15 May 2008

3rd and 4th plane arrive

Rockets are fired to give an extra push to the air craft to get it airborne.

Rockets (so-called ATOs or JATOs) are fired to give an extra push to the air craft to get it airborne. Photo: Jim Hedfors, NEEM team.

We have fought bravely against nature, but we have not been able to remove the bumps on the skiway. This means that the planes cannot land with as much cargo as planned. Those are the conditions, and we have to adjust.

The two planes today arrived with a 1 hour interval. There was hectic activity in camp at this time. On the last plane, three new crew members arrived: Sarah, Claus and Hans Christian. Now we are 8 in camp, and this requires a little more discipline in terms of cleaning up. Gone are the days with five guys living in a den.

We suffered a strike of bad luck as we were about to mount a 3 ton crane onto the new Pistenbully. With great care we placed the crane behind the Pistenbully and connected the hydraulic hoses to the vehicle. Then we could raise the crane on it’s legs and slip the Pistenbully under it. As we pulled the Pistenbully under the crane, we needed to move the hoses from the crane. For reasons unknown to us, the crane suddenly began to move all by itself. Nobody were at the controls of the crane. The result was that the crane arm bent down and smashed the hydraulic control system. Now we have a useless crane until we can repair the damage. Tomorrow we will try to assess the damage. Luckily nobody was hurt.

What we have done today:

  1. Received two flights.
  2. Welcomed three new crew members.
  3. Built weatherport no. 4. This weatherport will be our heated food store.
  4. Moved 16 kW generator to kitchen area, and moved a 5 kW generator to the newly erected weatherports.
  5. Unpacked arriving cargo and stored non-freeze food in the food store weatherport.
  6. Tried to mount crane on Pistenbully.
  7. Cleaned up in the kitchen.

Weather: It was ideal for flying: Cold and a good wind. -26°C to -20°C and a 4 m/s wind from SE. Sunshine all day, and in the evening fog.

Sarah, our cook, prepared a nice dinner for us.

Field Leader, J.P. Steffensen

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