Airmen from the New York Air National Guard are heading to Antarctica on an annual research mission.
Two LC-130s from the 109th Airlift Wing in Scotia have left on the five-day trip to Christchurch, New Zealand, and will then fly to McMurdo Station in Antarctica.
The massive planes equipped with skis fly from the Stratton Air National Guard Base in upstate New York as part of Operation Deep Freeze, which supports scientific research in the world’s largest desert.
Commander Drew Brewer of the 139th Airlift Squadron has made the trip more than 20 times. He says it’s an environment like no other.
“There's just so much going on down there, weather wise, that it can roll in really fast. And what that looks like is when the winds kick up, snow starts moving around the sky and the ground all of a sudden, look the same. It's just all white. It's almost like you're flying inside of a ping pong ball,” Brewer said.
Brewer says the mission is a selling point for the 109th Airlift Wing.
“We do have people from all over the country that are interested in doing this mission coming out here. So without that specific mission and uniqueness, we wouldn't have the amount of people, the funding and everything else that's available right here in our local community,” Brewer said.
Winter temperatures in Antarctica can hit nearly 60 below. Brewer says the planes for this mission will arrive during the polar summer.
“In McMurdo, which is on the coastline, it will be about 20 degrees Fahrenheit on the coast. Obviously, at the South Pole it gets much colder. It'll be minus 30, minus 40. But on the coastline, where we actually set up operations, it will definitely be warmer some days there than it will be in upstate,” Brewer said.
Colonel Robert Donaldson says the 109th's planes are unlike any others in the world.
“These have specially outfitted skis that are permanently mounted to the bottom of the aircraft and it allows it to land on ice runways, skiways, which are made out of snow and frozen tundra and things like that,” Donaldson said.
Each of the planes leaving New York carry a crew of six, in addition to parts, supplies, and other equipment.
“Sitting with them, around them will be some standard, maybe an aircraft engine that has to go with us and we're transporting that. It may be some ski supplies, things that are called Risk kits, so high value parts that maybe are more frequently than others- they ended up breaking, so we carry them with us.”
Chief Master Sergeant Karolyn De Vito, 109th Command Chief, is staying behind this time. A gym teacher at Mohonasen High School in Rotterdam, she says she keeps her students in mind during the missions.
“One of my first times, I brought a whole class of Flat Stanleys with me, which was hilarious, and I took pictures of them all over. I brought them to the South Pole and got their picture taken with the ceremonial South Pole,” De Vito said.
For first-timers, a special ceremony is held where crewmembers lap the South Pole marker — known as ‘running around the world.’
About 400 airmen will rotate through McMurdo Station through March as part of the mission.
To keep the mission flying, the 109th has requested new "Ski-Bird" planes from Congress to replace the aging fleet. The planes flying out of Scotia are nearly 50 years old.
