Williams Field (Antarctica)
| Williams Field | |
|---|---|
|
|
| Characteristics | |
| ICAO code | NZWD |
| Coordinates | |
| Height above MSL | 21 m (69 ft ) |
| Basic data | |
| opening | 1957/1958 |
| operator | United States Antarctic Program |
| Runways | |
| 07/25 | 3048 m × 67 m snow |
| 15/33 | 3048 m × 67 m snow |
Williams Field or Willy Field ( ICAO code : NZWD) is an airfield of the United States Antarctic Program in Antarctica . Williams Field has two runways about 8 m thick made of compacted snow on the approx. 3 m thick ice cover on the water of McMurdo Sound, which is about 550 m deep at this point . The airport is about 13 km from Ross Island and supplies the US McMurdo Station and New Zealand's Scott Base . In addition to the Ice Runway , Williams Field is the main aerodrome for aerial operations in Antarctica.
Williams Field was in memory of Richard T. Williams , an equipment leader of the United States Navy named the January 6, 1956, its Caterpillar D8 - tractor through the ice broke and drowned. Williams was part of the first Operation Deep Freeze , a US military expedition that built the McMurdo Station for the International Geophysical Year 1957-58 .
business
The airfield is usually operated from December to the end of February. It is complemented by the Ice Runway airfields , operated from October to December, and Pegasus Field, or since its closure in 2016 by Phoenix Airfield , operated from August and December to February.
The airfield has a prepared snow surface and can therefore only be used with ski planes. In addition to the functional buildings, the airfield operations facilities consist of several rows of containers for the staff of up to 450 people and a kitchen, collectively also known as "Willy Town". Some of the containers will also be moved to be used on the nearby ice runway. “Willy Field Tavern”, the airfield's bar, existed until 1994.
Aviation fuel at Williams Field is pumped from McMurdo Station using a ten-mile hose pipeline. It is stored on site in up to twelve tanks built on skis. Other facilities are also built on skis to increase flexibility. Petrol for generators and heating is stored in trucks from the McMurdo station and in tanks at the facilities.
One of the special conditions of Williams Field is the fact that the airfield moves in a slow sliding motion towards the sea. This movement of the McMurdo Ice Shelf , on which the airfield is located, has forced the airfield to be relocated three times since it was built, the last time in 1984-85.
Aircraft currently in use
- Lockheed LC-130 (see picture in info box) - New York Air National Guard
- Basler BT-67 - Kenn Borek Air
- de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter - Kenn Borek Air
Individual events
- 1957: A Pan Am Boeing 377 Stratocruiser makes the first civil flight to Antarctica as part of a sightseeing flight from Christchurch to McMurdo Sound.
- 1960: US Navy WV-2 BuNo 126513 crash-lands after missing the ice rink.
- 1960: The first ski-equipped C-130 Hercules (Lockheed LC-130) lands.
- 1960: Solar activity cuts off communication for eight days, during which time all flights between New Zealand and McMurdo Sound are canceled.
- 1966: With a Lockheed C-141 of the US Air Force, the first jet-powered aircraft lands in Williams Field.
- 1970: US Navy "Pegasus" C-121J crash -lands . The plane is destroyed, but there is no death among the 80 occupants. Pegasus Field is later named after this machine.
- 1979: Air New Zealand flight 901 hits nearby Mount Erebus on November 28 due to navigation problems . All 237 passengers and the 20 crew members are killed.
Web links
- Aircraft of Antarctica
- Moving the Airport, Hale eyewitness account, December 21, 1999
- Website on balloon launches from Williams Field as part of NASA's Long Duration Balloon program (Spanish)
Individual evidence
- ↑ Airport data on World Aero Data ( English, as of 2006 )
- ↑ Beth Minneci: The Antarctic Sun, December 17, 2000 . Retrieved December 21, 2017.
- ^ Antarctic Photo Library , US Antarctic Program; National Science Foundation.
- ↑ "Chapter 7: Stations and Ships" , 2010-2012 USAP Participant Guide . United States Antarctica Program, May 2010.
- ^ "McMurdo Nightlife" on the private website of the United States Navy Squadron "Antarctic Development Squadron Six", accessed December 21, 2017
- ↑ Gundlach, ER, J. Gallagher, J. Hatcher and T. Vinson. Planning and hazards of spill response in Antarctica. 2001 International Oil Spill Conference, American Petroleum Institute, Washington DC, pp. 241–248 (English, pdf)
- ↑ Berthing at McMurdo for Williams Field , Office of Polar Programs; National Science Foundation . 19th August 1993.
- ^ Eyewitness report, created October 2005 at www.conniesurvivors.com
