at Davis.

Once all the pre-flight and pre-takeoff checks have been completed and everyone’s baggage and equipment is loaded on board, Leigh fires up the Squirrel’s engines and prepares for the one hour journey to Amery.
Satisfied that everything’s in order, he then makes a radio call to fellow chopper pilots Chris and Dave and the trio manoeuvre their respective machines off the ground, pointing them towards their destination. As Leigh establishes a safe cruise altitude and airspeed, the scientists further discuss the mission.

So why do scientists study ice shelves?

“Ice shelves are in contact with the atmosphere above, and the ocean below, making them the most vulnerable component of the Antarctic cryosphere,” comes the explanation.

“As they consist of ice that is already afloat, any change in their volume does not directly affect sea level. However they have a buttressing effect, slowing the discharge of inland ice off the continent, so that changes in ice shelf morphology (shape and size) can affect the flow of grounded ice from the interior of the continent.

“What this means to you is that the complete collapse of an ice shelf can lead to more rapid discharge of continental ice, which does contribute to increased sea level. As a large proportion of the world’s population is located in near-coastal environments, rising sea levels have the potential for major economic and social impact. Water mass modification beneath ice shelves may also have a role in bottom water formation and this, as well as the freshwater distribution from the melting of ice shelves and icebergs, has a profound influence on ocean circulation patterns. This may have a major influence on regional climate as well as an impact on important oceanic ecosystems and fish stocks.”

It’s overcast today and not long after departure, the landscape changes from the brown rock and coastal setting of Davis to a brilliant white, leaving virtually no visual cues for navigation. How, I ask Leigh, do pilots fly with any accuracy in such challenging conditions? 
 
“The coast is really the only place you can work with any degree of accuracy but the introduction of GPS and improved tracking systems has changed the way we do things,” Leigh says. “Years ago we used to fly around together with three aircraft to keep an eye on each other. Antarctica is such a vast continent and it’s very easy to get lost when flying over featureless terrain like sea ice or the ice plateau without any visual landmarks. That was before we had GPS or tracking systems. But now GPS and increasing satellite reliability enables us to go anywhere – we could find a piece of bamboo stuck in the ice.”

Despite the new technology, flying in Antractica remains a tricky business, with a condition known as white-out being responsible for the most flying deaths on the ice continent. White-out is an arctic or alpine weather condition caused by heavy cloud cover over the snow so that light reflected from below is approximately equal to light from above, causing an absence of shadow and rendering the horizon invisible. 

“White-out usually occurs on overcast days and impairs both surface and horizon definition,” Leigh says. “On a fine day we can have 200 mile visibility, but on overcast days there is absolutely no contrast and it’s impossible to see the horizon. It’s like flying at night but being in bright daylight. You get this terribly uneasy feeling of not being able to see the horizon or the surface. That’s white-out: it’s very dangerous and the biggest killer in Antarctica. Last year four French people died when their helicopter crashed into the surface at speed. The investigation is still in progress but it’s likely that white-out conditions may have contributed to the tragedy.”

Leigh has been with Helicopter Resources for around four decades. Starting as an engineer, he earned a fixed wing pilots’ licence then accepted the company’s offer to pay for his helicopter training. “They asked me if I’d be interested in staying on for a couple more years if they paid for my helicopter pilots’ licence,” he says. “Who would say no to that?” Forty years later, he’s still at Helires, flying choppers and earning the respect of his peers as a legend among Antarctic pilots.

“Helires is a great company,” says Leigh, who now has around 13,000 hours in his logbook. “Good people and interesting work.”

Of the 40 years he has been at Helicopter Resources, all but seven of those have been spent serving the Australian Antarctic Division (AAD), which leads Australia’s Antarctic program. As a division of the Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities, the AAD’s charter is to ensure Australia’s Antarctic interests are advanced. Australia maintains three stations on the Antarctic continent – Mawson, Davis, and Casey – and a subantarctic station on Macquarie Island. All have modern buildings with living quarters, research laboratories, power houses, stores, workshops and other operational facilities. Remote field bases operate during the summer research season, supporting coastal, inland and traverse operations.

In his time with Helires, Leigh has  journeyed to the icy southern continent 27 times. And apart from working with the AAD, he has also ventured south on expeditions with foreign and private interests. So what drives a man to leave behind his family for months at a time to live in conditions where minus temperatures are often considered pleasant summer conditions and zero is looked upon as a heatwave?

“Going to Antarctica is completely voluntary, but I love it,” Leigh says. “I enjoy meeting people who have a sense of adventure. It’s remarkable the number of fascinating people you meet in Antarctica. The scenery doesn’t change much - the glaciers are still there, the alps are still there, the wind still blows, the wildlife comes and goes - but the people change. And the life stories they bring with them are unbelievable: they all have their sense of adventure and that’s why they apply to go to Antarctica. That’s why I apply to go there, too, to be a part of a unique, interesting group of people.”

After a comfortable one hour journey, the Squirrel and its valuable payload arrive at the Amery Ice Shelf and Leigh lands the aircraft in an area nominated by the scientists. Meanwhile, Dave Pullinger and Chris Wilcock have flown their passengers to different locations some 50km away. During the course of the day, all six scientists successfully retrieve the appropriate data before setting up camp in preparation for a meal and some shut-eye. Its been a long day and everyone is in need of rest before the return flight home to Davis.  

After a good night’s rest, the three pilots and six scientists dismantle their temporary base camp and prepare for the journey home. The flight is an uneventful one and the scientists nod off to sleep, still weary from the previous day’s mission.

As the Squirrel approaches Davis Station, the contrast between the coastal settlement and the interior region of the continent is stark, as a muddy brown landscape replaces the glaring white.

Located on the edge of the Vestfold Hills on the eastern side of Prydz Bay on the Ingrid Christensen Coast of Princess Elizabeth Land, Davis is bounded by the Sorsdal Glacier in the south, by the steep ice-covered slopes leading up to the continental plateau in the east, some 24km from the coast, and by the sea to the northwest.
Davis is built on frozen moraine deposits and sand and in its original form consisted of a line of buildings lying across the prevailing winds. Several of the early buildings which predate the 1980s rebuilding program are of cultural heritage significance.

Given good weather and ice conditions, ships take about ten to twelve days to reach Davis from Hobart. The location has a relatively mild climate and is known as the “Riviera of the South”. And despite the fact that it is at higher latitude than Casey or Mawson stations, the rock of the Vestfold Hills moderates the local climate. From an extreme maximum in summer of +5°C, the winter temperature reaches ‑40°C.

In the Davis summer, the sun stays above the horizon for most of December and January and in winter it stays below the horizon for about two months from early June. During the winter, the ‘day’ is made up of one to two hours of twilight.

As Leigh manoeuvres the Squirrel towards home base he suggests that anyone looking at flying in Antarctica must be absolutely certain of the required commitment and for those with families, the need for both partners to be happy with the separation.

“There have been lots of guys who get all excited and want to come to Antarctica, but it can be very difficult for families” Leigh says. “Antractica is a great, spectacular place but being away for months at a time can be tough, especially if your spouse is finding the lifestyle at home a lonely one. Some pilots do it once to tick the box on their CV (“I’ve flown in Antarctica”) and then they disappear and we never hear from them again. There’s a few people like me who enjoy coming here year after year. But I’m getting older now so who knows how much longer I’ll be doing this myself?”

Leigh suggests that pilots need a minimum 2000 hours, sling, turbine and mountain experience. They also need to be night rated because of the white-out situation, while mountain flying experience is critical due to the constant high velocity winds. 

“Pilots who come here also need to be fairly easy going with the ability to get along with people,” he says. “They need a temperament that suits being away from home and living in other peoples’ pockets 24/7. Davis is a pretty social place. An entertainment committee organises parties and dinners so there’s always something happening. There are video rooms, an excellent library, workshops if you’re that way inclined, and good walking areas.

“Unlike some of the other stations, which can be very dangerous due to crevasse problems, Davis has plenty of rock so you can get out of the place and go for a walk. There’s plenty of wildlife to watch, too, so as I say, there’s no reason to be bored.

“In the early days our accommodation used to be rough and fairly basic but now the facilities are about four star and well-maintained. We’re well fed – the meals are excellent - it’s warm inside, so we have everything we need.”

Not to mention that pilots who journey to the deep south also get to experience some of the most unique and adventurous flying to be found anywhere in the world. No wonder Leigh Hornsby has been doing this gig for more than 33 years.