Helo Landing Map

My friend, Susie, helped put together the USAP
Helicopter Landing Facilities map for this year,and
was nice enough to send me an electronic copy. I've
I've broken it down into separate maps for easier
viewing.

Click on each map for a larger version.


ALL FACILITIES


ROSS ISLAND


KOETTLITZ GLACIER


DRY VALLEYS


BYRD GLACIER

Careflight

Today, while we were out walking, we saw the Careflight
Air Ambulance Helicopter land on the roof of the new
addition to St. Mary's hospital. This is just two blocks from
our house and we hear it all the time. It used to land on
a helo-pad adjacent to the hospital, but now it lands 14
stories above the ground on the roof of the new Century
Project tower of St. Mary's Hospital. Coincidentally, it's
operated by Petroleum Helicopters Inc. (PHI), which also
operates the helicopters we see all the time at McMurdo.

Something New

I was out at the runway today and noticed
that this really cool looking helicopter had
just been unloaded from the C-17. It's one
that the Kiwis over at Scott Base have received
for this season. It reminds me of the helo that
I was lucky enough to ride in down here back in
2002, except even more modern. Maybe someday
I'll get to ride in this one as well.

The Camps are Closed

When the last helo came in today from Marble Point,
the last camp closed and except for the last week
of song and dance, the Extended Season is drawing to
an end. It's odd to see people in the Galley that
you have no idea who they are. If they've even been
to McMurdo the last two months, it was for a brief
weekend visit and then back off to the Dry Valleys.
I doubt there will be an Extended Season again for
a while, but it's been interesting for sure this
year.

Crane In The Gap

Unfortunately, there's been a lot of sad news about
Cranes in the world lately, but fortunately nothing
dramatic is happening with our crane operation here
at McMurdo. The Redundant Bulk Fuel Tank Project is
moving along smoothly even though our main Grove crane
had an engine breakdown last week. This will cause a
brand new engine to be flown in from somewhere (either
the US, New Zealand or Australia) in the next six months.
It's pretty much business as usual though for the
5 "Tank Guys" who are here for the Extended Season to
construct the new tank that will eventually store
2 million gallons of fuel. This is one of 5 that are
planned. In the meantime, the crane itself poses
occasional challenges for the Helo crews as they are
reminded regularly about the "Crane in the Gap". They're
just not used to things being that tall around here.

Landing

Apparently, you can't land a helicopter just anywhere.
It has to be a flat surface that doesn't allow slippage
or sliding. That makes sense, but I'm guessing it's not
so easy to do out at the Dry Valleys.


At some of the sites, they've built platforms for the helos
to land since the terrain is either too loose or too sloped
to safely land upon. This is a really nice deck. I could see
building a house right next to this and hanging out during a
barbecue. Those pesky helicopters though would be worse than
mosquitos I'm guessing.


At other locations, the helo can land right on the ground,
although the landing spot is definitely marked. This spot
looks like a good place for a day at the beach. The water
looks a little cold though. Must be what they mean by
"hard water".