first flight

Our first flight was delayed two days in coming down. While I was certainly looking forward to the fresh food and the mail that was on the way, it felt really good to have things in place for the new folks arriving and also be able to enjoy two days of 'reprieve' before the wheels came down.

I was given the privilege of driving one of the transport vehicles for the first flight so I headed out to the airfield with a convoy including five passenger vehicles and some cargo equipment. As you can see in the picture of the Cargo Delta, those of us who were driving out to the airfield, kept our eyes to the skies for any sign of the C-17 coming into view!

The weather was wretchedly cold at Pegasus White Ice Runway (-47F ambient when the plane touched down). A lot of ground fog meant that all our vehicles had to idle a mile, or two from the airfield. If we had arrived at Pegasus before the plane touched the ground, our exhaust and the snow kicked up from our tires could have impaired the pilot's vision of the runway.

Once the plane did come down, we approached the airfield only able to see the tail of the plane above the clouds. The fog made for some interesting photos, though.

It was not long before the 126 new faces began entering our vehicles for the trip back to McMurdo. Having so many new bodies on station comes with mixed emotions from the winter crew. Some faces are friendly and familiar from seasons past while others are new and threaten to take our peace and quiet (and fresh food away). The first flight symbolizes "change" which is difficult for most, but requires flexibility and adjustment. And, we all know that one certainty in life is that "things change."