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Airborne Survey of Polar Ice 2013

Hey Mark,

Students at Nobleboro and I are really enjoying the photographs, but this question surfaced the other day. We are wondering if we can get a closer look inside the aircraft. Everyone is so accustomed to the inside of a commercial jet, that we are curious about the insides of a plane dedicated to something other than moving people around.

Take care, Your fellow 2013 PolarTREC teacher leaving in two weeks, Ken Williams

Fri, 04/12/2013 - 14:16

Anonymous

You are up there a long time....what are the 'facilities' like?

Sat, 04/13/2013 - 03:57

Mark Buesing

Ken - it's very utilitarian.  The science equipment is bolted into racks which are bolted into the floor.  The scientists -- and everyone -- sit in pretty comfortable seats -- think business class without the recline feature.  Four point harnesses for all -- it gets pretty violent at times.  They also carry a lot of spare parts in big cases.

You can see more pictures of the interior and cockpit here:
http://www.polartrec.com/expeditions/airborne-survey-of-polar-ice-2013/…

If you scroll to the bottom, there's even a picture of the 'head.'

Sat, 04/13/2013 - 04:11

Mark Buesing

The 'facilities' or 'head' is like a port-a-potty kind of thing.  Interestingly, the urinal is just a tube leading out of the aircraft (remember these planes were designed in the 60's to hunt subs in the ocean).  The opening in the plane is large -- thankfully, because it's often bumpy --  and exposed to air that is not moving.  The opening on the outside of the plane is much smaller and in air that is moving fast.  Applying Bernoulli's Principle -- high speed = low pressure -- the air then flows from inside to outside, blowing the liquid out of the tube.  At high altitude, when the cabin pressure is much higher than the outside pressure, the higher pressure air inside the cabin helps do the same thing and blow everything out.  Physics!

scroll to the bottom to see the picture of the 'head'

http://www.polartrec.com/expeditions/airborne-survey-of-polar-ice-2013/…