?One thing that?s helped me in my ski flying in Greenland and Antarctica is my general aviation flying,? Pritchard says. ?What I learned doing a soft-field landing in a Cessna 150, and how I learned to teach that as a civilian instructor, I?ve carried on. The technique you use ? a power-on approach, setting the mains down very carefully, holding the power on, letting the airplane decelerate, holding the nose off as long as you can ? that?s almost the same thing we do on a big C-130 on a ski landing.?
Col. Pritchard is the commander of the 109th Airlift Wing, the New York Air National Guard unit that flies the LC-130s (L means ski equipped) to haul people and equipment to National Science Foundation research sites in Greenland and Antarctica. It?s also ready to fly any military missions requiring airplanes that can land on ice and snow using skis, and even missions that don?t require skis, such as hauling relief supplies to the Caribbean after Hurricane Georges.
He?s been flying LC-130s since 1969, when he joined a regular Air Force squadron in Alaska that supported the Distant Early Warning (DEW) Line radar stations across the Arctic. During his spare time in Alaska he earned his civilian flight instructor and instrument flight instructor certificates and ratings. He?s kept his hand in as a civilian instructor, and looks forward to returning to civilian instruction when he retires.
Many of the lessons he?s learned flying in the world?s coldest weather also apply to general aviation pilots flying in cold parts of the United States.
When you go out on a cold morning to fly, ?take the time necessary to get the airplane fully ready to go,? Pritchard says. ?You could approach it as we do when we prepare one of our cold-soaked airplanes that?s been sitting there in minus 40 degree temperatures. We have a very slow, step-by-step process.?
To begin with, the crew takes the batteries out of the airplane, keeps them in a warm place, and reinstalls them when it?s time to start. External heat warms the engines, cargo compartment, and cockpit. ?We warm them up very slowly ? we don?t want to thermally shock the instruments and avionics. Also, if you try to warm a C-130 too quickly you can crack the cockpit windows.?
Warming the engines is important because when oil is cold it doesn?t do as good a job of lubricating the engine as when it?s warmed. While the airplane is warming up is a good time to get a complete weather briefing, including finding out if you?re likely to encounter icing or whether snow or freezing rain are likely.
?Some aspects of winter flying are more challenging in a temperate climate (such as Upstate New York) than in the polar regions,? Pritchard says. For instance, in the Arctic and Antarctic, the air is so cold and so dry that polar fliers rarely encounter airframe icing and heavy wet snow. Of course, polar fliers have to worry about storms that come up quickly with 100-mph winds and blowing snow that cut visibility to zero.
In Antarctica and Greenland, pilots, other flight crew members, and the scientists and others who fly as passengers expect to be grounded by the weather from time to time. There?s no pressure to take off in risky weather, no matter how important the mission.
When the weather is good, just getting off the ground can be a challenge both in polar regions and northern parts of the U.S. Although taking off on groomed snow runways or open snow presents its own challenges, ?slush is about the worst thing in the world to try to operate in,? Pritchard says. But it?s not common in polar regions.
?One of the things that?s often misunderstood is how much adverse effect slush has on takeoff performance. You might not think two to three inches of slush is a big deal, until about half- or two-thirds of the way down the runway you realize the airplane is not accelerating.?
Performance charts for the LC-130, like those for general aviation airplanes, do not give takeoff distances for slush- or snow-covered runways, Pritchard notes. Pilots have to figure out on their own whether a takeoff is possible.
When 109th pilots operate off a snowy landing strip, they base their takeoff decision on flags at the strip?s halfway point. ?The pilot knows, I?m halfway down the runway, what is my performance? Do I need to think about doing something else,? Pritchard says. ?A general aviation pilot can do the same kind of thing. Nothing fancy, such as special flags alongside the runway, is necessary. You pick an intersecting runway, a taxiway, something that?s well down the runway. If you don?t have normal performance by then, abort the takeoff.?
The crews and all passengers flying on the 109th?s LC-130s in Antarctica and to Greenland?s Ice Cap all wear clothing intended for extreme cold weather. They also carry polar sleeping bags. The airplanes carry enough survival gear, including tents, to take care of all aboard for a week. The crews all go through survival school.
In many parts of the U.S. even a short flight can take you to places where roads and houses are far apart. For example, New York?s Adirondack Mountains are only an hour or so flying from Schenectady. It?s also where the 109th is based.
Pritchard says that whenever anyone goes flying in the winter they should ?always be thinking about survival. You want something to keep yourself warm ? blankets, or a heavy coat you can grab real quick. You should have a flashlight, a first aid kit, fire-starting materials, and a night signaling device, because you?re dealing with longer nights.
?As soon as you find yourself down, you should start preparing to stay by yourself for a long time. If help comes in an hour, or a day, you should see it as a bonus.?
Pritchard suggests that ?it?s a good idea to fly with a partner in the winter. Solo flying is fine, but if you have a problem, having a partner is a good idea. In the winter it?s a good idea to call one of your buddies to go out with you. ?
Antarctica is about one-and-a-half times larger than the area of the contiguous 48 U.S. states, but has only three radio aids to navigation, and only a couple of dozen automated weather stations to supply data for forecasts. The pilots of the 109th fly to places such as the South Pole where they land on groomed skiways. But they also fly many missions to remote science camps where they land on unprepared snow and ice.
Pritchard says in many ways it?s like flying in the 1920s and 1930s, when pilots didn?t have radio navigation aids, much less GPS navigation and the ability to stay in constant touch with controllers. Back then if a pilot needed to make an unplanned landing or got lost, there was no one who could help.
Even though the 109th?s LC-130s have the latest in navigation and other technology, pilots are expected to be strong in the ?basics of flying ? time, distance, planning out your mission, keeping a sense of awareness of where you are, using every input you can, knowing the lay of the land you?re flying over,? Pritchard says.
?The new technology is great. It helps us do our mission better than ever. But it would be real easy right now to punch in a set of points in a computer, engage the autopilot, and then sit back and let the airplane go there.?
But, ?this is fraught with danger,? he says. ?Learn your basics first and always work on your backups.? Even on a short winter trip from one urban area to another, an electrical failure could put you instantly in the position of a 1930s pilot who needs to rely on a practiced air sense to make it home safely.
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