I seem to have found a website that lists Antarctic airstrips and airports in some detail-- for pilots. I'm not sure what to do with it at this time but given that I intend to travel around Antarctica (virtually) to verify either an 8000 mile or 60,000 mile radius consistent with either a global or flat earth, it behooves me to be familar with where I'm flying and what the airports are like. One ANOMALY struck me while exploring this site. The "Google Map", when expanded, shows no runway. It goes black. That's not good.
Note the location of Neumeryer--- Senae IV is just a bit higher than that toward NOVOLazarestk. On a flat earth, it makes little sense to go from there to the south pole-- that's why they're saying all South Pole missions have to originate in McMurdo-- of course-- because the designated pole is inland on the Antarctica plane from there.
Strange:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.exegetic.biz/blog/2015/03/encyclopaedia-sanae-iv/
It is possible to fly from Cape Town to a blue ice runway near SANAE IV, but the costs are prohibitively high. Personnel, supplies, and equipment normally reach SANAE IV by sea.
However, this South African space scientist says she has just landed at the base [no plane shown, but perhaps from a plane window? No, it's a helicopter - see below]
https://twitter.com/AnibugZA/status/546728489035264003
I am officially a resident of SANAE IV, Antarctica, for the next 6-8 weeks! �� Just landed at the base!
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/B5ZejwRCIAAF76z.jpg
10:06 am - 21 Dec 2014 [2:06 am UTC]
but, it's 90 miles inland perched on a plateau 850m above sea level, so that doesn't quite make sense never to use air.
SANAE IV (72° 40′ 22″S 2° 50′ 26″W), is located in the Norwegian territorial claim of Queen Maud Land, some 90 miles (150 km) from the edge of the ice shelf.
Actually, our space scientist arrives by helicopter from wherever the boat Agulhas II has anchored.
https://twitter.com/AnibugZA/status/546768551848443904
Ani Vermeulen @AnibugZA
What an incredible day today has been. From the #AgulhasII to #SANAE via helicopter, & straight out onto the ice! 12:45 pm - 21 Dec 2014 [4.45 am utc]
but back to the boat overland, not by helicopter
https://twitter.com/AnibugZA/status/559910815445577728
Ani Vermeulen @AnibugZA
Farewell to #SANAE IV, #Antarctica! Sad to leave, but excited to be driving cross-country back to the SA #Agulhas II! https://pbs.twimg.com/media/B8Uztb0CcAA6moN.jpg
7:08 pm - 26 Jan 2015 [11:08 am utc]
Yeah that's weird. She actually wrote "driving cross country" back the Agulhas.... that seems impossible given the fact that the Senae IV station is 2000 ft up a sheer cliff. Good find. And besides, there IS an airstrip there-- why not use it? ...aside from the helicopter that is.
ReplyDeleteHere is a video simulation-- (why did someone do this?) of a Twin Otter landing at Senae IV.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c2F_A_iOgBQ
The only youtube landings at Senae IV I can find are video simulators.
https://www.google.com/search?q=landing+at+sanae+IV+antarctica&num=100&newwindow=1&safe=off&hl=en&gl=us&authuser=0&tbas=0&prmd=ivns&source=lnms&tbm=vid&sa=X&ei=W45bVYqMFMerggSPhYLACw&ved=0CAYQ_AU
Even though the map above-- which looks credible though I haven't sourced it (it's in my computer notes)... even though it shows an airport at Senae, I can't find a single youtube of a landing or an airstrip or a photo of an airstrip there yet. Other stations have youtubes of various aircraft leaving and landing. Not Senae.
It's all simulated landings.
There is supposed to be a flight connection from the Norwegian hub at Troll. But I find no images anywhere of planes at Sanae. If they can land at the pole, or other isolated station on skis, why not at Sanae?
DeleteThere's a large cache of newsletters from the base here
http://www.sanap.ac.za/sanap_sanae/sanae_newsletters/
The research seems to contrate on the upper atmosphere and beyond. The previous SANAE base was 20 km from the coast, the latest, Sanae IV is 180 km from the coast. One wonders how the decison came to plonk it just there.
I have only glanced at a few. for example, this one has a diagram showing transshipment at Akta Bukta [bay] of goods by helicopter [pp 6/7] and describes a 1.5 hour Bell helicopter ride.
http://www.sanap.ac.za/sanap_sanae/sanae_newsletters/46%20Newsletter.pdf
SANAE mainly uses two buktas for offloading, Penguin Bukta which is close to where SANAE
III and the old E-base were, and Atka Bukta which is close to the old and new German
Stations Neumayer II & I
http://www.sanap.ac.za/sanap_sanae/sanae_newsletters/S49%20Newsletter%20March%202010.pdf
It seems a bit crazy [map page 9] because the new route is quite a bit longer, 320 km vs 174 km.
From what I can gather one major installaton is part of the Super DARN radar network over Antarctica and the Southern Oceans. Some details are here
http://bobweigel.net/spaceweather/images/SuperDARN-GMU.pdf
The diagrams here show Sanae on the coast...
http://jeffreydonenfeld.com/blog/2013/01/building-electronics-for-antarcticas-automatic-geophysical-observatories-network/
http://vt.superdarn.org/tiki-index.php?page=SANAE+Info
http://vt.superdarn.org/assets/img/fovs.SH.gif
http://vt.superdarn.org/tiki-index.php?page=Radar+Overview
It all seems very connected with NASA
Update - I now fnd a plane parked at Sanae
ReplyDeletehttp://www.sanap.ac.za/sanap_sanae/sanae_newsletters/SANAE%2049%20Vol.10%20Rev.0.pdf
A team from the BAS flew into Sanae from Cape Town and Novo for temporary accommodaton in a Basler BT-67 en route eventually for Halley.
-page 2
The next page documents how easy it is to fly in people and equipment from Cape Town to Novo or even Troll by ALCI Ilyushins for transshipment to smaller planes. Quite why the South Africans don't use this means pf reaching Sanae is a mystery.
BTW, I find this issue of the newsletter, concernin the "passing away"of a colleague quite bizarre, no details of the alleged accident...
http://www.sanap.ac.za/sanap_sanae/sanae_newsletters/SANAE%2048%20newsletter%20-%20in%20memory%20of%20Johann.pdf