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
ft m
07/25 10,000 3,048 Snow
15/33 10,000 3,048 Snow

Williams Field (ICAO: NZWD) or Willies Field is the United States Antarctic Program's principal airfield in Antarctica. Williams Field is a snow runway located on approximately 8 meters (25 ft) of compacted snow, lying on top of 80 meters (262 ft) of ice, floating over 550 meters (1,800 ft) of water.[1] The airport, which is approximately seven miles from Ross Island, serves McMurdo Station and New Zealand’s Scott Base. In addition, Williams is the major airfield for on-continent aircraft operations in Antarctica.

Williams Field 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.

The skiway is typically in operation from December through the end of February. Other McMurdo Station airfields include the Annual Sea-Ice Runway (October through December) and the Pegasus Blue-Ice Runway used in August and December through February of each season.[2]

The Williams Field snow runway is known locally as "Willys Field." The airfield is a groomed snow surface that can support ski-equipped aircraft landings only. A cluster of facilities for flight operations, referred to as "Willy Town," includes several rows of containers for workers and a galley. Some of the buildings are relocated to support flight operations at the nearby Sea ice runway and the distant Pegasus blue ice runway. Willy Field Tavern, a bar at the airfield, closed in 1994.

Aviation fuel at Williams Field is pumped in a 16 km (10 mi) flexible pipe from McMurdo Station. Fuel is stored in up to 12 tanks. The fuel tanks, like other structures at the airfield, are mounted on skis or runners for portability.[3]

The extraordinary conditions encountered at Wiilliams Field include the fact that the airfield is in a continous slow slide towards the sea. Seaward movement of the floating McMurdo Ice Shelf upon which the airfield is constructed has forced Williams Field to be relocated three times since its original construction. Workers last moved the airfield during the 1984-85 season.[4] Subsequently, personnel housed at Williams live in buildings constructed on sleds to facilitate relocation. In the past, up to 450 people have been housed at the airfield, according to the National Science Foundation.

Williams Field in front of McMurdo
Williams Field in front of McMurdo



Contents

[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

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ Antarctic Photo Library, U.S. Antarctic Program; National Science Foundation.
  2. ^ U.S. Antarctica Participant Guide, 2006-2008; Chapter 7: Stations and Ships. United States Antarctica Program.
  3. ^ Planning and Hazards of Spill Response in Antarctica. Erich R. Gundlach, E-Tech International, Inc.; John J. Gallagher Gallagher, Marine Systems, Inc.; John Hatcher and Tom Vinson, Raytheon Polar Services Company. 2001 International Oil Spill Conference.
  4. ^ Berthing at McMurdo for Williams FIeld, Office of Polar Programs; National Science Foundation. August 19, 1993.

[edit] References

[edit] See Also

[edit] External links

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