Pegasus Field, a blue ice runway at McMurdo Station
A blue ice runway is a runway constructed in Antarctic areas with no net annual snow accumulation. The density of the ice increases as air bubbles are forced out, strengthening the resultant ice surface so that aircraft landings using wheels instead of skis can be supported. Such runways simplify the transfer of materials to research stations, since wheeled aircraft can carry much heavier loads than ski-equipped aircraft.[1]
Blue ice runways are created as a way of streamlining transport to the interior. Without them, most heavy materials must be brought by ship, then ferried inland by ski-equipped smaller aircraft. Large, wheeled aircraft can fly directly into the interior, saving time and money. In particular, they allow for rare medical evacuations to take place year round. The United States Antarctic Program uses them to support its substantial science activities.
Because of ice's low coefficient of friction, planes tend to decelerate with reverse thrust, as opposed to traditional means of braking the wheels, and so runways are often several miles long.
^"Blue Ice Runways in Antarctica". Amundsen–Scott South Pole Station. Retrieved 2008-09-22.
A blueicerunway is a runway constructed in Antarctic areas with no net annual snow accumulation. The density of the ice increases as air bubbles are...
The IceRunway (ICAO: NZIR) is the principal runway for the U.S. Antarctic Program during the summer Antarctic field season due to its proximity to McMurdo...
Union Glacier Blue-IceRunway SCGC is the new runway, 70 kilometers from Patriot Hills. Patriot Hills is being retained as a backup runway. In the summer...
flights starting in February 2017. Pegasus was originally conceived as a blueicerunway capable of handling wheeled aircraft year-round, but as it was developed...
Antarctica. It is the first runway built on Antarctica that supports large passenger jets to take off and land on. Blueicerunway List of airports in Antarctica...
Ice, brand name for an ice pack product Blueicerunway This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title Blueice. If an internal link...
in an area of blueice, an extremely hard and dense ice which has lost the air bubbles that normally cloud the ice. It provides a runway able to accommodate...
these flights, the Dash can fly to Sky Blu in one hop, landing on the BlueIcerunway, significantly enhancing the range of the Twin Otters by depositing...
Areas". Australian Antarctic Data Center. Retrieved 9 September 2020. "IceRunway". Airport Nav Finder. Retrieved October 17, 2018. "Mid Point Skiway"....
(grass, dirt, gravel, ice, sand or salt). Runways, taxiways and ramps, are sometimes referred to as "tarmac", though very few runways are built using tarmac...
kilometres (2.2 mi) east of India's Maitri research station. The Novo runway is a blueicerunway, located 8.7 kilometres (5.4 mi) away, operated by Antarctic...
Field consists of two snow runways located on approximately 8 meters (25 ft) of compacted snow, lying on top of 8–10 ft of ice, floating over 550 meters...
operates to and from the purpose-built Wilkins Runway - a 4,000-metre long snow capped blue-icerunway in the Upper Petersen Glacier located 70 km from...
an IceRunway in the Gerlache Inlet to start the summer campaign but in recent years the icerunway was closed earlier then before because of the ice thickness...
the name Heritage Range. The glacier is the site of Union Glacier Blue-IceRunway, Union Glacier Camp and Union Glacier Station. Union Glacier. Scale...
these flights, the Dash can fly to Sky Blu in one hop, landing on the BlueIcerunway, significantly enhancing the range of the Twin Otters by depositing...
snow roads disrupt transportation at McMurdo", Antarctic Sun Pegasus blueicerunway (PDF), National Science Foundation, October 2000, OP-M-52 Drive from...
other life on the ice as far south as the pole appear to be weather deposited strays. The Mount Howe area has the closest blueicerunway to the South Pole...
Runway 8/26 at Blue Grass Airport was closed in March 2009, and the new 4,000 foot (1,200 m) Runway 9/27 opened on August 4, 2010. The new runway has...
Florida Sugar Cane Growers Council, a Fijian trade union Union Glacier Blue-IceRunway, in Antarctica This disambiguation page lists articles associated with...
compacted snow, rather than the "blueice" base under Pegasus. With the new design and construction technique, its runway is designed to withstand approximately...
ISBN 978-0-309-04626-8. Retrieved September 20, 2018. "The Oldest Ice on Earth?". Ice Story Dispatches from Polar Scientists. Retrieved August 24, 2018...
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