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Interview with a pilot
What�s your name?
Adrian Pate
How old are you?
43
What type of helicopters do you fly?
We use two sorts but mainly the Eurocopter AS350BA, a light single engined helicopter. The other one is a Sikorsky S-76 a medium bigger twin engined helicopter.
We don�t actually operate the Sikorskys anymore and they used to be used for long ranged operations and now use the Eurocopter.
Does they have any special modifications to make it more suitable to the Antarctic climate?
No, not really. The aircraft can basically go from Hobart without any modifications at all. They are synthetic lubricants and so they [the aircraft] have no problems operating in the climate.
Our aviation operations operate between November and March and are there for the warmer part of the year. We modify the aircraft for particular science projects some of the work we do for example, is ice radar flying which involves the aircraft flying over the ice sheet and uses aerials and other bits of equipment to be fitted to the aircraft. That�s not specifically to do with the cold. If it were to be particularly cold, which is -20, we preheat the engines just so the oils and things warm up a bit. It makes it easier to start and we do that if it�s cold. Sometimes if it�s cold we take the batteries out of aircraft and we just hook them up the next morning. We do no actual modifications and the helicopters are able to handle it without anything done to them.
Do they use planes in Antarctica?
Up until last year for the last 30 years we have been using all helicopters . In the late 1960s and 50s the AD used the Air Force to provide aeroplanes but that only lasted a short time and they were blown away. They were operated down at Mawson station and at certain times of the year there were no hangars and they were sitting out on the ice and basically just blew away because of the winds.
Prior to last year 25-30 years the AD used exclusively helicopters. We operated a DeHavilland Twin Otter - a twin engined turbined air craft and that was essentially in support of longer ranged operations like filed camps. Their role was mainly to support camps in the field as I say, it�s more long ranged work and they can carry a decent payload over a distance. For the 2002/03 season and this year we will be using two DeHavilland Twin Otters and again to support remote long distance from stations field camps.
The plan is from the season after next that we are going to be implementing a system, an aircraft, Falcon 900 Ex, to fly our people down from Hobart to Casey and to ferry them from the air strip being made, to Davis and Mawson. We�d have the Falcon fly them down from Hobart and the CASA 212 to ferry them from Casey to the other stations and the other longer ranged places.
Where and when did you complete your flight training?
I started off and I�ve got both an aeroplane and a helicopter licence. I�ve only flown helicopters in Antarctic. I completed the licence with Trident in Brisbane in 1983, 20 years ago.
I did the commercial licence in Hobart at the Cambridge airport with the Aeroclub of Southern Tasmania. It was known then as Tasair. The aeroclub did the training and Tasair did the commercial side of things.
I got what we call a commercial fixed wing licence in 1981.
When did you start working in Antarctica?
My first trip to Antarctica was in 1991/1992 season.
What made you want to start piloting helicopters for the Antarctic Division?
Well really my personal main motivation was I joined Helicopter Resources which is a company to provide helicopters. To work in Hobart, so I joined Helicopter Resources in 1989 because they were based in Hobart. I was just lucky that one of the contracts they had was down there. It was just fortuitous that I got that contract. Having been there once I realised what a great place it was and had a few more trips down there.
What is your job exactly?
You're probably only interested in what I used to do. The helicopters do quite a range of things in addition to going to mainland Antarctica, we also go to Macquarie Island and Heard Island and what we do there with the helicopters is firstly we transfer the expeditioners and cargo from the ship to the shore. In the case of Macquarie island we restock the hubs with food and gas.
We also support any science programs that are happening. We�ve recently completed exterminating cats off the island. Some of the infrastructure of that project was provided by helicopters. We support those two islands [Macquarie and Heard] with the helicopters then go back on the ship and head further south. Once you get into the pack ice we have ice reconnaissance. Now their [the helicopters�] purpose is to assist the ships with navigation and go through the pack ice. When we�re up in helicopters we can see the thick ice and direct the ship.
We do a reasonable amount of marine science and the helicopters take ice samples, count seals or count penguins. We then keep going and very early in the season, the ships can�t get right into the station, the helicopters are used to transfer the expeditioners and the cargo from the ship to the station and from the station to the ship.
Two helicopters stay at Davis Station because that�s the centre of science activities. From mid November till mid February early March their job is to support other science projects. Some of the projects are like glaciology which is recording the flow rates of glaciers and accumulation of snow. Biological projects involve programs that look at the wildlife related issues like the numbers of seals and penguins and also again, with biology there are about 200-300 lakes. [The are] A mixture of very salty lakes and very freshwater lakes. The helicopters are just to transfer people to the lakes where they look at the lakes and the sediment underneath [the lakes].
In addition to the science related flights, there are a lot of flights just to do with the running of the station. Everybody has to be field trained and has to go out with an expert in outdoor activities, take a lot of gear out and learn how to survive and use the stoves and equipment in the environment. Typically the helicopters have taken them out to this field training until now.
What I actually do now, is that I am employed in the shipping and air operations and my job is to provide advice and support to people who want to use helicopters/aircraft in their programs. Supporting the aircraft logistically, provision fuel for them, contact a contractor in terms of training for pilots and also the administrative and paper work type of thing. A desk job, with no flying involved.
Do you like your job?
Yeah, it�s great. Yeah it's... Antarctica�s really a great place and it�s good to be involved in a job that�s involved in Antarctica. I�ve always liked aviation.
Would you recommend your job?
Yeah.... Yeah... it�s within the Commonwealth public service so it�s a secure job. Just the connections with Antarctica and aviation. Not everyone is interested in that sort of thing, but then if you are, it�s a really great job.
Do you think it would be any different to being a military, commercial pilot?
I think the main difference from the military or airline, they�re not required to deal with the general public, whereas you�re constantly talking with a wide range of people who have a wide range of people who want to use the helicopters in operations. They�re usually from a wide range of backgrounds, sometimes even geographically. You get a whole range of people, carpenters, scientists, diesel mechanics and you have to deal with them when they�re based in Antarctica or in a ship, which is a closed place. You have to get along with people, because you might be in a ship with them for a long time, it would be no help if you were arguing all the time. It helps from a public relations point of view, if you make an effort to get on with them.
From the actual flying point of view, Antarctica has a wide range of flying difficulties Different from the overall aviation scene. Depending on what you�re doing, it�s a little bit difficult to put an exact comparison, some of the tasks are easy and some are difficult, dealing with whiteouts and things like that. Really it�s hard to do a real comparison.
Are there any women pilots down in Antarctica?
I can really only talk about the AD, the Americans British also utilise aircraft but I can only talk for the AD. To my knowledge there have been no female pilots, but there have been several female helicopter engineers. There�s no problem with having female pilots there, the numbers of females [in Antarctica] are gradually increasing. Generally speaking, in Australia, there are very few female helicopter pilots.
I�m almost certain that there�s never been a female helicopter or aircraft pilot used by the contractors to the AD.
I�ve heard of stringent medical checks on pilots for the military. Do they have these sorts of checks on pilots in the Antarctic?
Yes they do. They�re not anything more than what you need to hold a commercial licence, you go through a stringent medical. In addition to that medical, you would do in Australia, the AD have very stringent medicals for all expeditioners. That�s basically because there�s only limited resources to cater for medical emergencies on the ship and on the station.
I've heard of penguins toppling over on their backs due to aircraft. Is that really a phenomenon or a myth?
Possibly the article you were referring to was some time in the early 80s there was a stampede of penguins that caused a large number to die. They suffocated because they panicked and because they were on top of each other. The cause of that particular incident was never categorically determined, there were a number of possibilities and at that time, none were thought to be the cause.
I should have told you this, but for a time we did use RAAF Hercules to drop supplies at Macquarie Island and that was one of the possibilities that was definitely not proven. There were other possibilities, like at the time, they used spotlighting for cats, and just spotlighting was another theory put forward as to why they might have stampeded. That was probably the reason. That was 20 years ago.
The AD generally takes the environmental side and aviation impact very seriously. Basically we�re not allowed to operate the aircraft 750 m close to wildlife. At that distance it will have a very low, if any, impact on wildlife. There are some projects that if for any reason, say you wanted to use a helicopter in a science project to do something to particular seals, you may be given dispensation to the rule if the science is deemed to be more worthwhile than the impact on seals. But, our general rule is to stay 750 m away from wildlife. Really, that�s a very low impact distance.
Do you need 20/20 vision to be a pilot in Antarctica?
No. As far as actual vision. If your vision is good enough to hold a commercial licence, the AD would not put any restrictions on you as far as that. I�m not full bottle on the exact medical situation as far as it goes. You are allowed to wear glasses and the correction is quite a lot. It�s not a particularly restrictive rule. Commercial pilots can have reasonable correction with their glasses. There is no specific Antarctic restriction.