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25 November, 1999McMurdo Station, Ross Island, Antarctica Thursday, Thanksgiving Day HAPPY THANKSGIVING! Truly, I am thankful for so many things, including my readers and email writers! Thanks for being so attentive! We will not celebrate Thanksgiving until Saturday. I have been told that a McMurdo Thanksgiving is not to be missed! The day began as usual, sitting at the gas chromatograph. I worked until after lunch when I met Bruce Smith, another TEA from Appleton, Wisconsin. Bruce and I spent an hour with the Commander of Operation Deep Freeze. At CODF, they plan and execute the daily schedule of flights into and out of the biggest international airport on Antarctica! Major Neil Cleveland of the New York Air National Guard, had prepared a wonderful presentation for us, outlining the role of the U.S. Air Force in Antarctica. This confused me because Maj. Cleveland had told me that he was part of the NY National Guard! He explained that when the Guard leaves U.S. soil, they come under the command of the U.S. Air Force. Maj. Cleveland told us that the Air Force flies 5 to 6 missions a day, of which 2 are to the South Pole. They will fly approximately 350 missions each year. Maj. Cleveland introduced us to Lt. Col. Paul Sheppard who took us on a tour of their facility. We visited the scheduling room, the weather room, and, most impressively, the air traffic control room. I was surprised to learn that the air traffic controllers do not use radar as they would in other parts of the world. Communication between aircraft and ground is conducted over a radio! The U.S. Air Force pilots have a difficult job. They fly a plane called a C-130 Hercules. This plane has skis so that it can land on snow! Taking off and landing with skis takes a lot of training. Most pilots act as co-pilots on the C-130 for 2 to 3 years gaining experience in all kinds of situations! Maj. Cleveland's presentation included some incredible photographs! He has given me permission to use some of them with this journal. Now if I can only figure out how to get them attached! ANSWER TO YESTERDAY'S QUESTION: The 300 Degree Club members all live at the South Pole during the Antarctic winter. They are called the 300 Degree Club for this reason (as explained to me)! The sauna at the South Pole can get to 190 degrees Fahrenheit. Members wait until the temperature at the South Pole to drop to -110 degrees Fahrenheit. They will run out of the sauna into the cold and the total temperature change that they experience adds up to 300 degrees Fahrenheit! TODAY'S QUESTION: No question today...it's a holiday! Sharon JUST FOR KIDS!!!! HAPPY THANKSGIVING! Truly, I am thankful for so many things, including my readers and email writers! Thanks for being so attentive! We will not celebrate Thanksgiving until Saturday. I have been told that a McMurdo Thanksgiving is not to be missed! The day began as usual, sitting at the gas chromatograph. I worked until after lunch when I met Bruce Smith, another TEA from Appleton, Wisconsin. Bruce and I spent an hour with the Commander of Operation Deep Freeze. The CODF operate all of the airplanes that fly in Antarctica! Maj. Neil Cleveland told us that the Air Force flies 5 to 6 missions a day. Two of those flights are to the South Pole. They will fly approximately 350 missions each year. Maj. Cleveland introduced us to Lt. Col. Paul Sheppard who took us on a tour. We visited the scheduling room, the weather room, and the air traffic control room. The U.S. Air Force pilots have a difficult job. They fly a plane called a C-130 Hercules. This plane has skis so that it can land on snow! Taking off and landing with skis takes a lot of training. Most pilots act as co-pilots on the C-130 for 2 to 3 years gaining experience in all kinds of situations! ANSWER TO YESTERDAY'S QUESTION: The 300 Degree Club members all live at the South Pole during the Antarctic winter. They are called the 300 Degree Club for this reason (as explained to me)! The sauna at the South Pole can get to 190 degrees Fahrenheit. Members wait until the temperature at the South Pole to drop to -110 degrees Fahrenheit. They will run out of the sauna into the cold and the total temperature change that they experience adds up to 300 degrees Fahrenheit! TODAY'S QUESTION: No question today...it's a holiday! Sharon
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