SKIWAY FOR C-130 AIRCRAFT AT PALMER STATION, ANTARCTICA

• Main Author: Paige, Russell A.
• Other Authors: NAVAL CIVIL ENGINEERING LAB PORT HUENEME CA
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Published: 1969
• Subjects: Terminal Flight Facilities; Snow; Ice and Permafrost; *RUNWAYS; *AIRCRAFT LANDINGS; *ANTARCTIC REGIONS; AERIAL RECONNAISSANCE; WIND; FEASIBILITY STUDIES; ICE; SAFETY; TRACKED VEHICLES; TRANSPORT AIRCRAFT; LANDING GEAR; VISUAL SIGNALS; SKIS; C-130 AIRCRAFT; ICE OPENINGS; PALMER STATION(ANTARCTICA); SKIWAYS; Antarctic; Antarctic Peninsula; Anvers; Anvers Island; Austral; Marr; Marr Ice Piedmont; Palmer Station; Palmer-Station; The Antarctic; Antarc*; Antarctica; Ice; permafrost
• Online Access: http://www.dtic.mil/docs/citations/AD0699155; http://oai.dtic.mil/oai/oai?&verb=getRecord&metadataPrefix=html&identifier=AD0699155

Palmer Station, Antarctica, which is located on Anvers Island west of the Antarctic Peninsula, has been supported entirely by ice breakers and cargo ships during the austral summer; a capability for air support would extend this season, improve the movement of essential cargo and personnel, and provide for emergency support. This technical note presents the feasibility of establishing a skiway for ski-equipped C-130 aircraft on the Marr Ice Piedmont about three miles from the station. It also describes the reconnaissance techniques used in February 1969 to locate the skiway site and safe access route through the marginal crevasse zone between this site and Palmer Station for one-ton capacity tracked carriers.