Phoenix Airfield

Phoenix Field

C-17 tests Phoenix snow runway for wheeled aircraft
Summary
Location McMurdo Station, Ross Island, Antarctica
Coordinates 77°57′23″S 166°46′00″E / 77.95639°S 166.76667°E / -77.95639; 166.76667Coordinates: 77°57′23″S 166°46′00″E / 77.95639°S 166.76667°E / -77.95639; 166.76667
Map
NZFX

Location of airfield in Antarctica

Runways
Direction Length Surface
ft m
15/33 11,000 3,353 Compacted Snow
Source: [1][2]

Phoenix Airfield (ICAO: NZFX) is a new airstrip in Antarctica opened in early 2017, designed to replace the Pegasus Field's role in serving McMurdo Station. [3]

In last few years of Pegasus Field's operation, it has been plagued with warmer temperatures combined with dust and dirt blown in from nearby Black Island, causing excessive melting making the runway unusable at the end of the summer season. Accordingly, Pegasus, and the Ice Runway (which has not been consistently used in recent years), were planned to be replaced with a new "Alpha Runway" which will be near Williams Field and be constructed using compressed snow technology. A search for a replacement site began in 2014; serious construction began during the 2015-16 summer. The new runway is about 3 miles northwest of Pegasus, to be out of the wind patterns for the Black Island dust. It is based completely on compacted snow, rather than the "blue ice" base under Pegasus. With the new design and construction technqiue, its runway is designed to withstand approximately 60 wheeled flights a year.[4]

On 7 April 2016 the National Science Foundation officially announced that the new runway would be named the Phoenix Airfield[3] after the name of a propeller-driven C-121 Constellation transport plane which was flown between Christchurch and McMurdo by the U.S. Navy VX-6 squadron during the 1960s through to 1971.

Phoenix Airfield underwent operational testing and has received its first wheeled landings during the 2016-17 austral summer season.[5]

Pegasus Airfield closed after the last flight on 8 December 2016.[6] Phoenix Airfield was opened in early 2017.[2]

References

  1. ↑ Airport information for NZFX at Great Circle Mapper.
  2. 1 2 US Antarctic Program Inter-agency Air Operations Manual - United States Antarctic Program
  3. 1 2 "A New Runway for McMurdo Station is Named". National Science Foundation. 7 April 2016.
  4. ↑ Globemaster is first to land on new Antarctic deep-snow runway
  5. ↑ "Phoenix Rising". The Antarctic Sun. 21 November 2016.
  6. ↑ NZDF Airlift Missions Renew Lifeline For Scientists In Antarctica
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