Airforces - Typhoon school

n the Flyvevåbnet (Royal Danish Air

Force, RDAF), the job of preparing

any unprepared area for landings –

whether it’s a runway for large or small aircraft

or a helicopter landing zone – falls to the

Z-team. This is part of the Air Transport Wing

Aalborg (ATW AAL), which is also the home of

Eskadrille 721 – the RDAF transport squadron.

The Z-team’s first task when preparing a landing

zone or runway is to make sure the area is clear

of obstacles, both large and small, which could

damage the aircraft during take-off or landing,

and to make sure the surface is relatively even.

They must also ensure the runway can be made

long enough to bring in the aircraft scheduled to

land. When this is done, the team starts testing

the load-bearing capabilities of the surface using

a penetrologger. Its readings are converted to

a California Bearing Ratio (CBR) value for the

surface, which determines the maximum weight

of the aircraft that can use it as a runway.

Special care is taken when measuring the

so-called ‘landing boxes’ established at both

ends of a runway. These areas are 500ft (152m)

long, span the width of the runway and are

identified with large orange canvas markers.

The pilot will touch down inside one of the

boxes, and the surface there must take the

weight of the aircraft as it returns to the ground.

For a RDAF Hercules, the minimum runway

length depends on aircraft weight. To be

approved for landings, the runway has to

Landing a big transport like a

C-130 on a rough, unprepared

airfield requires a team of experts

on the ground and in the air.

Søren Augustesen discovers how

the Royal Danish Air Force trains

for this mission at Lakolk Beach,

on the small island of Rømø.

Hitting the beach

I

A member of the Z-team inserts a penetrologger

into the ground to measure the load-bearing

capabilities of the surface.

42 // APRIL 2018 #361 http://www.airforcesmonthly.com

Rough-field ops in Denmark