years earlier, and construction began
during the 2015-2016 summer.
The new runway, 3 miles (4.8km)
northwest of Pegasus and made entirely
from compacted snow, can handle
around 60 fl ights by wheeled aircraft a
year. It’s further from the mountains, so
black dust which contaminates the snow
and increases the likelihood of it melting
is less likely to be blown onto its surface.
US Air Force Boeing C-17A Globemaster
IIIs now airlift the bulk of the cargo
in from New Zealand, but the LC-130s
deploy to Antarctica each year to support
local runs to remote strips.Williams Field
Williams Field (or Willy’s Field, NZWD) is
two runways on 25ft (8m) of compacted
snow above 8-10ft (2.5-3m) of ice,
fl oating on 1,800 feet of frigid water in
the Ross Sea. It’s about 7 miles (11km)
from Ross Island and serves McMurdo
as well as the nearby Sco Base run by
New Zealand.
A skiway, Willy’s Field is groomed
regularly by Caterpillar tractors and
usually open between December and the
end of February each year. It can only be
used by aircraft fi ed with skis, and until
the summer of 2009-10 it was the busiest
airfi eld for on-continent operations.
It’s a desolate place, with a collection of
containers serving as accommodation
for the workers and fuel tanks
replenished by a fl exible pipe from
Phoenix. Williams is actually continually
moving towards the sea. The sliding ice
shelf has already had to be relocated
three times, most recently in 1984-85. To
simplify the process all the facilities are
mounted on sleds.
Although some personnel live at the
airfi eld, most remain at McMurdo Station
and are transported across the icefi eld in
Foremost Delta vehicles (large trucks with
oversized tyres).
Runways 25 and 33 have end lights and
PAPIs, while 25 also has Simplifi ed Short
Approach Lighting System (SSALR) with
runway alignment indicator lights. The
edges of both strips are only marked with
4 x 4ft (1.2 x 1.2m) black boards at 400ft
(122m) intervals and high-intensity lights.WILLIAMS FIELD
ICAO Code: NZWD
Location: 77°52'03"S 167°03'24"E
Elevation: 68ft (21m)
Runways: 07/25 10,000 x 220ft
(3,048 x 67m)
15/33 10,000 x 220ft
(3,048 x 67m)
Frequencies: 126.2, 134.124 // Extreme AirportsANTARTICA
TOP: New York Air
National Guard
LC-130s equipped
with skis operate
from runways
made of compact-
ed snow. (Capt
David S Price /
US Air National
Guard)
ABOVE: The basic
facilities include
a mobile control
tower. (Tech Sgt
Shane A Cuomo /
US Air Force)
TOP RIGHT: Cargo
bound for a remote
science station
is loaded onto a
LC-130. (Tech Sgt
Shane A Cuomo /
US Air Force)
BELOW: US Air
Force C-17A Globe-
master III 08-8192
airli ed supplies to
McMurdo Station
during Operation
Deep Freeze in- (National
Science Foundation)
22-26_McMurdo.indd 24 11/05/2018 14:07