Trekkers, We need you to groom a 10,000 meter runway that you can land a Hercules LC-130 fully loaded with passengers and cargo.
This will be no simple task.
First, you need information that I cannot supply you with as I do not have access to a library, Google, or a phone.
- What is the Hercules LC-130?
a. How large is it?
b. How much does it weigh fully loaded with cargo?
c. How much runway length does it need to land?
- What does the plane need to land on a snow runway?
a. What modifications are made to the plane?
b. What condition does the snow need to be in?
c. How does it take off? ( into the wind or with the wind)
- How do you go about making a runway in the middle of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet?
You might find many of these answers and I hope you do explore your resources and let me know in "Ask the Team"
What I can tell you is that it is a 5-8 hour job 7 days of the week just to maintain the runway once it is created. I had the opportunity to ride along in a Challenger bull dozer that pulls a Thunderbird Gosselin used to groom the runway.
If you have snow on the ground where you live, go outside and you are going to make a runway for a toy airplane. Choose a spot and measure 1 meter. This is the length of your runway. If you were to make your runway to scale it would be 1 cm in width, and your plane would be 5 mm in width. That would be should be one hundredth of the size.
So you can get an idea of how to make the runway try this activity.
Get a tin can from your kitchen. I'm going to choose a can of beans
DO NOT PUSH DOWN but On your meter of snow begin rolling the can the length of the runway.
Measure how far the snow has compacted in millimeters.
Using a comb pull the comb along the runway just enough to scratch the surface
Repeat step 2 - 4 until the snow doesn't compact any more. Don't forget to measure!
If the snow doesn't melt where you are do steps 2-4 everyday.
How has the runway changed?
Can you push your finger into the runway?
Here at Byrd Camp the runway has to withstand the landing of large and small planes. The crew that works this runway has it so well groomed that they have the highest rating for load capacity. This means the planes can land fully loaded.
The teeth of the goslin are under the first bar. The blade is under the second smoothing the snow out again.
This breaks up the crust of the runway is followed by the bar that smooths it back out. When it refreezes it is harder packed.
This is not my little old Tonka truck!!!
This is whaat is used to groom the runway here in Byrd.
Good luck grooming your runways,
Mr. W