Private operators
The first direct flight between Australia to land in Antarctica was on September 30 1964 when a ski equipped United States Navy LC130F (Hercules) took off from Avalon airfield near Geelong, Victoria.
This aircraft JD318, or Adelie, was under the command of Rear Admiral James R Reedy, and had a crew of 14. AAD Director, Phillip Law, and an Australian journalist David Burke, were among a small group of passengers.
The aircraft had an initial fuel load of 46,000 litres in wing tanks and a supplementary tank within the fuselage. A final fuel top-up occurred at the end of the Avalon runway.
The aircraft flew over the South Magnetic Pole, crossed the coast near the Mertz Glacier tongue and headed to the Geographic Pole. It made an airdrop of mail and newspapers and then continued to a landing at Byrd station - after a continuous flight covering 7110 kilometres and lasting 15 hours, 39 minutes.
The direct flight from Tasmania to land in Antarctica was undertaken by a private operator, Dick Smith, who flew from Hobart to Casey in a DeHavilland Twin Otter, landing on 6 November 1988.
The plane made a wheeled landing on a 1.5 km runway prepared by station expeditioners near S1, about 5.5 km east of Casey. The plane was then fitted with skis and assorted spare parts brought in on the Australian-chartered resupply vessel MV Icebird.
It made a number of flights in support of ANARE during its time in Antarctica. These included:
- transporting summer expeditioners and supplies from a temporary airfield on an ice floe near the MV Icebird to Davis station, about 140 nm distant
- doing similar work at Mawson from the edge of the fast ice into the station
- setting up a summer party in the Prince Charles Mountains.
