Not Quite the 'Jet Set'….but far, far Better!

As far as servicing / maintenance trips out on to the ice are concerned the summer science season has been a bit light this year. Usually, the outgoing meteorological winterer and the incoming met winterer spend some time in the field servicing remote deep field experiments (or digging them out of the snow). One experiment that has sites all over Antarctica is the Low Powered Magnetometer (LPM) experiment. This experiment can accurately measure the Earth's magnetic field in all three dimensions. The Antarctic LPM's are part of a worldwide system that constantly monitors the Earth's geo magnetic field. Interestingly, the Earth's magnetic field exits the ground at the Antarctic latitudes as opposed to running parallel to the ground at the equator. 

The Earth's magnetic field looks something like this....except more complicated

The battery of LPM's in Antarctica measure the Earth's magnetic lines of flux which aids scientists in understanding how the Sun's magnetic field and it's solar wind affects space in the vicinity of the Earth. By utilising the Antarctic LPM's scientists can predict with certainty the occurrence of an auroral event. These events occur when a solar flare interacts with the Earth's magnetic lines of flux at the poles. These events are better known as the Aurora Australis in the southern hemisphere or the Aurora Borealis in the northern hemisphere.

Like the GPS experiments the LPM sites are remote but unlike the GPS sites they are autonomous. The information is logged at the site and once a year a team is sent out to the sites to recover the logged data and prepare the experiment and the site  for another years worth of logging. It goes without saying that a spade and lots of digging are a pre requisite. Unfortunately for Richard and myself a team from BAS's station on the Antarctic Peninsula, Rothera,  were despatched to service a majority of the LPM sites. But we did have one scheduled and it would require the help of BAS Airlines to get there.

BAS's De Haviland Twin Otter being prepared at Halley International Airport

The British Antarctic Survey own four Twin Otter aircraft which are put to work in Antarctica during the summer season. As Doug our pilot put it, the De Havilland Twin Otter is the Land Rover of the sky. Rugged and tough, with a short take off of approximately 1200 feet, a set of snow ski's fitted and a capable pilot at the helm these 'bush' aircraft can get in and out of remote Antarctic sites with relative ease. Some of the BAS aircraft are fitted with scientific instrumentation which enable them to undertake groundbreaking, cutting edge Antarctic science whilst others are purely for carting teams and equipment around the continent.

Go-Go juice being applied prior to take off

Our trip was  taking us approximately 130 miles south south east of Halley to the LPM site called Buzzard. Buzzard is about 750 miles form the South Pole and this will probably be as close as I would ever get to the pole. The LPM servicing would take about fifteen minutes and the bonus on this trip was that there would be NO DIGGING. The powers that be had decided that the site didn't need raising out of the snow this year which means that Buzzard will be an absolute joy to dig out next year.....I'm looking forward to that already. With Doug at the helm he would be flying myself, Richard and my fellow winterer, James to Buzzard.


Every effort is made to get all wintering staff a trip on the Twin Otter. A nice touch, I'm sure that you will agree. Also, each of the passengers takes a turn in the co-pilots seat where they will have the opportunity to take the controls if and when conditions allow. Co-piloting is an important and required role on longer Antarctic trips.

BAS pilot Doug at the controls

The takeoff from Halley International Airport was smooth and the short take off really took me by surprise. It was really, really short! Before I knew it the ski's were off the snow and we were turning SSE to our destination. James was upfront for the outward journey. Doug informed us that the landing may be very rough and that if there wasn't good contrast at the site then we would just be turning around and heading right back to Halley.

Contrast, in the snowbound Antarctic context, is when the cloud diffuses the sunlight to such an extent that no shadows are thrown by the relief of the land. Because everything is white with no colours to help define shapes etc. the land appears to become flat and featureless. If a pilot can't determine what the condition of his prospective runway is he wont be able to tell if he's going to be putting his aircraft into a big hole carved out by the wind. Potentially a very dangerous scenario.

It was disappointing to note that the flight up was in poor contrast. Looking out the Twin Otter window down on to the Brunt revealed nothing but a featureless white sheet. Our luck turned around about ten minutes from our destination when a break in the cloud provided the sunlight necessary to cast shadows and therefore provided the very snow contrast that Doug was looking for. And down we went. It was an exhilarating landing. As far removed from any smooth tarmac landing I have ever experienced. But Doug's a real Antarctic hero (as we all are) and he got the job done with the minimal of fuss.

Twin Otter at Buzzard LPM site

Once the Otter was on the ground we set to work servicing the LPM experiment  by removing the last years' worth of data and setting the experiment up for another year of logging. Snow depth measurements were taken and the site assessed. Once the maintenance and assessment tasks were completed we were heading back in to the air.

Richard servicing the LPM experiment

My turn to sit in the co-pilot seat. Doug was undertaking pre-flight checks when a beautiful Halo appeared. Timed to perfection for our departure. Sun Halo's occur when the sun shines through the ice crystals that form thin, high altitude Cirrus clouds. It was a beautiful sight and we even had a hint of a Sun Dog too. I popped open the co-pilot window and took a few photos. I was closing the window as Doug throttled up the Otter's engines.

Halo with Sun Dogs (the brighter spots which are apparent at 90 and 270 degrees)

The take off was even more exciting than the landing. The 'landing strip' was pretty rough and seemed to offer a bigger challenge to the Twin Otter on take off than it did on landing. With a cool character like Doug at the controls there was nothing to worry about. One big surprising bump later and we were up in the air heading back to Halley.

It beggars belief but BAS let any fool have a go of the Twin Otter

I thoroughly enjoyed my stint as co-pilot. I used to work as a technician on flight simulators so I was comfortable on the sticks once Doug had pointed out how the instruments were laid out. The last simulator I worked on was the Tornado GR1 simulator at RAF Brüggen. It didn't have a visual system so I initially took to flying the Twin Otter by only following the instrumentation. It went well with one minor hiccup when I managed to lose the directional plot entirely. But ex-Tornado pilot, Doug was kind enough to point out that it's still best to look out of the window. After all, the view is what it's all about.

Precious Bay from 7000 feet. The Brunt Ice Shelf joins on to the Antarctic Continent near here

Richard took his turn in the co-pilot seat for the final half an hour. Doug was tasked with undertaking a recognisance of the sea ice off of the Brunt Ice Shelf near Halley. So we spent the last half hour of our flight thoroughly enjoying ourselves as Doug put the Twin Otter through some tight turns and some low flying. This afforded us some fantastic views of the edge of the Brunt Ice Shelf.

The edge of the Brunt from 7000 feet

And a close-up from about 1000 feet