july 2008 flight airworthiness support technology · australia, and captain garry studd is...

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BLUE-ICE RUNWAY OPERATIONS - AIRBUS ACJ TO ANTARCTICABLUE-ICE RUNWAY OPERATIONS - AIRBUS ACJ TO ANTARCTICA

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David VELUPILLAIProduct Marketing Director

Executive & Private Aviation Airbus Customer Affairs

An Airbus Corporate Jetliner (ACJ) is now flyingregularly to and from Antarctica, transportingscientists more quickly and in greater comfortthan by ship. The flights are the first to Antarcticaby any airliner, the first landings on ice by

any Airbus aircraft, and mean that the Airbus ACJ Family is now flying on every continent,highlighting the versatility of the family. CaptainGarry Studd explains operation of the aircraft in Antarctica.

Blue-ice runwayoperations

Airbus ACJ to Antarctica

Perth

Sydney

Hobart

Christchurch

McMurdo

Wilkins

Casey

60° 70° 80°

OperationsIt is approaching midnight inAustralia, and Captain GarryStudd is preparing to fly a group ofresearch scientists in Skytraders’Airbus Corporate Jetliner (ACJ) to Antarctica. The flight takes justover four and a half hours, so itmeans a landing in the middle ofthe night - albeit in daylight,be-cause of the midnight sun.

Why not during more civilisedhours? The reason is to have acolder temperature on the Wilkinsblue-ice runway where they willland, and it highlights the contrastsand paradoxes of the Antarctic.

We think of the Antarctic as beingone of the coldest places on Earth,and indeed it is, with winter temperatures falling below – 60°Celsius. But it is summer and, inthe daytime, it rarely drops below – 20° Celsius.

Landing at night when the temper-atures are lower means that the icerunway will have a better surfacecoefficient of friction. There areabout 2,500 feet of ice underneaththe runway, and solid groundunderneath that – unlike the Arctic,where there is only ice – but it is, ofcourse, the ice on the surface thatmatters. Much about the Antarcticis impressive. Some 80 per cent ofthe world’s fresh water is locked upin its ice, and it is one of theworld’s coldest, loneliest, mostbeautiful and most unspoiledplaces.

Garry Studd has wanted to be apolar explorer since the age ofabout seven, has been involved inthe Antarctic for more than 31years, and is probably one of theworld’s most experienced Antarcticpilots.

So what’s it like taking an Airbusaircraft to Antarctica and landingon an ice-runway?

�Midnight sun:the Earth’s tilt means 24 hours

a day of sunlight in summer

in the southern polar region.

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BLUE-ICE RUNWAY OPERATIONS - AIRBUS ACJ TO ANTARCTICA

Skytraders looked at a range of air-craft ranging from small to largebefore choosing the Airbus ACJ forits Antarctic operations. ‘We want-ed an aircraft without a point-of-no-return for the mission,” saysStudd, and the Airbus ACJ’s verylong range and modest size andweight make it great for the job.’

It operates the flights to and fromthe Antarctic on behalf of theAustralian Antarctic Division, andthe big benefit it brings is a reduc-tion in the time it takes to get sci-entists and their equipment to andfrom the region. ‘Under the bestconditions, it takes about ten daysto go by ship from Hobart to thebase at Casey, but it can take threeor four weeks if you get stuck inthe ice,’ points out Studd. ‘TheAirbus ACJ also costs less a day torun than a ship, says Studd, ‘andfreeing one up is helpful for marineresearch.’ The rapid flight time isalso of direct benefit to some sci-entists. He cites the example of oneresearcher that makes measure-ments of an isotope buried in 1,000metre long ice cores that are drilledout of the ice. The isotope breaksdown in about 24 hours so, untilthe flights began, it was not possi-ble to get them back to the labora-

tory in time for meaningful re-search. Some of the ice in thesecores dates from a million yearsago, making it a very special andunique insight into the Earth’s past.Other Antarctic research coversmany other fields – such as atmos-pheric measurements, geology,glaciology and work involvingplants and animals.


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Garry Studd says: ‘The landingand stopping are not a problem –braking action is only slightlyworse than landing on a wet run-way - our biggest challenge is lat-eral control and handling the air-craft on the ground, especially instrong winds, when there is risk ofthe whole aircraft trying to ‘weath-ercock’ (point its nose into wind)’.He continues – ‘The team on theground measures the friction coef-ficient every 500 metres along therunway before we land and reportsto us by radio – if it is okay weland, and if not we turn around.’ Inpractice, the Airbus ACJ pilots arelooking for a runway friction coef-ficient of around 0.20 or better,before they will commit to a land-ing.

‘Blue-ice’ simply means a runwaysurface that is kept clear of snowby the wind and, at Wilkins, a 30knots wind is typically what youget. Meteorological measurements,made before the runway was built,allowed its centreline to be alignedwith this wind.‘The challenge comes when youtry to turn the aircraft around at the end of the landing roll,’ con-tinues Studd, ‘so we deliberatelyrestrict the Airbus ACJ’s centre-of-gravity when landing on ice to

keep a better distribution of weight on all three landing gear tooptimize the bearing strength ofthe ice and also assist us to make a 180 degree turn on the blue-icerunway in winds of up to about 50 knots.’

Skytraders operates its Airbus ACJwith four additional centre tanks(ACTs) in its cargo-hold – there isroom for a maximum of six – andappreciates the aircraft’s outward-opening cargo doors, which maxi-mizes the remaining cargo space.The extra fuel carried in thesetanks allows Skytraders to fly itsAirbus ACJ to Antarctica and backwithout refuelling, which bringsseveral important benefits. ‘First, itmeans that if the weather is notgood enough for a landing, we canalways turn around and fly back toAustralia, which is pretty impor-tant when you recognize that thereis no nearby alternate,’ commentsStudd. ‘Secondly, the Antarctic isvery much a pristine, unspoiledplace – one of the reasons it is sovaluable to scientists – so avoidingrefuelling means that there is norisk of contamination from a fuelspill. And thirdly, transporting fuelto the Wilkins runway would makeit very costly – perhaps as much as$25 a gallon.’

Approach to the Wilkins runway,note PAPI lights on the left of the runway

Landing on the Wilkins runway Runway flyover On the way

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certificated aerodrome in Austra-lian territory. Situated 70 kilome-tres inland, and at a height of 2,500feet, the Wilkins runway is 4,000metres long and 100 metres wide.It comprises levelled blue-ice, andhas to meet the same stringentstandards required of other Aus-tralian airports – including nobumps above a certain height andother conditions. Crea-ting andmaintaining a surface of compact-ed snow, which offers better brak-ing action, is a constant challenge,and the surface can easily be des-troyed by a blizzard. Fortuna-tely,the blue-ice runway underneathcan still be used for landings, albeitwith some limitations.

Skytraders made its first AirbusACJ landing in the Antarctic on19th November 2007, at the USbase in McMurdo Sound, wherethe facilities are much larger andlonger established. This was fol-lowed by a first landing at Wilkinson 9th December, and full opera-tions were certificated by Austra-lia’s Civil Aviation Safety Autho-rity (CASA) in January 2008. ‘Wevery much appreciated the supportfrom Airbus for these pioneeringflights, especially that of Airbuspilot John Quinnell, who has beenthe life and soul of our operation inthe Antarctic, and that of retiredVice President Flight DivisionPierre Baud, who was with us onour very first landing at WilkinsRunway,’ says Studd.

One of the big challenges of regu-lar Antarctic flights is, of course,the risk of an aircraft becoming un-serviceable on the ground. Sky-traders works actively to minimizethe risk, by keeping the aircraftwell maintained and only commit-ting to landings when everything isin good working order. Like othercorporate jet operators around theworld, it also flies with an engineeron board. The Auxiliary PowerUnit (APU) is started at top-of-descent, for example, to ensure thatthere are at least two sources of airfor an engine start on the ground(the APU and the ground power

unit). ‘We also tend to avoidchanges to the aircraft configura-tion until we are sure that we canland’, says Studd.

But what happens if the worst hap-pens, and the aircraft becomesunserviceable on the ground? ‘Itmight take time, but we would finda way to fix it,’ says Studd. ‘TheAntarctic is a very special place,and people help each other,’ headds. ‘We tend to go only when theweather is good’, says Studd, ‘andin the Antarctic the weather is usu-ally either very, very good, or very,very bad.’

‘In practical terms, we are lookingfor a cloud base of 2,000 feet ormore, and a visibility of at least 10 kilometres, before we will com-mit to a landing’, he adds. ‘In wea-ther terms, one of the biggest dan-gers is the lack of surface defini-tion in the landscape, making ithard to judge how far away thingsare, and how high you are abovethem’, points out Studd. ‘This isexacerbated by a phenomenonknown as whiteout, which canoccur even when there is a highcloud-base and, sometimes, unlim-ited visibility.’

An established Global PositioningSystem (GPS) approach is usedwhen flying into Wilkins, and all ofthe bearings are ‘true’ rather thanmagnetic.‘We operate in ‘true’ or grid-basednavigation below a latitude of 60°south’, says Studd, ‘and making thetransition is very easy in the AirbusACJ – everything goes to ‘true’ onthe push of a button’. PrecisionApproach Path Indicators (PAPI)provide the final guidance in thefinal phases.

‘We will only land if there is lessthan 5 knots of cross-wind, we have‘primary’ GPS navigation and if therunway friction coefficient is 0.2 orbetter’, explains Studd. ‘We fly afully managed ap-proach and willtypically use medium autobrake forthe landing’, adds Studd.


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Skytraders’ Airbus ACJ flights alsomake research more accessible toscientists – who might not be ableto afford to devote the month ortwo that travel by ship woulddemand, but would be able to sparea week or two. It also makes emer-gency evacuation flights possibleand, if equipment breaks or some-thing needs replacing, then it caneasily be flown out very quickly.Skytraders’ Airbus ACJ features anairline-style layout, with 28 seatsin business class, and 54 in econo-my. Flights to the Antarctic typical-ly carry around 20-25 passengers,however, which is well within the40 or so persons that can beaccommodated in the emergencyshelter at the Wilkins runway (themain Australian research base is atCasey, about 60 kilometres away).The Antarctic flights leave fromHobart in Tasmania, and are run asa full public transport operation –one of the benefits of the AirbusACJ is that it is fully certificated

for such operations – under thecompany’s own Air OperatorCertificate (AOC). They are flownduring the Antarctic summer,which typically runs from end-October to early-March. Becausethe routing takes the Airbus ACJfar from nearby airports, the flightsare flown under 180 min ExtendedTime Diversion Operations, whichare like ETOPS (Extended Twin-engine Operations), but with someadditional requirements. Based onexperience to date, Skytraders’Airbus ACJ typically does two orthree trips a week at the start andend of the season, when there is themost need for getting people andequipment to and from the site, andan average of about one trip a weekduring the rest of it.

The blue-ice runway at Wilkins iscertificated to the same high stan-dards as other Australian airports,including Sydney. It took fouryears to build, and is the largest

�True VS magnetic:Magnetic compasses behave

erratically close to the poles,

and navigation based

on a true or grid reference

is used in the polar regions.

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certificated aerodrome in Austra-lian territory. Situated 70 kilome-tres inland, and at a height of 2,500feet, the Wilkins runway is 4,000metres long and 100 metres wide.It comprises levelled blue-ice, andhas to meet the same stringentstandards required of other Aus-tralian airports – including nobumps above a certain height andother conditions. Creating andmaintaining a surface of compact-ed snow, which offers better brak-ing action, is a constant challenge,and the surface can easily be des-troyed by a blizzard. Fortunately,the blue-ice runway underneathcan still be used for landings, albeitwith some limitations.

Skytraders made its first AirbusACJ landing in the Antarctic on19th November 2007, at the USbase in McMurdo Sound, wherethe facilities are much larger andlonger established. This was fol-lowed by a first landing at Wilkinson 9th December, and full opera-tions were certificated by Austra-lia’s Civil Aviation Safety Autho-rity (CASA) in January 2008. ‘Wevery much appreciated the supportfrom Airbus for these pioneeringflights, especially that of Airbuspilot John Quinnell, who has beenthe life and soul of our operation inthe Antarctic, and that of retiredVice President Flight DivisionPierre Baud, who was with us onour very first landing at WilkinsRunway,’ says Studd.

One of the big challenges of regu-lar Antarctic flights is, of course,the risk of an aircraft becoming un-serviceable on the ground. Sky-traders works actively to minimizethe risk, by keeping the aircraftwell maintained and only commit-ting to landings when everything isin good working order. Like othercorporate jet operators around theworld, it also flies with an engineeron board. The Auxiliary PowerUnit (APU) is started at top-of-descent, for example, to ensure thatthere are at least two sources of airfor an engine start on the ground(the APU and the ground power

unit). ‘We also tend to avoidchanges to the aircraft configura-tion until we are sure that we canland’, says Studd.

But what happens if the worst hap-pens, and the aircraft becomesunserviceable on the ground? ‘Itmight take time, but we would finda way to fix it,’ says Studd. ‘TheAntarctic is a very special place,and people help each other,’ headds. ‘We tend to go only when theweather is good’, says Studd, ‘andin the Antarctic the weather is usu-ally either very, very good, or very,very bad.’

‘In practical terms, we are lookingfor a cloud base of 2,000 feet ormore, and a visibility of at least 10 kilometres, before we will com-mit to a landing’, he adds. ‘In wea-ther terms, one of the biggest dan-gers is the lack of surface defini-tion in the landscape, making ithard to judge how far away thingsare, and how high you are abovethem’, points out Studd. ‘This isexacerbated by a phenomenonknown as whiteout, which canoccur even when there is a highcloud-base and, sometimes, unlim-ited visibility.’

An established Global PositioningSystem (GPS) approach is usedwhen flying into Wilkins, and all ofthe bearings are ‘true’ rather thanmagnetic.‘We operate in ‘true’ or grid-basednavigation below a latitude of 60°south’, says Studd, ‘and making thetransition is very easy in the AirbusACJ – everything goes to ‘true’ onthe push of a button’. PrecisionApproach Path Indicators (PAPI)provide the final guidance in thefinal phases.

‘We will only land if there is lessthan 5 knots of cross-wind, we have‘primary’ GPS navigation and if therunway friction coefficient is 0.2 orbetter’, explains Studd. ‘We fly afully managed approach and willtypically use medium autobrake forthe landing’, adds Studd.


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Skytraders’ Airbus ACJ flights alsomake research more accessible toscientists – who might not be ableto afford to devote the month ortwo that travel by ship woulddemand, but would be able to sparea week or two. It also makes emer-gency evacuation flights possibleand, if equipment breaks or some-thing needs replacing, then it caneasily be flown out very quickly.Skytraders’ Airbus ACJ features anairline-style layout, with 28 seatsin business class, and 54 in econo-my. Flights to the Antarctic typical-ly carry around 20-25 passengers,however, which is well within the40 or so persons that can beaccommodated in the emergencyshelter at the Wilkins runway (themain Australian research base is atCasey, about 60 kilometres away).The Antarctic flights leave fromHobart in Tasmania, and are run asa full public transport operation –one of the benefits of the AirbusACJ is that it is fully certificated

for such operations – under thecompany’s own Air OperatorCertificate (AOC). They are flownduring the Antarctic summer,which typically runs from end-October to early-March. Becausethe routing takes the Airbus ACJfar from nearby airports, the flightsare flown under 180 min ExtendedTime Diversion Operations, whichare like ETOPS (Extended Twin-engine Operations), but with someadditional requirements. Based onexperience to date, Skytraders’Airbus ACJ typically does two orthree trips a week at the start andend of the season, when there is themost need for getting people andequipment to and from the site, andan average of about one trip a weekduring the rest of it.

The blue-ice runway at Wilkins iscertificated to the same high stan-dards as other Australian airports,including Sydney. It took fouryears to build, and is the largest

�True VS magnetic:Magnetic compasses behave

erratically close to the poles,

and navigation based

on a true or grid reference

is used in the polar regions.

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next mission’. ‘During the past sea-son we flew a total of 12 flights,turned back twice for weather rea-sons, and achieved 100 per centreliability’, says Studd.

The Antarctic flights are only onepart of Skytraders’ use of the AirbusACJ, however. Studd points outthat the aircraft is the first of itskind in Australia that it is availablefor charter, and that it has alreadydone many flights of this kind.‘We’re expecting to fly about 300-400 hours a season, and arevery pleased with what we have already achieved with our AirbusACJ operations’, says Studd. ‘The Airbus ACJ has more thandemonstrated its versatility andreliability in operations to one ofthe most hostile places on Earth,and we are glad to have it in ourfleet’, he concludes.


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‘Once on the ground, we minimizeuse of the nosewheel steering toavoid skidding’, he adds.

The edges of the runway aremarked by canvas markers oncanes, which have to be put out foreach aircraft arrival and departure,or they would blow away. Eight full time staff are responsible forweather reporting, and for clearingand preparing the runway for eachlanding.

‘Ice is dynamic, and one of the pe-culiarities of the Wilkins runway isthat its threshold moves at about12-15 metres a year, significant,but not enough to affect our day-to-day operations’, points out Studd.

After landing, we leave the slatsand flaps in the ‘1 + F’ configura-tion, which allows easier detectionof any trapped ice and snow and isalso the setting that we will use fortakeoff.

Once the Airbus ACJ has landed, itusually stays just long enough tounload and reload passengers andequipment. This usually takes aboutone and a half to two hours, duringwhich the engines are shut downbut the APU is kept running.‘When it is –20° Celsius and blow-ing 50 knots, however, things takea bit longer’, points out Studd. ‘Weoperate with three pilots on board’,says Studd, ‘which gives us somereserve for the unexpected, such as one of us being incapacitated byslipping and falling on the ice.With the engineer and a flight at-tendant that makes a crew of five’,he adds. ‘We are sometimes facedwith snow blowing along the sur-face and, in such conditions, thegood clearance between the AirbusACJ’s engines and the ground are a further plus’, he adds. ‘When it istime to leave, we do a wing anti-icecheck, then we start the enginesand it is back to Australia for theSkytraders Airbus ACJ - until the

�‘Antarctica in brief’Antarctica comprises some 13 million

square kilometres - more than

the whole of Canada and the United

States put together, and about

twice the size of Australia.

Paradoxically, for a land that has

so much of the world’s freshwater

locked up in its ice cap, Antarctica

is a very dry place. Parts of the ice cap

are more than 14,000 feet high,

and even the South Pole is some

9,250 feet high. Nobody owns Antarctica

although several countries, including

Australia, have territorial claims.

Some 45 countries are signatories

to the Antarctic Treaty, which currently

ensures the future of Antarctica

for scientific, non-commercial

and peaceful purposes.

Australia has the largest claim

to Antarctica – just over 40 per cent –

and runs three scientific research

bases, at Casey, Mawson and Davis.

Turboprop CASA 212s - equipped

with skis – and operated by Skytraders

are also used for flights within

Antarctica on behalf of the Australian

Antarctic Division.

�‘Airbus ACJ Family’Airbus has created corporate

jet versions of its aircraft from time

to time since its early days, but

it was not until 1997 that it entered

the market in a more comprehensive

way, with the launch of an A319

derivative called the Airbus Corporate

Jetliner (ACJ).

Featuring a VIP or other cabin chosen

by the customer, extra fuel-tanks

in the cargo-hold for intercontinental

range, high-thrust engines for good

takeoff performance, built-in airstairs

and a richer specification,

it has established itself as the new

top-of-the-line in corporate jets,

delivering more comfort and space

than traditional business jets.

The Airbus ACJ Family, which now

comprises the A318 Elite, ACJ

and A320 Prestige, has won more

than 100 sales, worth more than

$5.5 billion since its inception,

and continues to win new business

from private clients, companies

and governments.

It is complemented by VIP widebodies

ranging from the A330/A340 through

the A350 and all the way up

to the A380, for customers

that want even more comfort

and space, as well as the range

to fly ‘non-stop to the world’.


Antarctica, once the preserve of polar explorers, is now regularlyaccessible to scientists through regularflights by the Airbus ACJ, helping usto understand more about our planet.Conscious of the need to preserve this pristine wilderness for generations to come, the flights are made in an environmentally responsible way,

with careful preparation and operationhelping to ensure safety in challengingsurroundings.The Airbus ACJ’s ability to handle a wide range of climatic conditions meansthat it takes these demanding operationsin its stride, highlighting once againthe versatility and operational flexibility of the modern Airbus family.

CONTACT DETAILS

David VELUPILLAIProduct Marketing DirectorExecutive & Private AviationAirbus Customer AffairsTel: +33 (0)5 67 19 18 32Fax: +33 (0)5 61 93 45 [email protected]

Conclusion

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CAPTAIN GARRY STUDD ACCEPTSAIRBUS AWARD ON BEHALF OF SKYTRADERS - AIRBUS ACJ FORUMIN PARIS, 2ND APRIL 2008

Captain Garry Studd, Skytraders’Deputy Chief Pilot (centre), acceptsthe Airbus award for Skytraders’pioneering of the first flights to the Antarctic by any airliner, the

first landings on an ice-runway byany Airbus aircraft, and the firstoperations on the continent by anAirbus Corporate Jetliner. The award was presented by CharlesChampion, Airbus EVP CustomerServices (left) with AntoineVieillard (right), Airbus VP A320Family and CJ/VIP Programmewithin Customer Services.

�Garry Studdhas wanted to be a polar explorer

since he was seven years old and,

when he was just 16, led an

expedition to Spitzbergen, within

the arctic circle. He originally

attempted to qualify as a doctor,

but became a pilot instead

when this did not work out.

He began flying in Antarctica

in 1977, where he was Chief Pilot

for the British Antarctic Survey,

flying Twin Otters, until 1984.

He has continued his involvement

with Antarctic flight operations

for various organizations to date.

His passion was development

flying and, from 1984-1988,

he ran the flight test department

of Decca Navigator in the UK

(later Racal Avionics and THALES).

From 1990 he was Chief Pilot

of a major UK executive

jet charter company and latterly

ran his own company specialising

in training Falcon 900 business jet

pilots and, for part of this time,

he also flew Falcons for a private

customer.

In 2004, Garry went to Australia

to become Deputy Chief Pilot for

Skytraders.

He has flown some 17,000 hours,

of which about 6,000

are in the Antarctic.

His interests include skiing

and woodworking.

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FUEL SYSTEM WATER MANAGEMENT - PART II

In the good old daysrefuelling aircraft wasnot as organized andefficient as it is today,with the consequenthigher probability ofwater or contaminationin fuel.

However, aircraft inthose days flew farless hours and distanceand fuel tanks wereeasier to drain andclean. The advances inaircraft operationssince these days havebrought new issues inaircraft fuel andsolutions for them asdescribed in the articleon page 21.

Fuel system water managementPart II

july 2008 flight airworthiness support technology · australia, and captain garry studd is...

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