Pegasus blue ice runway
Encyclopedia
Pegasus Field is an airstrip in Antarctica, the southernmost of three airfields serving McMurdo Station
. Pegasus is a white ice runway capable of handling wheeled aircraft year-round. The other two are the snow runways at Williams Field
that is limited to ski-equipped aircraft, and the principal Ice Runway on the sea-ice available during the summer Antarctic field season.
The field is named after Pegasus, a C-121 Lockheed Constellation
, still visible there in the snow after crashing in bad weather on October 8, 1970. No one on board was injured.
On September 11, 2008, a United States Air Force C-17 Globemaster III
successfully completed the first landing in Antarctica using night-vision goggles at Pegasus Field. Previously air transport in the permanent darkness of the winter was only used in emergencies, with burning barrels of fuel to outline the runway.
McMurdo Station
McMurdo Station is a U.S. Antarctic research center located on the southern tip of Ross Island, which is in the New Zealand-claimed Ross Dependency on the shore of McMurdo Sound in Antarctica. It is operated by the United States through the United States Antarctic Program, a branch of the National...
. Pegasus is a white ice runway capable of handling wheeled aircraft year-round. The other two are the snow runways at Williams Field
Williams Field
Williams Field or Willy Field is a United States Antarctic Program airfield in Antarctica. Williams Field consists of two snow runways located on approximately 8 meters of compacted snow, lying on top of 80 meters of ice, floating over 550 meters of water...
that is limited to ski-equipped aircraft, and the principal Ice Runway on the sea-ice available during the summer Antarctic field season.
The field is named after Pegasus, a C-121 Lockheed Constellation
Lockheed Constellation
The Lockheed Constellation was a propeller-driven airliner powered by four 18-cylinder radial Wright R-3350 engines. It was built by Lockheed between 1943 and 1958 at its Burbank, California, USA, facility. A total of 856 aircraft were produced in numerous models, all distinguished by a...
, still visible there in the snow after crashing in bad weather on October 8, 1970. No one on board was injured.
On September 11, 2008, a United States Air Force C-17 Globemaster III
C-17 Globemaster III
The Boeing C-17 Globemaster III is a large military transport aircraft. Developed for the United States Air Force from the 1980s to the early 1990s by McDonnell Douglas, the C-17 is used for rapid strategic airlift of troops and cargo to main operating bases or forward operating bases throughout...
successfully completed the first landing in Antarctica using night-vision goggles at Pegasus Field. Previously air transport in the permanent darkness of the winter was only used in emergencies, with burning barrels of fuel to outline the runway.
External links
- The McMurdo "Pegasus Site" from "Airfields on Antarctic Glacier Ice" by Malcolm Mellor and Charles Swithinbank, CRREL 1989.
- Lockheed Aircraft R7V-1 / R7V-1P / C-121J "Constellation" "Connie"
- Installation of runway-Pegasus
- Runway Project Clears the Way for Improved Antarctic Airlift, National Science Foundation. February 20, 2002.