Skytraders Antarctic Medivac

[d_concord]

See in all the press that the Skytraders Airbus has completed a medivac out of McMurdo. Does anyone know if this is the earliest an aircraft has gone in after the winter shutdown. It must be close to that.

Well done to the crew

[witwiw]

See in all the press

You must have different TV and newspapers to me .............. haven't seen a thing. Care to provide a link or two?

[Capt Claret]

ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) (http://www.abc.net.au/news)

RNZAF Helps In Antarctica Rescue Mission To McMurdo... | Stuff.co.nz (http://www.stuff.co.nz/the-press/news/7449911/Antarctica-rescue-flight-lands-in-Christchurch)

[CI300]

No, there have been mid winter ops. A C17 last year or the year before.

[d_concord]

The c17 Winfly ops normally are later in August. At least all the references to them I can find are. I've been searching and can't find an earlier flight.

[denabol]

Notice the story first came up in Plane Talking.

Australia's Ice jet making Antarctic medi-vac flight | Plane Talking (http://blogs.crikey.com.au/planetalking/2012/08/09/australias-ice-jet-making-antarctic-medi-vac-flight/)


He has done a series on Antarctic flying and did the first route proving flight to Casey in 1979 but to Lanyon Junction in the US ski Hercules.

Reports that the A319 did McMurdo-Melbourne non-stop in 2010, also in polar winter conditions.

Heat is on Australia's Antarctic Ice runway | Plane Talking (http://blogs.crikey.com.au/planetalking/2011/12/09/the-heat-is-on-australias-antarctic-ice-runway/)

I was so interested in his claim to have done this earlier flying that I used Google to find his 1979 reports in the Sydney Morning Herald when he went down on a study tour with an Australian party lead by Science Minister Senator Webster. Didn't save link to them and Google viewer for newspapers is a total PITA, but amazed to discover how much Australian flying history gets lost.

[Rudder]

I'm not sure Skytraders would share Ben's views on it being the same as landing in Montreal. I know where I would prefer to have something go wrong. To break it down just to temperatures and snow etc is to be simplistic.

I would think there is a big difference to overflying and actually landing on the continent. Is he suggesting that QANTAS and those other airlines have a NZ military aircraft or some other military aircraft running SAR on them? There is a reason for that and I'm pretty certain they don't do it because its the same as landing in other parts of the world. Its counter intuitive to the argument he is wanting to make.

But hey.. Its an opinion!

[VH-XXX]

Buffalo Joe (from Ice Pilots) would have got him out ok in the DC3 :ok: They are used to -40.

[hiwaytohell]

And this: Australia to pay for Antarctic rescue (http://news.ninemsn.com.au/national/8514280/australia-to-pay-for-antarctic-rescue)

[Stationair8]

I thought TASAIR would have done it?