To the Pole and Back
Thread Starter
To the Pole and Back
Interesting article in Wings Magazine this month on the flight to the South Pole by Kenn Borek Air in April of this year.
The two Twotters were equipped with -34 engines of 750 shp instead of the standard -27 engines of 650 hp. This gave them an increased overload MTOW of 17,500 lb. for this specific flight. For nav purposes, they had a Litton LTN 92 Laser Gyro INS and an IFR GPS.
They ferried the aircraft to Rothera on wheels, and fitted the wheel/skis there. Loutitt wanted to use straight boards, but he didn't want to be forced to use the ski strip at Rothera, because of the higher elevation.
They left Rothera at 14.32 GMT on April 24, and cruised at 10,000 ft to avoid headwinds at higher altitudes. They climbed to 10,300 before arrival, since the elevation of the skiway at the pole is 9,300 ft. Their average G/S for the trip was 145 kt. Weather on arrival at the pole was 26,000 feet in ice crystals, wind five kt and the surface temp -68C. Total flight time was 9.3 hours.
The aircraft was equipped with electrical heaters which were plugged in immediately after the engine covers were installed. The electrical cords were covered in heat tape to ensure they didn't crack. As well, the INS and the aircraft batteries were removed while the aircraft was on the ground.
The aircraft pre-start took four hours, using Herman Nelsons for the engines and cabin. After all that, oil temps were +30 when they reinsatlled the batteries. The base had a thousand gallons of JP8 stored in a building at +10, which was down to about -5 when it was boarded. Their requirements were that the fuel be no colder than -20. There was one snag prior to departure. The elevator trim was frozen, and took an hour to thaw.
On departure, the aircraft didn't want to budge, even at max power. Loutitt used a combination of forward and reverse power, and with the ground crew rocking the wings finally got the aircraft to move. He says that at 17,000 lb, the aircraft had settled and stuck in the soft snow. They backtracked a short way, and took off. They had been on the ground a total of 16 hours.
With favourable winds, the flight back to Rothera took 8.3 hours. They had to do an ADF approach to minimums, and Loutitt said he was happy he hadn't used the straight skis. The limits on the skiway were below minimums.
In an interesting note, the second aircraft was to have been used as a crew rescue aircraft only. If the first aircraft had gone down, the second was to evacuate the crew only. The downed aircraft would have sat on the icecap until next summer.
The two Twotters were equipped with -34 engines of 750 shp instead of the standard -27 engines of 650 hp. This gave them an increased overload MTOW of 17,500 lb. for this specific flight. For nav purposes, they had a Litton LTN 92 Laser Gyro INS and an IFR GPS.
They ferried the aircraft to Rothera on wheels, and fitted the wheel/skis there. Loutitt wanted to use straight boards, but he didn't want to be forced to use the ski strip at Rothera, because of the higher elevation.
They left Rothera at 14.32 GMT on April 24, and cruised at 10,000 ft to avoid headwinds at higher altitudes. They climbed to 10,300 before arrival, since the elevation of the skiway at the pole is 9,300 ft. Their average G/S for the trip was 145 kt. Weather on arrival at the pole was 26,000 feet in ice crystals, wind five kt and the surface temp -68C. Total flight time was 9.3 hours.
The aircraft was equipped with electrical heaters which were plugged in immediately after the engine covers were installed. The electrical cords were covered in heat tape to ensure they didn't crack. As well, the INS and the aircraft batteries were removed while the aircraft was on the ground.
The aircraft pre-start took four hours, using Herman Nelsons for the engines and cabin. After all that, oil temps were +30 when they reinsatlled the batteries. The base had a thousand gallons of JP8 stored in a building at +10, which was down to about -5 when it was boarded. Their requirements were that the fuel be no colder than -20. There was one snag prior to departure. The elevator trim was frozen, and took an hour to thaw.
On departure, the aircraft didn't want to budge, even at max power. Loutitt used a combination of forward and reverse power, and with the ground crew rocking the wings finally got the aircraft to move. He says that at 17,000 lb, the aircraft had settled and stuck in the soft snow. They backtracked a short way, and took off. They had been on the ground a total of 16 hours.
With favourable winds, the flight back to Rothera took 8.3 hours. They had to do an ADF approach to minimums, and Loutitt said he was happy he hadn't used the straight skis. The limits on the skiway were below minimums.
In an interesting note, the second aircraft was to have been used as a crew rescue aircraft only. If the first aircraft had gone down, the second was to evacuate the crew only. The downed aircraft would have sat on the icecap until next summer.
SkyGod
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Hmm, good stuff.
Have a few thousand hours in them Twin Otters and can appreciate the tasks at hand on the Pole.
Better them guys than me....
My hat off anyway.
Have a few thousand hours in them Twin Otters and can appreciate the tasks at hand on the Pole.
Better them guys than me....
My hat off anyway.
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Any idea if they had autopilots and whether use of heavy crew and running refuel was considered ?. Curious since I did something similar once but in daylight and only 6.5 out and 7.1 back. And nowhere near those temps.
GH
GH
Thread Starter
Have no idea if they considered an auto pilot, but I doubt it. They pulled those two particular aircraft off the line for that trip because they were equipped with the -34 engines, giving them the higher MTOW option. By heavy crew, I'm assuming you mean two extra pilots. They already had a total of four SOB, out and back, so two more would have compromised their fuel load. At one point, Loutitt thought about leaving his AME behind. The elevator trim problem proved the decision to take him along was a sound one.
I just finished reading the article in Aviation International News, unfortunately it's not on their website, but might be after the next issue. You should absolutely find a copy of this to read this amazing, well written and researched story.
This story is truly remarkable and the crews that performed it should be recognized for what they achieved. Stories like this are generally relegated to old Aviation books, not contemporary news reports!
Calgary to the South Pole, during the Antarctic winter, in a Twotter to perform a medevac - now there's an amazing story.
Congratulations to all at Ken Borek for achieving this amazing feat. Great job......
This story is truly remarkable and the crews that performed it should be recognized for what they achieved. Stories like this are generally relegated to old Aviation books, not contemporary news reports!
Calgary to the South Pole, during the Antarctic winter, in a Twotter to perform a medevac - now there's an amazing story.
Congratulations to all at Ken Borek for achieving this amazing feat. Great job......
