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Antarctica X
Instruction Manual
59 pgs4.44 Mb0

Aerosoft Antarctica X Instruction Manual

LimeSim’s
Limesim Antarctica X 1.00 Antarctica X 1.00 Manual
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CONTENTS
COPYRIGHTS ........................................................................................................................................................... 3
CREDITS................................................................................................................................................................... 3
SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS ........................................................................................................................................ 4
CONTACT SUPPORT ................................................................................................................................................ 4
ABOUT FLYING IN ANTARCTICA .............................................................................................................................. 5
FLYING AS A PILOT .................................................................................................................................................. 6
WEATHER ................................................................................................................................................................ 7
RADIO REPORTS -FLIGHT FOLLOWING ................................................................................................................... 8
ANTARCTIC COMMUNICATIONS ............................................................................................................................. 8
GENERAL ................................................................................................................................................................. 8
AVIATION COMMUNICATIONS IN ANTARCTICA ..................................................................................................... 8
TIBA- TRAFFIC INFORMATION BROADCASTS BY AIRCRAFT -126.90 ....................................................................... 9
TYPICAL PHRASES ................................................................................................................................................. 10
BRITISH FERRY FLIGHT FROM CANADA TO ANTARCTICA ..................................................................................... 13
FLIGHT REPORT (BY D. HARDIE) ............................................................................................................................ 13
AIRCRAFT, “AIRLINES” AND COMMON FLIGHT ROUTES....................................................................................... 16
FLIGHT PLANS ....................................................................................................................................................... 19
HISTORY AND FURTHER READING OF ANTARCTIC AVIATION ............................................................................... 21
BACKGROUND INFORMATION ABOUT THIS SCENERY .......................................................................................... 25
ELEVATION DATA .................................................................................................................................................. 25
AIRSTRIP AND NAVIGATIONAL DATA .................................................................................................................... 25
AERIAL IMAGERY .................................................................................................................................................. 25
FSX LIMITATIONS .................................................................................................................................................. 25
ANIMATED ICEBREAKERS ...................................................................................................................................... 26
RV POLARSTERN ................................................................................................................................................... 26
USGC HEALY .......................................................................................................................................................... 27
MS LIMESIM .......................................................................................................................................................... 27
BASES AND AIRPORTS - DESCRIPTION .................................................................................................................. 27
MCMURDO (USA) ................................................................................................................................................. 27
SCOTT BASE (NEW ZEALAND) ............................................................................................................................... 28
ROTHERA STATION (UNITED KINGDOM) .............................................................................................................. 28
CASEY STATION (AUSTRALIA) ............................................................................................................................... 29
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NEUMAYER STATION III (GERMANY) .................................................................................................................... 29
SANAE IV (SOUTH AFRICA) .................................................................................................................................... 29
NOVOLASAREVSKAYA (RUSSIA) ............................................................................................................................ 30
PATRIOT HILLS ...................................................................................................................................................... 30
KUNLUN AIRPORT (CHINA) ................................................................................................................................... 30
ADVISED DISPLAY SETTINGS ................................................................................................................................. 31
GRAPHICS MENU .................................................................................................................................................. 31
AIRCRAFT MENU ................................................................................................................................................... 32
SCENERY MENU .................................................................................................................................................... 33
TRAFFIC MENU: .................................................................................................................................................... 34
SCENERY TOOL ...................................................................................................................................................... 35
CHANGE SEASONS: ............................................................................................................................................... 35
STATIC AIRCRAFT: ................................................................................................................................................. 35
MCMURDO APPROACH LIGHTS: ........................................................................................................................... 35
LOD RADIUS (FIX BLURRY TERRAIN): .................................................................................................................... 35
COMPATIBILITY WITH OTHER ADD-ONS ............................................................................................................... 36
FAQS ..................................................................................................................................................................... 36
APPENDIX A CHARTS ............................................................................................................................................. 39
APPENDIX B LIST OF ALL BASES COVERED ............................................................................................................ 57
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COPYRIGHTS
The manual, documentation, video images, software, and all the related materials are copyrighted and cannot be copied, photocopied, translated or reduced to any electronic medium or machine legible form, neither completely nor in part, without the previous written consent of AEROSOFT. THE SOFTWARE IS FURNISHED «AS IS» AND IT DOES NOT COME FURNISHED WITH ANY GUARANTEE IMPLICIT OR EXPRESS. THE AUTHOR DECLINES EVERY RESPONSIBILITY FOR CONTINGENT MALFUNCTIONS, DECELERATION, AND ANY DRAWBACK THAT SHOULD ARISE, USING THIS SOFTWARE.
Copyright © 2011 AEROSOFT & LimeSim. All rights reserved. Microsoft Windows, and Flight Simulator are registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other Countries. All trademarks and brand names are trademarks or registered trademarks of the respective owners. Copyrights are serious stuff. If you find any pirated copies of this software please notify us at support@aerosoft.com. We will make sure reports of copyrights violation are rewarded.
Aerosoft GmbH Lindberghring 12 D-33142 Büren Germany www.aerosoft.com
CREDITS
Concept: LimeSim Programming: LimeSim Project Management: Lime Sim, Mathijs Kok (Aerosoft) Manual, documentation: Lime Sim, D. Hardie Installer: Andreas Mügge (Aerosoft) Testing: Several good folks who will all be getting a copy
Data from the following external providers has been used in this product:
Terrain data of Casey, Mawson and Davis: Data courtesy of the Australian Antarctic Division Data
Centre © Commonwealth Australia 2008
If interested in a copy of an orthophoto or any other data provided by the Australian Antarctic Data Centre, please contact them directly. They have supported our project with one of the best datasets around for Antarctic bases and are extremely well organized: http://data.aad.gov.au
Terrain data of Rothera, Halley and Sky Blu: © British Antarctic Survey: www.antarctica.ac.uk
Higher resolution elevation data in most mountainous areas based on modified ASTER GDEM data:
ASTER GDEM is a product of METI and NASA
Terrain data for area south of the Dry Valleys: Sourced from LINZ, Crown Copyright Reserved
Land Information New Zealand: www.linz.govt.nz
Terrain data of McMurdo and Scott bases and Landsat imagery: U.S. Geological Survey: www.usgs.gov
Many, many thanks go to Milton Shupe for permission to use his superb Dash 7 aircraft as static
model in Rothera as well as Aerosoft for permission to use their Twin Otter model as static aircraft all over Antarctica.
Animated Windsock 3D model by Arno Gerretsen, Jörg Dannenberg and Jon Patch
www.fsdeveloper.com
Aerial photo of SanaeIV in this manual: Wikipedia
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Disclaimer: Please note that although we have done our best to investigate information about real world Antarctica and flight operations, this manual is NOT supposed to be understood like a “Bible on Antarctic Flying”! Therefore we cannot be held responsible for information that is incorrect but we would be more than happy about your feedback if you know more than we do.
SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS
Intel Core 2 Duo E6850 CPU (Core 2 Quad advised)
2 GB RAM
Direct X 9 compatible Graphics Card with minimal 512 MB
Microsoft FSX (with SP2 or Acceleration)
Windows XP, Windows VISTA, Windows 7 (fully updated), 64 bits version highly recommended
Adobe Acrobat® Reader 8 minimal to read and print the manual
(1)
(1)
Available for free, download at: http://www.adobe.com/prodindex/acrobat/readstep.html
CONTACT SUPPORT
Support for this product is done by Aerosoft. We prefer to do support on the support forum for one simp le reason, it is fast and efficient because customers help customers when we are sleeping.
Aerosoft forums: http://www.forum.aerosoft.com/
We feel strong about support. Buying one of our products gives you the right to waste our time with questions you feel might be silly. They are not.
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ABOUT FLYING IN ANTARCTICA
Much of the following text has been written by D. Hardie who was flying Twin Otters in Antarctica for a few seasons during the last years. He was the most valuable supporter of “Antarctica X”. Based on his input and knowledge we created this scenery as close to the “real thing” as we could get.
Flying in Antarctica is probably one of the most exhilarating
environments on our planet. It is unique in that it is remote, and is almost uninhabited except for the few research stations, manned by scientists from the countries of the world. The climate is harsh and there are no roads, no trees, and no buildings to get any sense of scale to the place. The cold unpolluted air means that you can see for great distances, and have spectacular views.
There are several mountain ranges, the most interesting lying
to the north on the Antarctic Peninsula. From a pilot's perspective, Antarctica is a challenging but immensely rewarding environment, and relatively few people ever get the opportunity to fly here. This new simulator brings maximum realism to a community of simulator pilots, and allows them to experience for themselves the scenery, logistics and the challenges of operating safely here.
The Antarctic season only lasts for a maximum of 6 months, as quickly the Austral summer changes to winter when it becomes too cold, windy, and eventually is in total darkness for a few months of the year. Flying cannot take place in these conditions so the opportunity is taken for maintenance to be carried out in Canada, and the crews given a well-earned rest. The flying season begins at the start of October, when the aircraft are ferried south from Calgary, down through North and South America, where they are then configured onto skis. The final hop is then made from Punta-Arenas over the Drake Passage and into Antarctica via Rothera Research Station-home to the British Antarctic Survey. The ferry trip takes about two weeks, and is an adventure in itself. Kenn Borek Air, currently the largest operator of Twin-otters in the world, send several aircraft down to Antarctica via this route. They have aircraft in support of the NSF or National Science Foundation-American science funded programme, as well as Antarctic Logistics Expeditions- a company which provide tours for climbers and tourists in the region. They also have a Basler- or turbine powered DC-3 on skis, which can carry the larger items of equipment, in Antarctica.
Once in Antarctica the Kenn Borek machines disperse, and the British Antarctic Survey aircraft operate from Rothera, and one aircraft from Halley-to the east of the peninsula. Kenn Borek aircraft continue to fly deeper into the continent, via the blue ice runway at "Sky-Blu", where they change onto board skis-much lighter and more rugged than the hydraulic wheel skis. From here they continue to Patriot Hills at the Ellsworth Mountains, and then more machines fly onto McMurdo Research Station.
Patriot Hills is a seasonal logistics centre and a depot for carrying climbers into the Vinson Massif, where they can then climb the highest mountain- Mount Vinson. The flight in here is a challenge and only contemplated in perfect weather.
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FLYING AS A PILOT
To fly in the Antarctic several extra skills are honed which are different from every other part of the world. Firstly the ability to drag skis is important. The technique involves landing in a suitable area, and then dragging the skis along the surface with just the right balance of power to keep the aircraft flying. The purpose of this is to dislodge any snow surface and expose any crevasses beneath thus ensuring the area is safe to land on. The skis are trailed for about 30 seconds, the luxury of flying in Antarctica is that runways are not limited by length, or obstacles for most of the time. Once this is completed the pilot gets airborne again and at a low height usually commences a 270 degree turn to the right, so as to put the freshly made ski tracks on his left hand side. A low circuit is then flown at a couple of hundred feet, and a close inspection is made- looking for crevasses before deciding that the location is safe to land on. The height is important, because if it is flown any higher, the subtle change in colour of the snow may be too difficult to see, if a crevasse lurks beneath.
It is worth mentioning that the skis are of
sufficient area to maintain the aircraft safely on the surface, of even a soft snow surface. To step outside, it is possible for the pilot to sink up to the knees if the surface is soft. When the aircraft is landed, it is usual to continue to taxi along the surface, creating a taxi loop at each end of the newly formed runway, so as to create a preformed track to follow, when it is time to depart. Just before shutting down the engines, the aircraft is left to stand for a couple of minutes to allow the temperature of the ski to match that of the snow. The aircraft is then taxied forward
another couple of meters and shutdown. The reason for this is to allow the heat generated by the friction of the skis over the snow to dissipate. If this is not done, then the skis often melt the surface layer which then quickly refreezes and sticks the aircraft to the surface. No amount of power will dislodge the aircraft, and the only option is then to shut down and dig around the skis to dislodge them from the ice beneath.
Take off on the snow is easy, but again a couple of techniques are worthy of comment. The Twin-Otter is vulnerable in the nose-ski area due to the heavy nose ski structure and the small nose gear attachment point. To prevent damage over bumpy surfaces the control wheel is held full back whilst take-off power is applied. This is to keep the weight off the nose gear, and to ensure an earliest take off distance, as well as preventing damage to the nose structure. As soon as the aircraft becomes airborne, with the stall warner blaring, the pilot checks forward slightly, to allow airspeed to increase for the climb-out.
When flying in Antarctica, safety is uppermost in the pilot's mind as help is usually a long way off. As soon as a field party is dropped off, they establish HF communications by field radio, as this is the only means they have of summoning assistance if they need support. The pilot's job is not done when flying the aircraft, as the aeroplane must be safely unloaded, bringing skidoos, sledges, tents, fuel and supplies to the field camps. Depending on the distance to the camp, it is not impossible for a field party to be entirely self-sufficient for a couple of weeks, with the contents of one or two plane loads.
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Some flights, the pilot is able to carry fuel for the entire round trip, -usually a three hour endurance, plus an hour of reserve fuel. Others, the fuel must be taken along as fuel drums, which are then deposited, so that they can be used on the return journey. The Twin-Otter will carry three 40 gallon fuel drums inside- or 300lbs of fuel-per drum. Careful planning uses the least amount of fuel, as the cost of transporting fuel into remote locations rises rapidly, the further away one flies.
WEATHER
Unlike the rest of the world- weather reports can be tricky to obtain and at times unreliable. Satellite imagery is used and relayed verbally by radio to pilots either from met forecasters on station or else on location at the depots. Many sites do not have a manned presence, if even they have ever been visited before, so inputs are reserved until weather is perfect- clear blue skies, bright sunshine, and no overhead cloud cover. This is to enable the best chance of spotting crevassing as mentioned earlier.
Some useful weather links:
http://www.aipchile.gob.cl/index.php/camara_ubicacion/show/designador/SCCI
This is where you can get the actual weather for Chile as well as live links to the webcams. If you are lucky you may be able to see the BAS Twin-Otters here on their ferry flights during October and March. You can also access the live weather reports for Patriot Hills and the Union Glacier from here
http://www.aipchile.gob.cl/
Select Antarctica from the menu and then Patriot Hills or Union Glacier from the drop down menu.
http://amrc.ssec.wisc.edu/data/view-data.php?action=view_animation&product=satellite/composite/IRHO
For real time satellite weather images
http://amrc.ssec.wisc.edu/data/
This one is the best for all sorts of weather information live from Antarctica
http://www.antarctica.ac.uk/images/webcams/rothera/
Live webcam for Rothera Research Station
http://www.antarctica.ac.uk/met/rothera_forecast/realtime.html
Weather forecasts and current weather reports from the same base – in some cases even including cloud type information in addition to the cloud layers. A perfect source to create realistic Antarctic weather themes in FSX!
http://www.wunderground.com/global/stations/89062.html?bannertypeclick=infobox
For general weather situation at Rothera including forecasts and images.
http://www.bom.gov.au/ant/handbook/handbook.shtml
“The International Antarctic Weather Forecasting Handbook” is a perfect lecture for those interested in
some more in depth knowledge about weather in Antarctica.
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RADIO REPORTS -FLIGHT FOLLOWING
No formal air traffic control exists as such. The position and therefore potential search area of an aircraft is radioed into base every 30 minutes until touchdown, so that the flight-follower is aware of where an aircraft is. No ground radar exists, so positions are plotted on a large plotting chart at the home base. Once on ground, the time of next call is transmitted before shutting down the aircraft.
Flying days are long due to the continuous hours of daylight, and at the end of the six months, the air crews are ready to begin the long ferry trip home, back for maintenance. Ferry fuel tanks are again installed for the flight home, and skis are removed and packed away for next season, once they reach Punta-Arenas airport, at the southern end of Chile, South America. It is an enjoyable journey home, flying along the coast of Chile, up through South America, Panama, Mexico, then across the US and into Canada.
ANTARCTIC COMMUNICATIONS
Again mainly written by D. Hardie, this section focuses on communications around the Peninsula bases, which should be similar all over Antarctica. Please note that this chapter should be seen as guideline for online pilots because FSX will never be able to offer you an “ATC” like that:
GENERAL
Some information on the way communications work in the Antarctic may prove to be of some interest generally, as well as specifically to the users of Antarctica X. Communications is perhaps the most important aspect of living and working in Antarctica, whether they be on an individual level- or at an international- base to base level. These are achieved by a variety of means, those mentioned here are by no means exhaustive, and several other specific technologies are available.
Interpersonal communications is achieved on base by using a series of handheld VHF radios between key personnel. These are also used for field scientific parties who may be spread a distance apart by a few hundred yards , when travelling by skiddoo. The uniquely ultra-cold environment, coupled with exposure to sunspot activity due to the closer distance to sun radiation, can cause a lot of static interference with radios. In such cases, the VHF and HF radios may be affected as to be unusable. Satellite Iridium phones may sometimes be used, but they too can be affected by solar storms and are much more expensive to operate.
AVIATION COMMUNICATIONS IN ANTARCTICA
The aircraft operating in the Antarctic are typically fitted with two VHF radios, and two HF radios, as well as an individual satellite phone, in the cockpit, which can be removed if required. During operations close to base­within about 50-80 miles, the VHF radios are used, much the same as in any normal air traffic control situation at any airport in the world.
All radios are tested on the ground, before flight, and after the engines started, so that any problems are recognised, and steps can be taken to correct any faults. Once the aircraft is airborne, the change to HF radios occurs and position checks are transmitted every 30 minutes flying time. Details given are current position, altitude, next waypoint position, estimated time of arrival, and then the next waypoint after that. This follows a set format, and is adhered to, so any other pilot flying in the vicinity will know that another aircraft is en­route and its approximate current location.
As times between transmissions may be as much as 30 minutes, there may be long silences on the radio, so any other aircraft getting into the air is given an update on any other aircraft activity by the "Flight Follower".
The Flight Follower is a communications expert at Rothera whose job it is to listen in to all aircraft transmissions and plot them on a large board in the Operations Tower, showing the Antarctic region. He can
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then relay messages from other aircraft, provides updated in-flight weather reports, as well as logistical information to the pilots. The Flight Follower provides an Air-Ground Radio Information service which effectively provides all information that could be of help to air operations as well as boating operations around Rothera.
Once airborne a pilot must state "Airborne", and similarly
when landing deep field must make a statement of intention to land with the ski status (usually skis down), along with the position.
The exception to this is at Sky Blu, where the blue ice runway is so hard that landings are usually carried out on the wheels with "skis-up". The Borek aircraft change onto Board skis shortly after arrival in Antarctica, offering a more rugged and lighter landing gear, which has not any associated problems of the hydraulically operated skis
springing a leak. Once an aircraft has landed, he transmits this to home base along with a time of next communication, so that the flight follower will know when to expect the next call, and the aircraft may then be shut down.
If the HF radios are not readable due to static then the same reports can be made by satellite phone to the Rothera operations tower, via the normal phone lines.
Sledge parties rely for their very survival on HF radios. Their very first task when dropped off by aircraft, and before it leaves, is for the field team to set up the radio and establish radio communications, as this is the only way the team can communicate with home base and summon assistance in an emergency, or to request more supplies or a pickup by aircraft. The Pilot will not leave the team until he is satisfied that they can communicate correctly with home base.
The position reports are usually by reference to pre-designated waypoints, or else by actual reference to GPS latitudes and longitudes, enabling a precise location to be found. Each international base has its own communication frequency as stated in the AFIM- Antarctic Flight Information Manual- a published document by agreement with all member states that have a claim to sectors of Antarctica.
Most bases respect the use of English the internationally agreed language, but not all adhere to it, depending on the ability and competence of the radio operator, to speak in English.
Requests by pilot for a runway report or weather can be quite subjective and open to interpretation, as some ground radio operators have very little formal training in aviation weather reporting. In fact this author flew one individual to a forward supply depot, at short notice, where he was to spend a few weeks manning the radios and carrying out resupply tasks and making weather observations.
When asked what training he had received the individual was surprised to hear of his forthcoming duties and replied that he had had "no training" at all. There then followed a brief crash course in meteorology and weather observation reporting, for the remaining duration of the flight.
TIBA- TRAFFIC INFORMATION BROADCASTS BY AIRCRAFT -126.90
This is exactly as it sounds and is used primarily as a listening frequency, on which pilots monitor other pilot's transmissions giving position reports and more importantly any weather conditions or reports on the surface condition- (i.e.- soft snow or hard polished slippery ice) which may be of interest. Fuel states may also be transmitted such as numbers of fuel drums remaining, if refuelling is to take place on arrival.
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The frequency is generally used as a chat frequency between pilots (reports can be made of icing conditions in flight), but respect is made also so that it is not cluttered up with irrelevant chatter, when another aircraft may need it for transmitting some important information. The other frequency which is monitored is 121.5 MHz­the international distress frequency, and no transmissions may be made on this except for an emergency situation.
To summarise, VHF radios are used for aircraft comms close to base, and HF radios are used further away. Satellite phones are used when the VHF and HF radios are unusable for whatever reason. And they may make calls anywhere across the world.
TYPICAL PHRASES
These are some typical phrases you might hear on a Twin Otter flight from Rothera to Fossil Bluff.
The flight begins once the pre-flight walk around has been completed, the fuel uplift has been entered in the aircraft technical log, and a copy of the load sheet has been handed to the ground crew.
Before engine start, a check of the VHF radio is made:
Aircraft: " Rothera Radio, this is Victor Papa
Foxtrot Bravo Bravo requesting radio check and airfield information."
Rothera Ops Tower: " Roger Victor Papa Foxtrot
Bravo Bravo, this is Rothera Radio reading you strength five, are you ready to copy the latest weather?"
Aircraft: " Roger Rothera, go ahead."
Rothera: " The latest weather ob ( abbreviation for observation) at time 1100 zulu ( note zulu is the
aeronautical term for Greenwich Mean Time , which is the time set on the aircraft clock, and which is entered in the aircraft papers, log, tech log , etc.) is wind 360 at 12 knots, visibility 8 km, cloud few at 1000 feet, temperature zero, dew point minus 8, QNH 1012. Aircraft: "Roger weather copied, QNH 1012"
Note it is not necessary to read back all of the weather, but it is mandatory to read back any altimeter pressure setting – QNH value.
Aircraft: "This is VP-FBB ready for start".
Rothera: "Roger V-BB, start at your discretion, time check 1101 zulu.”
Aircraft engines are now started, and the after start check-list is carried out, from memory using a panel scan technique, and then backed up with reading and confirming from a paper checklist, stowed in the map pocket just inside the pilots cockpit door. Once the generators are brought online and the aircraft is self-powered, the signal is given for the ground crew to disconnect the ground powers supply, and a radio check is made on the other radios.
Aircraft: "This is V-BB radio check on fives" – this is referring to the HF frequency on the number one
HF radio box selected to 5080.
Rothera: "Roger V-BB , reading you strength five" Aircraft: "This is V-BB radio check on sevens" - this is the radio frequency selected to 7775. Rothera: "Roger V-BB reading you strength five"
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Radio strength is graduated in five increments from one being the weakest and barely audible to five, being the loudest and clearest radio signal. There is no measure of this in the cockpit and is purely a subjective assessment done by the pilot.
Aircraft: "Rothera Traffic this is VP-FBB entering and backtracking runway three six". Rothera: "V-BB, roger, there is no known traffic to affect you, report ready for departure." Aircraft : "Roger, wilco"
The aircraft now enters and back tracks the runway. Whilst taxying, the pilot does some of the pre-take­off checks, and at the end of the runway, turns around and lines up along the take-off runway direction. He now completes checks, flight controls, power run up, and checks that the auto feather and beta-back-up propeller systems are functioning correctly. See the Twin-Otter specific manual for exact details.
Aircraft: "Rothera traffic this is V-BB ready
for departure".
Rothera: "Roger, V-BB, surface wind now
350 12 gusting 15 knots, take-off at your discretion.
Aircraft : "Roger, V-BB rolling runway 36"
When airborne:
Aircraft: "V-BB is airborne".
Rothera: "Roger V-BB, your airborne time is at 1108 zulu, next report passing waypoint bravo."
Aircraft: "Roger next call bravo".
Note: there is no Alpha waypoint, but the first waypoint is bravo a point to the south of Rothera about 40 mins flying time by twin-otter. Successive waypoints are charlie, delta, and echo, which take the aircraft about 10 mins flying time from the forward supply depot Fossil-Bluff.
Every 30 mins the met office issue a weather "ob", obtained from the Rothera Met Office, who in turn get the information by HF radio or sat-phone from the various field camps or field supply depots. Again the weather is copied onto the pilots navigation log, and the QNH ( sea-level pressure reading) is read back.
Note that at some locations there is no reliable QNH setting, if no-one exists on the ground. In this case a best guess QNH is set, but more importantly great reliance is placed on the radio altimeter which gives the height above the surface up to 2500 feet. Above this height and the pressure altimeter is used, with a healthy margin for any high ground beneath.
Aircraft: "This is V-BB with position report"
Rothera: "Go-ahead"
Aircraft: "V-BB is at position Bravo at time 1148 zulu, altitude 5000 feet, estimate charlie time 1228
zulu, delta next".
Rothera: "Roger charlie time 1228 zulu, next report charlie"
Aircraft: "Wilco".
Similar position reports are made at charlie, delta and echo, or if heading in a different direction then latitudes and longitudes will be read out every 30 mins flying time. The purpose of this is to allow a "flight-follower" at Rothera to plot the position of the aircraft on a large board of the Antarctic in the ops tower, and therefore
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know the general area the pilot is operating in at any one time, as there is no radar surveillance. The flight continues, and once VHF comms is lost, the position reports are made on the HF radio equipment, which are usually much noisier with static background hissing and crackles.
When approaching Fossil Bluff (in this case our destination), and within range- approximately 15 mins flying time, the VHF radio is used to talk to the ground party to obtain their latest weather situation. Further mention may be made as to the on-board cargo, plus on-board passengers, as well as what cargo or personnel will be embarking for the next flight. On final approach a HF transmission is made to Rothera:
Aircraft: "Rothera this is V-BB on finals for Fossil Bluff, skis are down".
Rothera: "V-BB roger, next report on the deck."
Aircraft: “Wilco".
Note the status of the skis (up or down) is always made to serve as a final check for the pilot to double check that his skis are actually in the required position, even though this should be ascertained in the landing checklist.
Aircraft: "Fossil-Bluff this is V-BB on finals for the skiway, skis are down."
Fossil Bluff Apple Hut: "V-BB -roger skis down".
Once on the ground the pilot taxies in towards the fuel drums where refuelling and offloading of cargo can take place and carries out the after -landing checklist.
Aircraft on HF: "Rothera, this is V-BB, on the deck at Fossil-Bluff, shutting down, next radio call will be
in one hour and thirty minutes from now."
Rothera: "Roger Bravo Bravo, next call in one hour and thirty from now, time now 1330 zulu.”
The aircraft is then shutdown, and further communications can be carried out using the aircraft radio, using the aircraft batteries, but for short periods of time to preserve the battery life in the ultra-cold environment. Once the engines are started again and the generators connected, the on-board battery will recharge, as there is no ground power supply at remote field stations away from Rothera.
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BRITISH FERRY FLIGHT FROM CANADA TO ANTARCTICA
This is a flight done by the BAS Twin Otters every season. If you want to re-fly this in Flight Simulator we highly recommend reading the recommendations for add-on sceneries and the “Flying in Antarctica” and “Flightplans” chapters. Please note that the Flightplan files supplied with “Antarctica X” do not exactly match the flights described here as the flight route can vary slightly from year to year. It’s up to you which flight routing you choose. Furthermore we recommend that you have a look at the supplied Google Earth™ file showing the route, which can be found in your windows Start menu.
FLIGHT REPORT (BY D. HARDIE)
The Antarctic Ferry-flights are the punctuation to the start and end of the flying season. A lot of preparations go into these flights, and the goal is simple: To fly the aeroplanes as quickly as possible from Canada to Punta Arenas, in readiness for the final leg over the Drake Passage, fully configured with Skis, and into Antarctica.
Pilots arrive in Calgary at the start of the trip to stock up on 2 weeks’ worth of provisions which have to be loaded into the aircraft for the pilot and his mechanic. The flights start early in the morning and finish in the late afternoon/evening so there is seldom time to go to shops and buy food en- route. All of the food and equipment, including aircraft spares and personal clothing is carefully weighed and loaded into the aircraft. The two large ferry tanks are installed in the aircraft by now, and the equipment has to be carefully installed as there is very little room for manoeuvre inside the Twin-Otters.
First a couple of words about the fuel capacity of the Twin-Otter aeroplane: The ferry tanks hold 1576 lb of fuel in each tank, which gives the aeroplanes an extra 6 hours of endurance. This is in addition to the standard tanks which are located in the lower fuselage, under the cabin floor. The capacity of the two tanks are 1235 lbs in the forward tank and 1341 lbs in the rear tank. The wing tip tanks hold a further 300lbs in each side, which adds another hour onto the endurance. (Note the Twin-Otter uses 600 lbs fuel per hour which makes the arithmetic easy. This is 10lbs per minute of flying, so all the pilot has to do is multiply the flight time in minutes by 10 and you have the required fuel for the flight). Thus we have a total fuel capacity of 6334 lbs or 10 and a half hours of flight before the engines will stop. When you are flight planning, don't forget to add in a contingency, as well as fuel for diversion and for taxying on the ground too.
The flight plans are submitted at the flight briefing office on the morning of departure, but international clearances are usually arranged a few weeks in advance. A commercial company is used to obtain the “Overflight" clearance numbers to satisfy the various countries regulatory authorities, and the aircraft insurance certificates must also be in order to comply with this.
A few notes on Customs and Immigration are perhaps worthy of discussion. When planning to fly from one country to another, pilots cannot just decide to fly to wherever it suits them best. Each country has a "Port of Entry" or several "Ports of Entry" which are recognised first landing destinations. This is where the customs formalities are completed, and customs inspectors may inspect the contents of the aircraft to ensure that only recognised goods are being carried through the country. Consequently, if the weather deteriorates at the "Port of Entry", then a diversion must be nominated which is also a "Port of entry”, or if this is not possible then the customs authorities must be notified so that special arrangements can be made. To do otherwise may incur a hefty fine and legal proceedings!
The first leg from "Springbank, Calgary" to Casper in Wyoming, is flown just as winter is beginning in the Northern Hemisphere, so there is an incentive to depart soon before the snow fall begins. The aeroplane is heavily laden and the aeroplane is very slow to climb, especially when departing Springbank, which is already 3937 feet above sea level.
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On a clear day the view is enjoyable, flying over the forests of Canada -watch out for the view of the Rocky Mountains to the west, and then over the canyons and badlands into the US Border , passing some Native American Indian Reservations and down into Casper itself. Watch out for the site of the Little Bighorn Battlefield on your left as you pass Billings and head towards Sheridan.
Casper is situated at the base of an escarpment and there are always some interesting business jets here as well as executive military turboprops. There are also some Cessna Caravans based here which fly the mail for Fed-Ex. The airfield itself goes back to 1942 and was a large training airfield for WW2 bomber crews including B-17 flying fortresses, B-24's and B-29's. Many of the original war-time hangers and buildings still survive to this day.
The second day consists of two flights- Casper down into Liberal, Kansas for a refuelling stop. This is to comply with US regulations which do not permit any fuel to be carried in the ferry tanks. There is an aircraft museum here and several cold war jets are parked at the end of the parking ramp. You can take a closer look at these whilst you refuel. After a quick pit-stop, the journey continues from Casper down to Hobby Airport-one of the airports in Houston, Texas. Of note are the many oil wells and "nodding donkeys" to be seen through the state. The night is spent here, and the aircraft are parked up at the Atlantic Aviation executive terminal on the north­eastern side of the airfield. Departure in the morning will be early for the long leg over the Gulf of Mexico down to Cozumel, Mexico.
Day Three begins with a climb out amidst the busy early morning commercial jet departures from Hobby, Houston. Several oil platforms are seen on the initial climb out to cruising height over the sea. Much of the flight is over featureless ocean but usually in sunshine. There is no option for a quick diversion out here if things go wrong, so "Point of no return" calculations are made so that the pilot knows when to turn back or when to continue to destination.
A rest day is usually taken in Cozumel, before pressing on once again, crossing the sea, then the coast of Honduras and Nicaragua before making the spectacular arrival into Panama City airport alongside the Panama Canal. Be careful here as there are several airfields within close proximity, including one on the downwind leg. The arched bridge over the canal is a prominent landmark here. The airport was the scene of the attack by US forces against the drug funded Noriega administration in 1990. The city itself has many high rise buildings and is an impressive sight. Park your aircraft here and clear customs and pay your landing fees and fuel bill.
When departing Panama, watch out for the hill straight ahead on takeoff, if departing initially to the north. The hill has been systematically cut away in steps, as you fly towards it, in an effort to improve the terrain clearance for aircraft. The airport is busy and you will see other Twin Otters arriving and departing on schedules for Air Panama. After a few hours over the sea you will fly over equatorial jungle, and now land at Guayaquil in Ecuador. Congratulations, you have now crossed the equator into the southern half of our planet.
Guayaquil- an international airport used by jets as well as turboprops, is situated in the heart of an overcrowded city. An engine failure here on take-off with full ferry fuel is going to give marginal climb performance, and if there is no other option, then a ditching in the Guayas river adjacent to the airport seems the "best" course of action. Park your aircraft here, refuel and clear customs.
Watch out also for the giant tea-cup perched atop the hill to the side of the runway as you depart, before setting off towards Arica – the northernmost airport in Chile. En-route you pass Lima in Peru, which is a preferred tech-stop airport to take on more fuel if required. Also on this leg you will pass the famous Nazca lines in the Atacama Desert.
Arica lies on the coast but is on the edge of a desert. Chilean permits and customs formalities are carried out here which allows the journey to continue all the way down the Chilean coast- the longest country in the world. There are spectacular views of the Andes on the way along- they are situated well inland though, so the
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distant volcanoes look quite serene when seen on the approach into Puerto Montt. Watch out for the Very Large Telescope on the hilltop at Cerro Paranal-they look like four large white cubes on the ridgeline, and also the recently famous Chilean volcano at Puyehue-Cordon Caulle. When you arrive at Puerto Montt, park here.
Flying the last leg from Puerto Montt to Puntas Arenas is one of the most spectacular segments of the journey, flying high up at 17000 feet on oxygen; you get a wonderful view of the Torres del Paine mountain peaks between waypoint Kilak and Puerto Natales, on the left hand side of the aircraft. If the weather is bad it can be hidden from view within the clouds. Strong winds from the west may bring turbulence over this area with strong up and downdrafts which can exceed the performance capability of a heavy weight ferry aircraft. Coupled with the potential for picking up clear and rime ice due to the moist supercooled air from the sea, rapid airframe ice build-ups are a further hazard of flying this section of the route. Careful study of the en­route weather systems is advisable here. If the weather looks bad, best to wait another day.
The last few hours of the flight fly over barren hills leading into boggy and rocky windswept landscapes which are a feature of the arrival into Punta Arenas. The airfield here is almost always windy, but there is a triangular pattern of runways which gives plenty of options for an into wind landing. Park here.
At Punta Arenas, a day is then spent fitting skis to the aircraft and making any final adjustments before heading out on the last long leg over the Drake Passage and down into the Antarctic. Chillean Air Force Dragonflys A-37'Bs can be seen along with a residential Ilyushin IL76 transporter which runs expeditions from here down to the blue ice runway at Patriot Hills and the Union Glacier on behalf of Antarctic Logistics and Expeditions.
Once stocked up with last minute supplies, and the aircraft are fuelled up for the last long flight, take a last look back at Punta Arenas, as you climb up and head "south" over the bay. It is the last look at civilisation, greenery and vegetation you will see for six months.
The final ferry flight sector must be undertaken with special pre-flight care. The flight is a PNR or point-of-no­return flight, up to which point a turn-back may still be made. After the PNR, the flight must be continued come hell or high water, and if the weather at destination were to deteriorate, a landing on a clear patch on the Antarctic continent may have to be considered, until conditions improve. To this end, Antarctic survival equipment and survival rations are carried on board.
A careful study of the satellite weather charts is advisable, along with the meteorological forecast for the destination. The flight is usually carried out with the crew wearing survival suits and lifejackets, although a ditching in such a tempestuous sea would have a slim chance of survival for long, let alone a successful rescue. Radio position reports are made by high frequency HF radio, at designated 30 minute waypoints, once out of range of the shorter very high frequency VHF radios, used in commercial airspace.
After 8 hours of flying-welcome to the Antarctic, you have completed an amazing ferry trip and can now begin the hard work of the Antarctic flying season for the next 6 months.
Recommended addon sceneries for the way south are ORBX’ “NA Northern Rokies” and “US Central
Rockies” for coverage of the first leg from Calgary about half way down to the next touchdown. Unfortunately there are only few sceneries for the Latam area (yet) but add-ons like “FS Global – The Americas” offer a good chance to spice up the Rockies all the way down a bit (because they are not that soft
hilly landscape south of the US as you see them in default FSX). “My Traffic” is a good product to bring you lots of typical local air traffic. Last but not least the freeware series “Photoreal Chile” seems to be the best scenery available for this flight, since it covers a large chunk of the route flown, is for free and has a resolution that looks very decent at the altitudes flown. Unfortunately most of this scenery’s files seem to have been lost after the server crash at AVSIM.com and recovery of them in is doubtful.
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AIRCRAFT, “AIRLINES” AND COMMON FLIGHT ROUTES
Considering the number of government organizations and private tour operators actively flying in Ant arctica it
is not easy to gather some reliable information about who’s flying what down there. Still this list is probably
the most complete available yet. What we describe here are the usual routes flown. Adding to that there is a substantial amount of scientific flights that often return to the same base after some “sightseeing” or touchdown in a remote are without any prepared strips.
Canada based Kenn Borek Air is by far the largest contract operator here. They have a large fleet ski
equipped Twin Otters and about two Basler BT-67/DC3-T (turbo equipped Dakota’s) flying all over Antarctica every season. The Twin Otter’s usually fly for the US Antarctic Programme (most of them are based in McMurdo), the Italian and French Antarctic Programmes (in a triangle between Concordia-Dumont-D’Urville and Mario Zuchelli Station + shuttle flights between Mario Zuchelli and McMurdo), the Australian Antarctic Division and some private Tour Operators. The Basler BT-67’s usually operate around McMurdo and within the DROMLAN Network (see below).
http://www.borekair.com/
The USA has without a doubt the largest and most independent fleet down in Antarctica. The
backbone for intercontinental flights is the heavy C-17A Globemaster III operated by the US Air Force between Christchurch (New Zealand) and McMurdo. Sometimes even the aged Lockheed C-141 Starlifter is being used although it seems it has been taken out of service recently. From McMurdo on the backbone for long distance continental transportation (including to the South Pole) is the LC-130H Hercules operated by the New York Air Guard, sometimes equipped with JATOS (rockets that enable the aircraft to take off from runways that would otherwise be too short). Shorter fixed wing distances or those to locations without a prepared landing strip are served by Kenn Borek’s Twin Otters (see above). But even those aircraft fly all the way up to the South Pole. For flights to the other destinations around Ross Island (McMurdo) and scientific camps in the dry valleys, helicopters are used. Those helicopters bear liveries of the National Science Foundation but are operated by PHI Inc., a company based in Louisiana. Their fleet down here consists of Bell 212 and AS350 helicopters. There is a refuel base for helicopters called Marble Point (not part of the scenery yet).
http://photolibrary.usap.gov/Portscripts/PortWeb.dll?quickfind=transportation_cat&catalog=Antarcti ca&template=USAPgovSmallThumbs&sorton=cataloged&ascending=0&offset=228
The Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) uses C-130H Hercules aircraft for intercontinental shuttle
flights from Christchurch and is often sharing them with their partner. A RNZAF Boeing 757 has also been seen at McMurdo but we don’t know if this is a regular visitor. To improve accessibility and to bundle resources, most nations having bases in Dronning Maud Land (that is south of South Africa) established the Dronning Maud Land Air Network, for short: DROMLAN. Among them are Germany, Russia, South Africa, Belgium, Norway, Sweden and Japan. There is a dizzying number of different operators and aircraft types active in that area,
http://www.scar.org/information/dromlan/dromlanflyer.pdf
Aged privately owned IL-76 aircraft operated by ALCI (Adventure Logistics International) are the
backbone of the DROMLAN Network. They fly cargo and passengers between Cape Town (South Africa) to the hubs Novolasarevskaya and/or Troll from where they are usually picked up by smaller aircraft to be brought to their final destinations. Russian Novolasarevskaya, also called “Novo Airfield”, is the main hub but usually suffers from extensive melting from the mid of December to the end of January making it unsuitable for the landing of a large and heavy IL-76. Therefore operations are moved to the Norwegian Troll Skiway during that time.
http://www.alci.info/
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The German Alfred-Wegener-Institut (AWI) operates another Basler BT-67, called “Polar 5” and a DO-
228 called “Polar 2” within the DROMLAN Network, which are a regular visitor of the Japanese and
South African bases as well. The German Research ship “Polarstern” carries a BO 105 helicopter.
http://www.awi.de/de/infrastruktur/fluggeraete/forschungsflugzeuge/ehemalige_flugzeuge/
It is quite difficult to find some information about what the Russian Government is flying down in
Antarctica. It seems like they are not too eager to publish too much information about their programme. What can be said is that there is a group of AN-2’s (both default and turbo equipped) based at Novolasarevskaya. Other Russian aircraft recently seen in Antarctica are MI-18 helicopters (usually based on Russian Icebreakers), and Antonov AN-74.
The Japanese Antarctic Research Expedition (JARE) uses ship based Sikorsky S-61A helicopters and
two ski-equipped fixed-wing aircraft from their base in Syowa: A Pilatus Porter and a Cessna C182 Skywagon. The latter one was transported to Antarctica by ship because it doesn’t have enough range to fly directly to Antarctica from the next continent.
The Norwegian Air Force flies a C-130H Hercules on its way from Cape Town (South Africa) to Troll as
well as a P-3 Orion.
The Swedish Air Force is using another C-130H-Hercules on the same route.
Despite having a skiway at its base the South African National Antarctic Programme (SANAE) doesn’t
have fixed-wing fleet. They use helicopters like the stylish Kamov KA-32 operated by Titan Helicopters
and two M2 Onyx operated by the nation’s 22nd squadron:
http://www.titanhelicopters.com/index.php?page_id=11&msg_id=25#news-double http://www.af.mil.za/bases/afb_ysterplaat/22sqn.htm
The British Antarctic Survey (BAS) owns a fleet of 4 Twin Otters with a wheel/ski combo and one Dash
7. The Twin Otters are used for all kinds of scientific flights and usually fly between Rothera, Fossil Bluff, Halley and Sky Blu. The Dash 7 is usually used to serve the long distance route from Punta Arenas (Chile) or RAF Mount Pleasant (Falklands) to Rothera and occasionally Sky Blu (since the ice runway there is hard enough to support wheels). All BAS aircraft are flown back to Calgary (Canada) during the Austral winter. Real-world flightplans for most BAS flights (including the ferry flight down from Canada to
Antarctica) are part of “Antarctica X”. For more information read the “Flight Plans” and “Flying in
Antarctica” chapters in this manual. The HMS Scott and other UK Navy ships have Westland Lynx helicopters based on them. There are no British helicopters based in Antarctica itself:
http://www.antarctica.ac.uk/living_and_working/aircraft_and_vehicles/aircraft/index.php
The Fuerza Aerea de Chile flies from Punta Arenas (Chile) to Teniente R Marsh Martin (SCRM) using a
C-130H Hercules. Occasionally those aircraft are equipped with JATOS (rockets in each side) that enable it to take off from the short runway with heavy loads. In addition they operate their own Twin Otter that can land at the skiway of Bernardo O’Higgins, another Chilean base on the Antarctic mainland. A BO-105 helicopter with the same air force’s livery can also occasionally be spotted at Teniente R Marsh Martin Base.
Similar to the Chileans the Fuerza Aerea Argentina also operates C-130H Hercules for flights from
Ushuaia to Marambio and has another Twin Otter based in its own hangar at Marambio. A helicopter that can sometimes be seen here is an Air Force Huey.
Privately owned Aerovias DAP offers charter flights from Punta Arenas to Teniente R Marsh Martin
(SCRM). Customers can choose between a King Air 100 and a Bae 146. This is probably the quickest
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