By Derek Royal
There’s a photo of Captain Terry Vickers and Captain Garry Studd sitting at the controls of an A319 airliner. The date is 12th January 2008 and both men look relaxed as they steer their aircraft into the midnight sun towards Antarctica’s Wilkins Runway, an engineering marvel named after Australian adventurer Sir Hubert Wilkins.
The pilots will make history when they land on the glacial blue ice strip which lies some 65km from Australia’s Casey Station, a research centre and base for Australian scientists. The historic flight from Hobart has commenced the world's first commercial air service to Antarctica, one that is certain to enhance Australia’s scientific research into the mysteries of what is undoubtedly the last great unexplored land on the planet.
Australia has played a significant role in the development of aviation in Antarctica. But the use of aircraft in support of science isn’t new. Wilkins became the first man to fly over the white continent in 1928, but it was Sir Douglas Mawson who first saw the potential for aerial exploration. His 1911 expedition to Antarctica included plans to use a Vickers REP Monoplane. But thanks to an untimely accident, the aircraft never left the ground.
Wilkins Aerodrome officially opened when Vickers and Studd successfully manoeuvred their Airbus onto the 3.5km long runway. So smooth and uneventful was the landing that Studd revealed the surface was among the best he’d landed on in the world.
The pilot also praised the hard work needed to keep the surface in such pristine condition and explained that as a live, dynamic substance, the runway will actually move 12 metres per year. “The guys do such a tremendous job to cope with these situations ... it’s not the easiest environment to work in,” he said.
The Airbus contained several scientists, members of the media and Australian Environment Minister Peter Garrett. Mesmerised by the view of icebergs, tiny settlements and the sheer white isolation of the continent, Garrett was awestruck when the runway emerged on the horizon. “To descend out of the sky across this Antarctic continent and to see a beautifully constructed air strip on blue ice in the middle of this vast Antarctic expanse was a really incredible experience,” he says. “This runway (just) appears as if from out of nowhere ... it's a remarkable engineering feat these people have achieved. It's a logistical triumph and connects the last two continents to be linked by air. It’s a very good day for Australia.”
TALKING AIRLINK
Discussions about an airlink between Australia and Antarctica have been ongoing for some time. And although the federal government’s Australian Antarctic Division (AAD) has long recognised the benefits of operating such an air transport system between continents, the logistical difficulties of distance and runway construction, not to mention funding, have stalled previous attempts to make the project a reality.
Around 200 people, including many scientists, work at three permanent Australian Antarctic stations during the summer months, investigating climate change, Southern Ocean ecosystems and the impact of human activities in Antarctica.
But the valuable work Australian scientists perform had been hampered by the difficulties associated with travelling to and from Antarctica by sea, which meant projects often took months to complete.
“The Airlink has allowed the AAD to move its personnel effectively between Hobart and Casey Station in eight hours (either way) compared to several days at sea across one of the roughest oceans in the world,” AAD Aviation Manager Steve Daw told Aviator. “The benefit was further reinforced recently when in 15 hours the AAD completed the medical evacuation of a seriously injured Chinese expeditioner from Russia’s Progress Station to Royal Hobart Hospital.”
Australia claims 42% of Antarctica but unlike other countries that conduct Antarctic research, never had an air transport capacity to access the continent. When asked why it took Australia so long to investigate the possibility of operating an air link between Australia and Antarctica, Daw said that many issues needed to be considered.
“A large number of nations operate through South America to the Antarctic peninsula, where the distances are short,” he said. “The distances from Australia to East Antarctica are vast. Constructing a runway in Antarctica capable of accommodating a jet aircraft presented a real challenge, including distance, landing surfaces and capacity. Remoteness and developing our own knowledge base of ice runways for large aircraft operations were other major challenges we needed to consider.”
$46.3 MILLION LAUNCHES AIRLINK PROJECT
But when Prime Minister John Howard in September 2005 pledged $46.3 million to launch the airlink project, the commitment not only became one of the biggest boosts to the Australian Antarctic program since it began in the 1940s, but it also ensured that the dreams of pioneers such as Wilkins and Mawson were finally within reach.
It also meant Antarctica needed a new runway.
After two summers of research, the runway site was identified in the Upper Petersen Glacier, some 65km from Australia’s Casey Station, home to up to 70 expeditioners and scientists over the summer months and about 20 expeditioners over the long winter months.
Remote sensing from satellites and aircraft was used to assist in the selection of the site, but the AAD still needed people on the ground in temperatures as low as minus 25 degrees to find the right four kilometre area with no crevassing and less than a 2% gradient.
A small team of no more than four to eight people operating in sub-zero conditions built the ice runway over the next three Antarctic summers. The runway is located on flat glacial ice over 500 metres thick. Construction involved grading the ice using laser controlled equipment and then using rollers to compact it with snow.
AAD runway construction supervisor Matt Filipowski scraped the first piece of ice for the runway seven years ago and as one of three workers in the initial phase of the project, he remembers 12 hour shifts, seeing a week’s work destroyed by random blizzards, living in a converted shipping container for five month stretches and feeling very cold and very isolated.
“It was very isolating and probably the most testing time of the whole project,” Filipowski said. “We’d make progress, then the weather would set us back. At times it was like taking one step forward and two steps back.”
White snow ‘pavement’ was bonded to the glacial blue ice to deflect the sun’s rays. Blue ice reportedly absorbs heat from the sun and warms up, causing melts and pitted surfaces and creating a potentially unsafe surface for aeroplanes. Without the snow ‘pavement’ aircraft could slide across the runway during crosswind takeoffs and landings.
Precision approach path indicators installed on the side of the runway provide a visual landing aid to help pilots ensure that their approach angle is correct.
The ambitious project required tracked vehicles, compactors, ploughs and snow blowers. Equipment was shipped from Australia by boat – a five week journey.
The construction of the runway was divided into three phases. The first phase (2005-06 season) included equipment delivery, confirmation of site suitability and rolling the ice to test underlying ice surface strength. During the second phase (2006-07) the AAD constructed a snowcap surface of between 7-10cm on the ice and conducted a test flight with a wheeled aircraft (CASA 212).
Phase three (2008) ultimately saw the official opening of Wilkins Aerodrome when the first A319 touched down in January 2008, commencing a regular weekly inter-continental service.
“During the summer months, eight to 10 personnel work at Wilkins,” Daw said. A period of four weeks is generally spent after each winter to ensure the aerodrome meets CASA (Civil Aviation Safety Authority) requirements before the runway is opened.”
SKYTRADERS
The Airbus A319 is operated by Skytraders, a company that operates out of Melbourne (Tullamarine) Airport and which specialises in Antarctic aviation solutions.
As far back as 2002 the federal government selected Skytraders to provide an Intercontinental Airlink from Australia to Antarctica. The brief was simple: transport scientists, support staff and cargo from Hobart to Wilkins Runway, near Casey Station. This continent-to-continent service would be provided in an Airbus A319 and flying time would be approximately 4.5 hours, depending on winds. Passengers and cargo would then transfer to more remote parts of Antarctica – Casey, Davis and Mawson - via ski-equipped CASA 212-400 aircraft, also operated by Skytraders.
The A319 provides a weekly service between Hobart and Wilkins and operates between mid-October and mid-March. This service will increase the capability and flexibility of AAD’s logistics system and provide access and opportunity for its science programs. The aircraft's configuration can be modified from passenger to combi (passenger and freighter) depending on requirements.
The long range of the A319 gives it the capability to easily complete the Hobart-Wilkins return trip without refuelling. The aircraft can fly 12,070km, sufficent to cover the 7,990km distance between continents without drama. This was an integral part of Skytraders' proposal to the government. Eliminating the requirement for both the construction of an alternate runway site in Antarctica and any onsite refuelling has significant economic and environmental benefits.
Two ski-equipped CASA 212-400 aircraft are used to move scientists and cargo between Antarctic stations and remote field sites. These aircraft provide range, payload and utility functions far superior to any comparable ski-equipped aircraft.
The C212-400 has a cavernous hold accessed via a rear ramp in which large volumes of cargo can be easily loaded. The aircraft is also equipped with state-of-the-art digital avionics and high efficiency power plants. These combine to address the issues of safety, environment and cost in a manner that is redefining Antarctic aviation.
BRIGHT FUTURE
In May 2009 Australia's leadership in Antarctic science and research was reinforced when the Federal Government committed an extra $25.2 million over two years for the AAD and funding of $11.7 million in 2009-10 to continue the Airlink program.
"We have been a world leader in Antarctica for nearly 100 years since Australia's Douglas Mawson led expeditions south,” said Federal Environmental Minister Peter Garrett.
"Ever since then we have been at the forefront of global efforts to ensure Antarctica's protection and instrumental in driving international research efforts, helping the world understand both the region as well as the potential impacts of climate change globally.
"This funding will underpin those efforts, confirming our commitment to scientific research, ensuring the maintenance of infrastructure at our three Antarctic stations, our aerodrome and our station at Macquarie Island, and continuing the government's commitment to the Airlink programme with $11.7 million in 2009-10.
"The Antarctic support industry is one of the largest industries in Tasmania, contributing around $150 million annually to its economy.”
"This total commitment of $36.9 million over the next two years therefore not only underlines our commitment to the principles of the Antarctic Treaty and our international responsibilities, but will also provide a welcome boost to the Tasmanian economy."
And let’s not forget that without the Wilkins Runway (plus the A319 and a pair of C212s) none of this would be possible.
