Air Drop

"There's a uh, big machine in the sky, some kind of, I dunno, electric snake, coming straight at us."
"Shoot it."
"Not yet, I want to study its habits."

- HST "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas"



For the last few years, the Air Force has been practicing cargo air drops at the South Pole. These consist of several passes of a C-17 (sometimes two), dropping large amounts of cargo (mainly food items) about 3 miles out from the station. Since there is little to do here, the air drops are a very exciting social event. Everone gathers either out near the drop site or on the observation deck at the station. For anyone in the not in the military or those who are unfamiliar with aircraft, the C-17 is a sight to behold.



To say it is a large plane does not begin to describe it. Two years ago, I rode next to two helicopters and 16,000 lbs of beer and there was still enough room for 12 rows of first class airline seating and 80 other passengers lining the walls. After the cargo is dropped in 3 passes, the C-17s make a large circle (approx. 15 to 20 miles) to line up with the skiway and make a couple of low pass runs towards the station, finally ending in a 300 ft pass right by our observation deck. The sight and sound of these planes are awe inspiring.