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Another area of concern for Major
Fitzwater was a JP-4 fuel shortage. Instead of the 35,000 gallons that was
supposed to have been reserved for the test aircraft, on December 29 the Navy
was asking if 11,000 gallons would be enough until a tanker ship arrived on
January 6. Using a rule of thumb of 1000 gallons consumed per day, Fitzwater
figured that-considering the possibility of weather-caused flight delays-he
probably could get by with that amount of fuel. However, if the weather
turned out to be good, Slide III tests would have to be suspended. After a 1
hour and 30 minute flight on January 2,1961, the major was told that the test
site fuel bladder was empty. An additional day of testing was completed using
fuel already aboard the aircraft. For the testing on January 4, the aircraft
was refueled by draining 5000 lbs. of JP-4 from the fuel line, which
connected the test site fuel bladder to the base tank farm several miles
away. As part of the Flight Plan being
followed by the crew, the next series of tests were to determine the side
loads imposed on the C-130BL ski landing gear during turns when taxiing at
high speeds. The plan called for the aircraft to turn in 400 ft. and 200 ft.
circles at various speeds from 21 to 48 mph. The test target was to obtain an
accelerometer side-load reading of 0.5-g during the turns. That objective
could not be met, however, since the aircraft skidded sideways in the area's
soft, dry and powdery snow at any higher than 0.2-g readings. During one taxi turn test on January 5
the nose ski, being deflected in the turn, directed a steady stream of snow
into the No-3 propeller and engine air intake causing a flameout. The test
was terminated when it was observed that the blade angles were unsymmetrical
on the four propeller blades. After taxiing back to the parking area, it was
further observed that the prop blades had been rotated to positions that
exceeded the limits of the pitch control gears. Since repairs were not
practical in the field, a replacement propeller and tools were requested to
be sent from Christchurch. Nine days were required to air transport the
replacement prop from New Zealand because of delays caused by high en route
winds. The replacement prop arrived via C-130
from Christchurch on Sunday, January 15. The old prop was removed and the new
prop was installed by 1800 hours. An engine run verified that the new prop
was OK-but the engine was not. A visual inspection revealed that the engine's
main shaft had a permanent set of about 3-degrees. This damage required an
engine replacement-which would have to be done at Christchurch. The aircraft
departed Williams Field on January 17 and the engine change was accomplished
by the 22nd. While at Christchurch, Fitzwater had some repairs made to the
test instrumentation installed on the skis, which had suffered some damage
from ice. Because of the
instrumentation repairs and poor weather conditions, Fitzwater and crew were
unable to return to McMurdo until February 6. Test flights resumed the next
day. Because
of the time lost due to the repairs and weather, it was decided to eliminate
three items on the Test Plan for tests at intermediate gross weights and
instead proceed to tests at the full 135,000 lbs. gross weight. It was also
decided to delete the tests scheduled to be performed at Byrd Station and
South Pole Station as called for in the Test Plan. The primary concern was
that the remaining tests be completed before the mandatory cutoff date for
the program, which had been established as February 15. That date was based
on the availability of transportation back to the U.S. for personnel of the
Task Force and to make room at McMurdo for an influx of personnel from
outlying sites. Task Force Slide III flew right down to the wire, making the
last test flight on February 14, 1961.
From February 9 to the 14th, Fitzwater had made 19 ski takeoffs and
landings at 135,000 lbs., including one takeoff employing RATO bottles. |
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