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Loading JATO Bottles at Sondrestom Air Base |
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JATO (Jet Assisted Takeoff) -Normal ski take-off procedures on the Greenland Ice Cap require
that lift-off be accomplished 15 knots below minimum control speed and 25
knots below power off stall speed. Therefore, the official flight handbook
states that normal safety factors must be disregarded and ski operations be
considered a calculated risk. Summer snow conditions create a cohesive bond between ski and snow, and often require numerous take-off attempts, eventually needing JATO, to become airborne. Further complications result from the loss of approximately 25% to 35% of the engines power at the 8,000 to 10,000 foot altitudes of DYE 2 and Dye 3. |
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The C-130D had eight JATO attachment
points on the rear of the aircraft, four on each side. Each JATO (solid rocket) bottle weighs
165 pounds and will provide 1,000 pounds of thrust per bottle for a duration
of 15 seconds. If possible, the maintenance personnel
preferred mounting the bottles at Sondrestrom. One thing that everyone hated was having to mount
the bottles while on the ice cap
at a DYE site. Here two airmen
are in the process of installing a set of bottles on the ramp at Sondrestrom
Air Base. at ten 'zillion' below |
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Since the original two maintenance personnel
apparently underestimated the weight of a bottle, more help was soon
recruited. |
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Job finished, and all of the maintenance personnel have gathered around to give the job a stamp of approval. Note that a fire truck stands by to provide any needed assistance. (All photos by Bill Heaphy,
Firebird Navigator.) |
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