Multimedia Gallery
Air Travel to the Ice (Image 3)
Air Travel to the Ice (Image 3)
Onboard a U.S. Air Force C-17 hauling passengers and cargo, including a large tractor, from Christchurch, New Zealand, to McMurdo Station, Antarctica. The USAF 62nd Airlift Wing out of McChord AFB, Washington, provides continual airlift support for this leg of the journey to the "ice."
The C-17s are one of two types of planes used for support in the Antarctic. The other is the smaller LC-130. The C-17s have wheels, and can only land on hard, pack-ice runways. For landings at remote research field camps and locations with snow cover, ski equipped LC-130 planes are used. McMurdo is one of three U.S. research stations on Antarctica. The National Science Foundation operates them. [One of five related images. See Next Image.] (Date of Image: Oct. 14, 2005)
Credit: Peter Somers, National Science Foundation
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