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Yesterday saw us complete the last of our required safety briefings, which was the helicopter safety briefing. This involved watching a safety video followed by a familiarisation tour of one of the helicopters. As this is the first time the AAD has used the AS350B3 helicopter in Antarctica it was essential that we all were familiarised with this new airframe, and the best way to do this is to view the aircraft up close. So one of the helicopters was rolled out of the hanger on to the heli deck, and the experienced crew of pilots and engineers from Helicopter Resources gave us thorough tour of the aircraft.
Today sees us parked in the pack ice and conducting helicopter operations for the first time of the voyage. We currently have two aircraft in the air and they will be flying to Davis to conduct some unplanned passenger movements. Once the helicopters have returned the ship and placed back in the hanger, we will depart this region through the pack ice and head round to the Mawson region.
Whilst the helicopters are conducting this flight, the AA crew are out on deck moving some cargo round and getting things ready for our arrival at Mawson. To do this they have spent much time this morning with steam pipes "de-frosting" frozen container twist locks, chains and lashings. A Task like moving a container, which is relatively easy back in Australia, is a difficult and time consuming operation in Antarctica, especially at these temperatures where everything outside will ice up.
Cheers,
Deepy and Brett
Map
A map showing Australia and Antarctica. The map shows the journey of one voyage that has occured in the season, with each route highlighted in a distinct colour.