Spending lots of time on the airfield is bad for productivity, but
excellent for photography. I was able to get some nice shots of the
Hercs as well as Mt. Erebus.
After spending two days shuffling back and forth between the PAX (passenger) terminal on the ice airfield, I was doubtful (but still hopeful) that we'd be off as scheduled on our 0800 flight yesterday. But, it turns out a newly repaired Herc had made it back to McMurdo from Christchurch the previous evening. We had one more short delay due to a frozen valve on the plane, and then we were off! The Herc is louder than the C-17 (rather like being in a train tunnel with many trains going by). It's a smaller plane with room for both passengers and cargo. We had two large pallets in the back (with our bags and supplies for the station) and about 30 people on board. This included a DV (distinguished visitor) who rode in the cockpit the entire trip. Unfortunately, this meant we could only look out the side windows, but the the view was still amazing. Flying over the Transantarctic Mountains was like being in a National Geographic film. They lasted for about an hour and then after that just an unending snowy horizon that is completely flat. When we finally landed I noticed that some of the air force crew in the back all had their cameras out. While the plane was still moving on the runway, the cargo door opened and the two pallets went flying out onto the ground while snow was blowing inside the plane. It was quite the maneuver! A few minutes later we were off the plane and the Antarctic wind was blowing in my face. I had my first look at the South Pole Telescope sitting in the distance and then header to the station. Its is a quick walk over from the runway and suddenly you're inside and in the warmth again. After another brief orientation video and dropping my bag off in my new room it was time for lunch.
After spending two days shuffling back and forth between the PAX (passenger) terminal on the ice airfield, I was doubtful (but still hopeful) that we'd be off as scheduled on our 0800 flight yesterday. But, it turns out a newly repaired Herc had made it back to McMurdo from Christchurch the previous evening. We had one more short delay due to a frozen valve on the plane, and then we were off! The Herc is louder than the C-17 (rather like being in a train tunnel with many trains going by). It's a smaller plane with room for both passengers and cargo. We had two large pallets in the back (with our bags and supplies for the station) and about 30 people on board. This included a DV (distinguished visitor) who rode in the cockpit the entire trip. Unfortunately, this meant we could only look out the side windows, but the the view was still amazing. Flying over the Transantarctic Mountains was like being in a National Geographic film. They lasted for about an hour and then after that just an unending snowy horizon that is completely flat. When we finally landed I noticed that some of the air force crew in the back all had their cameras out. While the plane was still moving on the runway, the cargo door opened and the two pallets went flying out onto the ground while snow was blowing inside the plane. It was quite the maneuver! A few minutes later we were off the plane and the Antarctic wind was blowing in my face. I had my first look at the South Pole Telescope sitting in the distance and then header to the station. Its is a quick walk over from the runway and suddenly you're inside and in the warmth again. After another brief orientation video and dropping my bag off in my new room it was time for lunch.
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