Flying To McMurdo
I am typing this from our lab space at McMurdo Station! The hours leading up to the flight were a sleepless saga of delays, but when we finally flew out at around 5:30 am, THE FLIGHT WAS GLORIOUS. We traveled on a C-17 flown by the US Air Force 109th Airlift Wing, Operation Deep Freeze – a very cool airplane.
We were seated along the sides of the aircraft, with massive pallets of cargo strap-netted down the center.
The aircraft crew were both professional and kind, even allowing us to spend some time individually in the cockpit. The cockpit view as we flew over the sea ice, glaciers, and mountains of Antarctica in morning light was epic.
Views out the troop door windows were excellent as well.
We arrived to a beautiful scene at the Pegasus Airfield, with calm winds, and a temperature just below zero Fahrenheit.
Reporting by Peter Kimball