169. Honourable Company of Air Pilots Cobham Lecture RAF Club 24 April 2024


It was with pleasure that I accepted on behalf of the Water Conservators an invitation from the Master-Elect to attend their annual Cobham Lecture on Wednesday 24 April 2024 at 1800hrs. The lecture on ‘Royal New Zealand Air Force Antarctic Operations’ was presented by Wing Commander Richard Beaton RNZAF who had managed to combine the visit with the annual ANZAC services in London.

He started by saying that the Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) is operating aircraft to the coldest, driest and windiest continent on Earth – Antarctica.  Supporting scientific exploration and other national interests on the world’s fifth largest continent, the RNZAF has been flying to Antarctica continuously since 1965 – making it the longest continuous New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) operation.  Within these nearly seven decades of Antarctic operations, the RNZAF has operated six aircraft types and accumulated thousands of flying hours operating to one of the world’s most remote and challenging environments.

Amundsen–Scott South Pole Base was set up in 1957 by the USA after Amundsen reached the Pole in in 1911 and Scott in 1912. New Zealand established Scott Base on Ross Island in 1957.  Since then many other countries have created bases on Antarctica. The ambition was to use the Antarctic for peaceful purposes, where there was freedom of scientific research and cooperation. Scientific observations are developed and shared.

He described the history of RNZAF flying to the continent and detailed a typical ‘ice flight’, including fuel planning, flight preparation, the flight itself, and operating in and out of McMurdo airfield – a runway built on sea ice.  It was fascinating to hear his first-hand experience and stories on some of the more unique challenges, including weather deterioration past the point of safe return.

The base is regularly serviced from Christchurch and each flight requires careful planning. The base is regularly susceptible to low cloud cover, and snow and ice cover, which inhibit landing. Before taking off the weather and forecast are checked and a decision made as to whether to fly. The distance is 2072 nautical miles and a decision has to be made when to turn round as there is insufficient fuel capacity on the aircraft for a return trip. One advantage is that in winter there is little worry about overshooting the runway as the ice extends for miles.

It was a fascinating presentation, well attended by other Livery Masters.  I am very grateful to the Air Pilots for a most enjoyable evening.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

18. An afternoon on the River Thames, 9 August 2023

Image
What do you do on a sunny summer afternoon but go for a cruise on the Thames, followed by afternoon tea overlooking the river?   Thanks to the organisation of Georgina Hall, a crew of Water Conservators boarded Princess Marina at Caversham on the Thames. Built in 1928, Princess Marina has a history from coastal defence to harbour cruiser to genteel private charter vessel.   We sailed down the river through Caversham lock and the centre of Reading.   It is amazing how places look so much better from the river!   We then headed to Sonning, home of a former mill housing a theatre and restaurant, for drama, comedy and music (High Society to Queen).   We then retuned upstream past the park and site of the preparation for the Reading Festival (Billie Eilish to Lewis Capaldi). There is more culture in Berkshire than you might expect. Over afternoon tea we put the world to rights and I wondered what they did with all the crusts they cut off the sandwiches.   We all had a most relaxing and en
Read more

8. The Water Conservators’ and Water Conservation Trust Dissertation Prize, 17 July 2023

Image
Each year at the Myddelton Lunch the Company awards prizes for the best dissertation from the students on each of the postgraduate courses at 15 universities the Trust currently supports.   Unfortunately not all the winners can make it to our lunch. It was therefore my pleasure to present a certificate and water jug to Leonard Chek Yuet Wong when he returned to the UK for his graduation at the University of Newcastle.   His dissertation subject was Precipitation and Flood Risk associated with Post-Tropical Cyclones in the North Atlantic Basin .   Leonard works as a land drainage engineer for the Government of Hong Kong.   We discussed the challenges he faces on a densely populated island with a rainfall of well over 2 metres each year, often in short bursts, resulting in flash floods.   He described their use of sustainable drainage and storage. Leonard was accompanied by his wife, Rita, a music teacher and we met up at All Hallows by the Tower, the Company church in the City of Lo
Read more

5. Port of London Challenge Rowing Race, 13 July 2023

Image
We entered our cutter, Water Forget-me-not, in the Thames Traditional Rowing Association race from HQS Wellington, Kings Reach to Imperial Wharf, a distance of 4.6 statute miles, competing with other livery companies and rowing clubs. Meet the team: Graham, Cox; Phillipa, Stroke; Kallie; Danny; Sarah; Stephen; and Stephen, Bow (and making sure the cutter did not drift away while we posed for a picture).   I was the passenger/ballast. Some of the competition   Getting ready for the start    Tackling the wind and rain head on   Winners of the Mixed Crew, Port of London Challenge!  
Read more