Williams Field

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Williams Field

IATA: none - ICAO: NZWD
Summary
Airport type		Public
Serves		Antarctica
Elevation AMSL		68 ft (21 m)
Coordinates		77°52′03″S, 167°03′24″E
Runways
Direction	Length		Surface
Direction	ft	m	Surface
07/25	10,000	3,048	Snow
15/33	10,000	3,048	Snow

Williams Field in front of McMurdo

Williams Field (ICAO: NZWD) or Willies Field is the United States Antarctic Program's principal airfield in Antarctica. Situated on the Ross Ice Shelf approximately seven miles from Ross Island, the airport primarily services McMurdo Station and New Zealand’s Scott Base. Williams is the major airfield for on-continent aircraft operations in Antarctica. Williams Field is typically in operation from December through the end of February.

The Williams Field snow runway is known locally as "Willys Field." The airfield is named in honor of Richard T. Williams, a U.S. Navy equipment operator who drowned when his D-8 tractor broke through the ice January 6, 1956. Williams and other personnel were participants in the first Operation Deep Freeze, a U.S. military mission to build a permanent science research station at McMurdo in anticipation of the International Geophysical Year 1957–58.

Williams Field is a groomed snow surface that can support ski-equipped aircraft landings only. Wheeled aircraft operations to McMurdo Station are conducted either to an annual sea ice runway constructed on the sea ice near McMurdo Station, or to the Pegasus blue ice runway a blue ice runway located in an area of blue ice on the Ross Ice Shelf. The latter runway is located some 27 km from McMurdo Station at 166°35' E in latitude 78° S.

Pilots landing C-17 Globemaster III cargo aircraft report that the sea ice runway surface is stable, not unlike landing on concrete. However, the similarity with land bases ends when the jet aircraft rolls to a stop. The nearly 450,000 pound weight of the plane, including cargo and passengers, causes it to sink into the ice, albeit only a matter of inches. A laser light is trained on the aircraft to measure the settlement rate. The $200 million aircraft is moved to a new location on the six-foot-thick ice as a safety measure if the 10-inch red line is reached, according to News Tribune in Tacoma, Washington.

A floating airfield at the bottom of the world upon which aircraft sink upon landing are not the only unusual characteristics of flying into McMurdo. Williams Field is also a slow moving target. Seaward movement of the floating ice shelf upon which the airfield is constructed periodically over the years forces Williams Field to be relocated. Subsequently, personnel housed at Williams live in buildings constructed on sleds or skis to facilitate relocation. Other structures include maintenance facilities. Workers have moved Williams Field three times since its founding, according to the National Science Foundation.

1 Historical Notes
2 References
3 See Also
4 External links

[edit] Historical Notes

1957: Pan American Boeing 377 Stratocruiser makes round trip from Christchurch to McMurdo Sound. First civilian flight to Antarctica.
1960: U.S. Navy WV-2 BuNo 126513 crashes after landing short of the ice runway.
1960: First ski-equipped C-130 Hercules cargo aircraft lands in Antarctica.
1960: Sunspots knock out radio communications for eight days, forcing cancellation of all flights between New Zealand and McMurdo.
1966: First all-jet aircraft (USAF-C-141) lands at Williams.
1967: Earliest scheduled winter fly-in.
1970: U.S. Navy "Pegaus" C-121J crash lands. Aircraft is destroyed but no fatalities among the 80 persons aboard. Pegasus blue ice runway is named after this aircraft.
1979: Air New Zealand Flight 901 crashes on nearby Mt Erebus. 257 people die
1989: U.S. Air Force C-5A Galaxy cargo aircraft lands on sea ice runway near McMurdo; the largest aircraft to operate in the Antarctic.

[edit] References

Berthing at McMurdo for Williams Field, National Science Foundation. August 19, 1993.
Change of Command pamphlet. U.S. Naval Support Force Antarctica; June 10, 1991.
Clarke, Peter; On the Ice. Rand McNally & Company, 1966.
Ice can give airmen that sinking feeling, The NewsTribune.com. Tacoma, Wash.; November 20, 2006.
McMurdo 1960 Crash
United States Antarctic Research Program Calendars: 1983, 1985.
Where danger and wonder collide, The NewsTribune.com. Tacoma, Wash.; November 20, 2006.