ANTARCTIC SEASON CLOSES

05.03.2010

The 2009/10 Antarctic summer season closes today with an Australian Airbus A319 flight to Pegasus Runway.

This season has seen 59 C-17 flights, 7 RNZAF Hercules flights and two successful trials of the RNZAF Boeing 757.  Aimed to operate along with the Hercules, the B757 may prove a more efficient method of transporting passengers, and takes about half the time that the Hercules does.  The next flight, a winter fly-in (Winfly) will not take place until mid-August. 

NZ and US winter crews gather at the chalet at McMurdo Station to watch the Airbus as it departs (© Tom Arnold)

C-17 aircraft refuelling on the Ice Runway (© S Gordon: K003 09/10)

Boeing 757 at Pegasus Runway (© Carlie Reum)