Troll Airfield
Troll Airfield | |||||||||||
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AMSL 1,220 m / 4,002 ft | | ||||||||||
Coordinates | 71°57′19″S 2°28′03″E / 71.955389°S 2.467397°E | ||||||||||
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Troll Airfield is an
The airfield opened in 2005 and serves as the center of the Dronning Maud Land Air Network (
Facilities
Troll Airfield is located 6.8 kilometres (4.2 mi) from Troll in Princess Martha Coast in Queen Maud Land, Antarctica. It is owned and operated by the Norwegian Polar Institute and consists of a 3,300-by-100-metre (10,830 by 330 ft)
The airfield has a cold and dry climate, being located in a desert. The annual mean temperature is −25 °C (−13 °F), with the summer temperature able to reach about 0 °C (32 °F) and the lowest during the winter at −50 °C (−58 °F). Storms, which can occur throughout the year, can occasionally make outdoor activity impossible. Because it is located south of the Antarctic Circle, Troll has midnight sun in the summer and polar night during the winter.[6]
Service
Dronning Maud Land Air Network Project (DROMLAN) is a coordinated project between eleven countries with bases in Queen Maud Land (Norwegian: Dronning Maud Land) to create a coordinated logistics service to reduce costs. The participating countries are Belgium, Finland, Germany, India, Japan, the Netherlands, Norway, Russia, South Africa, Sweden and United Kingdom. The services are generally operated by aircraft chartered from commercial airlines, such as B-737, B-767, Airbus A319, and smaller business jets. Russian Ilyushin 76, Norwegian and Swedish C-130 Hercules and Norwegian P-3 Orion aircraft have also served the airfield [7] The flights operate from Cape Town International Airport, with a flight time of up to nine hours for a Hercules aircraft,[8] and five and a half hours for an Il-76.[9]
Feeder services to other research stations are operated by two Basler BT-67 (type converted DC-3/C-47), operated by the South African company Antarctic Logistics Centre International or other operators.
History
During the planning of Troll, which opened in 1990, it was decided that the station was to be placed at such a location as to allow it to have an airstrip for year-round operations. Jutulsessen was chosen as the location, in part because it provided a base
In the late 1990s, the Norwegian Polar Institute took an initiative to establish DROMLAN in cooperation with eleven other countries who operate research facilities in Queen Maud Land. On 5 January 2001, a test flight with representatives from eight countries was made to Henriksenskjera. From there, a
To build a permanent airfield at Troll, the Norwegian Polar Institute bought a
Troll Airfield was opened on 11 February 2005 by Queen Sonja of Norway,[13] and the new research station opened the following day.[14][15] At first, Antonov An-2, DHC-6/300 Twin Otters, Dorniers 228, and smaller aircraft were used for the services.[7] Later, two Basler BT-67, operated by Antarctic Logistics Centre International, were brought into use. The cooperation has resulted in the availability of larger aircraft more suited for research, through coordinated search and rescue operations between the participating countries. On January 19, 2008, the airfield was visited by Norwegian Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg.[8] On November 15, 2023, a Norse Atlantic Airways Boeing 787 landed at Troll Airfield carrying 45 researchers and 12 tons of materials.[16]
Airlines and destinations
Airlines | Destinations |
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Hi Fly | Charter: Cape Town[citation needed] |
Icelandair | Charter: Cape Town[17] |
Norse Atlantic | Charter: Oslo via Cape Town[18][19] |
Royal Air Force | Charter: Wilkins Runway |
Smartwings | Charter: Oslo via Cape Town[20] |
PrivatAir | Charter: Cape Town |
See also
References
- ^ Avinor Helicopter Manual
- ^ "Troll Airfield". Airport Nav Finder. Retrieved October 17, 2018.
- ^ a b Solholm, Rolleiv (1 February 2003). "New Norwegian air field in the Antarctic". The Norway Post. Archived from the original on 7 August 2011. Retrieved 23 May 2010.
- ^ a b "Antarktis, Troll Runway". Norske Flyplasser. Archived from the original on 27 September 2007. Retrieved 23 May 2010.
- ^ a b Kyvik et.al (2008): 173
- ^ a b Jaklin, Gunn Sissel; Njåstad, Birgit. "The environment at Troll". Norwegian Polar Institute. Archived from the original on 18 July 2011. Retrieved 23 May 2010.
- ^ a b c Kyvik et.al (2008): 175
- ^ a b c Kyvik et.al (2008): 177
- ^ a b Kyvik et.al (2008): 167
- ^ Kyvik et.al (2008): 176
- ^ Kyvik et.al (2008): 169
- ^ Kyvik et.al (2008): 172
- ^ Kyvik et.al (2008): 153
- ^ Kyvik et.al (2008): 155
- ^ "The Norwegian Troll station in the Antarctic opened". Norwegian Institute for Air Research. Archived from the original on 17 May 2011. Retrieved 23 May 2010.
- ^ Magazine, Smithsonian; Kuta, Sarah. "First Boeing 787 Dreamliner Lands on Icy Runway in Antarctica". Smithsonian Magazine. Retrieved 2023-12-11.
- ^ "Icelandair flies to Antarctica". Icelandair. Retrieved 19 May 2022.
- ^ Frozen first as Boeing 787 Dreamliner makes landing in Antarctica
- ^ "First ever 787 landing on the ice , Troll station Antarctica". Reddit. Retrieved 15 Nov 2023.
- ^ "The Smartwings has been the first to land with the Boeing 737 MAX in Antarctica". Smartwings. Retrieved 18 Nov 2023.
Bibliography
- Kyvik, Helga, ed. (2008). Norge i Antarktis (in Norwegian). Oslo: Schibsted Forlag. ISBN 978-82-516-2589-0.
External links
External images | |
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Image of Troll Airfield | |
Aircraft landing at Troll | |
Ilyushin Il-76 at Troll |