All language subtitles for Mighty.Planes.S01E04.Skibirds.1080p.AMZN.WEB-DL.DDP5.1.H.264-BurCyg_track3_[eng]

[Narrator] The Skibird
is the go-to aircraft

for tough jobs in frozen
places from pole to pole.

The world's largest ski plane
is heading to Greenland.

[Man] You keep an eye on
those throttles.

[Narrator] On a vast ice
sheet

scientists' lives
and livelihoods

depend on these planes.

[Woman] If we didn't
have the Skibirds

to support a project like this,
we just couldn't do it.

[Narrator] Now their
expedition is in its final
days,

and vicious winter storms
are on the way.

The Skibirds face
a daunting task--

get the team and their gear
out

before they're buried
under snow and ice.

[Man] ATO now!

[Narrator]
It's a steamy summer morning

at the National Guard Base
in Schenectady, New York.

But this LC-130 Hercules is
not going to the beach.

Grab this strap,
would you?

[Narrator] Master sergeant
Bill Madrian and his team

are fitting it with
a 2,000-pound ski.

Again, guys,

you do not want to put
your finger in there,

because if something happens,

if these arms for some reason
or another slam down,

you'll slice a finger off.

Is he cranking
the gear up?

[Bill] Whoa! Whoa! Whoa!

[Narrator] It's a balancing
act of precision and brute
force.

Sometimes they go on, they
slide on like, like butter.

I think we're right in
the sweet spot right now.

There you go.

Other times, they fight
with you every inch of the way.

[Soldier] Come on,
one more time.

[Narrator] There are only 10
modified Hercules Skibirds.

And they're all based here
with the 109th airlift wing

in upstate New York.

Three are heading to
Greenland to evacuate climate
scientists

from the ice cap.

Takeoff is in 48 hours.

Piloting one of the Hercs
is captain Eric Wood.

What I love about
flying the LC-130

is the unique,
how unique the mission is,

how unique the aircraft is.

It's the largest ski aircraft
in the world.

It handles like
a small airplane.

It's kind of like
being a bush pilot

but in a large
military aircraft.

[Narrator]
The crews of the 109th

only know one season--winter.

Six months near the north
pole, six months at the
south,

their planes are
the only lifeline

for scientists studying
climate change.

Flight engineer Corey
Palmatier has the huge
responsibility

of making sure their plane
is good to go

before he joins Eric Wood
on the flight deck.

The only way I can verify

that the airplane is safe to
fly

is by looking at every piece
and part that I can physically
see

and make sure that
there's no damage.

[Narrator] The Hercules
lives up to its name--

it can carry two armored
personnel carriers.

It stretches 100 feet long
and stands 40 feet high.

Its high lift-generating wing
is 130 feet, tip to tip.

The Herc has proven itself
indispensable

in extreme environments.

The first one rolled off the
Lockheed assembly line in
1955.

More than 2,000 planes later,

they're used for everything
from troop transport

to air-to-air refueling,

and from firebomber
to aerial gunship.

During the Cold War,

the ski variant supplied
remote radar stations

across the far north.

And decades later, the Hercs
is still the aircraft of
choice

for polar missions.

90 minutes from takeoff.

Loadmasters Nick O'Neill
and Logan Brennan

are positioning
the supplies and equipment

they'll need for the
operation.

The weight of the cargo
and where it sits

have a direct impact
on how the plane handles.

[Nick O'Neill] We're a little
different than a regular C-130.

Instead of usual load plan,
it's more light in the front,

heavier in the back, giving it
a little, little back weight,

just so we can get the nose up
when we go and taking off.

[Narrator]
From Schenectady, New York,

the Skibirds will fly
almost 2,000 miles

over eastern Canada,
across the Davis Strait

and into Sondrestrom Air Base
on Greenland's west coast.

Every summer on
Greenland's ice cap,

scientists gather to
peer into the past.

Buried under more than
a mile and a half

of layered snow and ice

is a record of
the earth's climate

dating back over 100,000
years.

Scientists like
professor Dorthe Dahl-Jensen

are on the cutting edge
of climate research.

They've been drilling
into the ice cap

for the past four months.

But the brief arctic summer
is fading fast.

They've got to pack up
their ice core samples

and get out
before winter returns.

[Dorthe Dahl-Jensen]
The Skibirds,

they're just everything.

If we didn't have the Skibirds
to support a project like this,

we just couldn't do it.

So they are simply our
lifeline,

and they are so great
to work with.

[Narrator] Back in the U.S.,

the crew is doing
a final weather check

for their six-hour flight.

Can you hand me
the charts for St. John's?

[Narrator] Aircraft commander
Eric Wood briefs his team.

It looks like
we have a flight plan

at flight level 170,
270 knots, through pepki,

on our way up to Sondrestrom.

We're following an alternate
of St. John's.

We're carrying enough fuel for
a couple hours of holding,

from direct.

How much fuel do we need?

We need 51.

[Narrator]
Navigator lieutenant colonel

Samantha East's calculations

call for
51,000 pounds of fuel...

More than enough
to make the trip.

But captain Wood is always
looking for places to put
down

in case of mechanical
problems.

It's extremely critical.

Luckily, today with
the Skibird,

with an airplane
with skis on it,

we do have options to go
land in the snow

if we ever absolutely needed to
as an emergency.

[Narrator]
30 minutes to takeoff.

Wood makes one last
inspection.

Most problems
with an airplane,

you can notice from a distance

when you're walking out
to the airplane,

whether a wingtip is leaning
to one side or not.

It'll tell you whether or not
you've got soft tire

or a flat tire.

And make sure I have a clear
taxi route out of parking.

And I do.

[Controller] Schenectady
ground, good morning.

You'll be requesting runway
four for takeoff.

[Man on radio] Skier 88,

Schenectady ground, runway
four, taxi via golf to kilo.

[Narrator] Wood and his crew
are the first flight out.

The other two Skibirds
will follow.

The Herc may handle like
a bush plane in flight,

but on the ground it moves
more like a transport truck.

[Controller] Skier 88,
Schenectady tower, runway
four,

wind calm, clear for takeoff.

[Narrator] At full throttle
it takes 18 seconds

to reach 100 knots.

The Herc is heralded for
its short takeoff performance

and the high lift wings
take it into the air

after using just
3,000 feet of runway.

Once airborne,

loadmaster Logan Brennan
has a new assignment.

While the pilots are
scanning the horizon,

he's their eyes in the back.

[Logan Brennan] We're looking
to make sure there's no leaks,

hydraulic oil, fuel,

just inspecting the underside
of the wings,

looking at the exhaust,
trying to, if you can,

look at the back of the engine

as well as the front
of the engine

and just really making sure
there's nothing abnormal

going on out there.

[Narrator] Just over 10
minutes into the flight,

and the pilots take the Herc
through 15,000 feet.

There are seven crewmembers
on board,

but the buck stops here
with captain Wood.

You're managing
the mission

as the aircraft commander.

You try to keep the big picture

and make sure the mission's
progressing as it should.

[Narrator] Sitting over
Woods' right shoulder,

flight engineer Corey
Palmatier is scanning the
dials.

Well, my primary role
is to operate and monitor

all the systems on the
aircraft,

ensure everything is operating

within their safe
operating range.

[Narrator] Beside Wood,
co-pilot Pat Newton

is a relative newcomer
to the cockpit.

I was a loadmaster
back in the day,

one of those guys.

I joined in 2002 and I went
away to pilot training in 2008,

finished a couple years ago,
so it's a blast.

[Narrator] Four hours
after takeoff,

the Herc has reached
the Davis Strait--

an aerial no-man's-land.

This is the end of
radar coverage

until they reach land again.

Wood and his crew
are now invisible

to air traffic controllers

and must report their
position based on their own
instruments.

Sam East and Rachel Leimbach
use their GPS

and a slightly older
technology--

a periscopic sextant.

Right now, Rachel is
taking a celestial shot

and she's actually measuring
the height of the sun

above the horizon.

It's the same way that Columbus
discovered America,

we're just a little bit
better at it than he was.

The reason we do that is
because we're in polar regions,

if you run into problems with
your onboard computer systems

and navigation systems,

there's nothing out there
to help you.

There's no radar,
there's no ATC,

there's no land-based
navigation aids, it's just you.

[Narrator] With 600 miles
of Davis Strait behind them,

the coast of Greenland's
is now in sight.

[Rachel Leimbach] It's
starting to look really
pretty.

[Wood] Yeah, it's gorgeous.

Well, we've just turned over
this point,

Mike alpha right here, right on
the coast of Greenland's,

and now we're headed in,
inland here to Sondrestrom.

The weather looks good,

so we're going to be able to
get below the clouds up here

in just a little bit,

and you'll get a good view
of Greenland's.

[Narrator] Sondrestrom Air
Base is a relic of World War
II

and notorious for
its sloping runway.

For inbound pilots,

landing on a hill creates
a dangerous optical illusion.

[Controller] Skier 73,
runway 09 cleared to land.

[Pat] Cleared to land on 9,
skier 73.

[Narrator] Some who have
failed to compensate

have paid with their lives.

[Wood] Well, optical illusions
can cause a lot of problems

during landings.

This runway with a slope
can give you the illusion

that you're coming in too steep

and make you want to get lower
than you should be.

[Narrator] Pilots can make
one of two mistakes--

flare too early for landing

and they'll run out of
airspeed and crash to the
ground,

or come in too fast and steep

and they risk
damaging the plane.

Going to brake slightly.

[Controller] Skier 73,
180 backtrack

and taxi on taxiway delta.

[Wood] For currency, we have to
land here so many times

within a year to maintain
a currency for it,

because it is such
a unique airport

with so many optical illusions.

Welcome to Greenland's,
home of the LC-130.

[Narrator] With all three
Skibirds safely on the
ground,

the real work can begin.

The officer in charge is
major Carlyle Norman,

a 15-year veteran
with the Skibirds

and a master of logistics.

Worst case scenario,

I'll get you a second engineer
for your pre-flights.

Alpha one.

[Narrator]
In addition to planning

the final pullout flights
from the science camps,

Norman needs to train his
crews for their next
assignment.

In a few short weeks they'll
be on the other side of the
world,

flying ski missions
in Antarctica.

[Norman] My job is to make sure
that I give them what they need

to do their jobs,

make sure I keep the airplanes
up and running,

make sure I keep them, you
know, not working long hours.

My goal is always to make sure
that I am treating my people

as good as I can do it.

[Narrator]
This morning he's briefing

aircraft commander Eric Wood
and co-pilot Pat Newton

on their mission to Neem,

a remote research station
in northern Greenland's.

It's two and a half hours
due north.

What lies between is
the unforgiving ice cap.

Wood's evacuation flight,
the second last of the
season,

will also carry in supplies
for next season.

Alright, so you're
taking out six passengers

to the camp and two pallets,

and you're going to
bring four pallets

and about 10 passengers
back from the camp.

All right.

It's pretty warm
out there today.

It is, it is, yes,

but with those temperatures
and the ATO bottles,

you guys should have no problem
getting off the snow.

Great.

[Narrator] ATO,
or Assisted Takeoff Bottles,

are packed with
solid rocket fuel.

Once ignited, eight bottles
give the Herc the explosive
kick

it needs to get airborne.

[Corey] We might not
be able to take off

with the power
we have available,

or the snow could be too
sticky.

But we're able to strap these
onto our aircraft,

and they provide about
8,000 pounds of thrust,

which is about the equivalent
of adding a fifth engine

to the airplane.

And should give us the few
critical knots we'll need

to accelerate off the snow.

[Narrator] Weather is
the biggest obstacle

when flying into the
frontier,

making a routine landing
a potential disaster.

[Wood] Some of the issues
we're going to have today,

landing up at Neem,

is anytime there's an overcast
layer of clouds,

the white clouds and
the white snow on the ground

blend together.

And we always talk about how

it's like landing inside
the middle of a ping-pong ball.

You can't, you have no
reference on the ground

to judge your height,

other than our radar altimeters
we're using.

[Narrator] There are no other
airfields between here and
Neem,

so managing their fuel
is critical.

Rachel is calculating
the bingo fuel number.

It's not an exact science.

Rachel has to factor
in the possibility

of flying a holding pattern
in case of bad weather at
Neem,

but still needs enough
to get home safely.

When I give
the aircraft commander

our bingo fuel for what fuel
we're looking for,

to be like, we can't mess
around on the ground anymore,

we need to take off.

[Wood] Number four.

[Corey] Turning, 07.

[Wood] When you check in
with tower,

just make sure you let 'em know
we got the bottles.

We need to back-taxi
the runway.

[Narrator] The ATO rockets
are high-explosives.

Ground control gives the Herc
lots of room to maneuver,

making sure that other planes
keep their distance.

-[Pat] Co-pilot has the
control. -[Wood] Roger.

[Narrator] For this takeoff,

co-pilot Pat Newton
is at the controls.

The wheels are retracted
into the fuselage,

but the skis are not.

Landing gear's up,
skis are up.

Let's go flaps up.

[Pat] Flaps up.

[Narrator] Exposed to
headwinds, they create enough
drag

to limit the Skibird to 300
knots on the flight north--

about 10% slower than
the regular Herc.

Setting at 3-6-0.

Clear terrain?

[woman] Clear terrain.

[Narrator] On the ground at
the Neem Ice Research
Station,

the science team is
racing against time,

[Man] We need to align
all the corners

before we sort of pull it
tight.

[Narrator] In a few short
weeks,

vicious winter storms will
seal this place tight.

For the last several weeks

they've bored hundreds
of ice cores.

Camp leader professor Dorthe
Dahl-Jensen has overseen

some dramatic firsts
for their research.

[Dorthe] This is one of
the last ice cores we drilled,

and actually the reason why
we came this year to drill,

the very, very deep ice that
we find right at the bottom,

the interface between
the rock and the ice.

So this is from the depths,
2,538 meters.

[Narrator]
The scientists are drilling

into the Earth's history,

retrieving samples of
an ancient forest

that once covered
the now-frozen landscape.

[Dorthe] Because we have
all the biological material

sealed in the ice, it's totally
untouched and frozen down,

so it's so well preserved,

can't find anything like that
in any other sources.

So this is really,
really exciting

to come home and study.

[Narrator] Their research
time has been invaluable,

but it's quickly running out.

We're getting
close to the time

where we're closing camp,

so we're building the pallets
with all the equipment we need

to send back to our labs in
Europe and the U.S. and Canada.

[Narrator] But the scientists
will have to wait--

captain Wood and his crew
are nearing Neem camp

and the weather has
deteriorated.

They have whiteout conditions,

we can't land in that,

so we're probably going to
set up a holding pattern

over the camp, and hopefully
the weather will clear

and we'll be able to land.

We take off in the morning
being very optimistic

that things are going to
work out for the best.

It's not always the case,

and that's exactly
what's happening today.

So we're going to give it
the best shot we can,

hopefully the timing works out.

But if not,
we always have tomorrow.

We err on the side of caution.

[Narrator] Captain Wood enters
a holding pattern high above
Neem.

If they circle for
more than an hour,

they'll be putting themselves
in jeopardy,

burning the fuel they'll need
for the trip home.

Back at Sondrestrom,

major Norman is dealing with
another piece of bad news.

Copy 95,
you guys got a fuel leak.

I'll run in and talk to Assam.

Why don't you guys
go ahead and pack it up

and come on inside for now?

I'll see you inside.

[Man on radio]
We'll be right in, Skier 52.

[Narrator] A pre-flight
inspection revealed a problem

with one of the other Hercs.

Karl, Skier 95,

I've been told
they've got a fuel leak.

Yep, the guys are out
troubleshooting it now.

It looks like the left-hand
fuel manifold's leaking.

We're going to check
availability of a part

and we're probably gonna end up
having to can it.

Okay.

[Narrator] Norman can't
afford to have any of the
Skibirds

out of commission.

[Norman] We try not to operate
out in the ice cap

without having at least
one or two other birds

as SAR birds,
so "Search and Rescues."

Because if that plane were
to go down on the ice cap,

we wouldn't have
search and rescue capability

within 24 hours to go out
and rescue them.

[Narrator] Master sergeant
Frank madia is under the
hood.

Whenever you have a fuel leak,

you want to make sure you
take care of it right away,

because, you know, you can,

it could be catastrophic
and lose lives.

If it were to happen in flight,
that would be a very bad thing.

You know, you...very bad.

And I found this hose
was leaning up against

the bleed air manifold here,

and it burnt the casing
on the outside of it,

and it was all wet
and fuel was oozing out of it.

[Narrator] Back in the U.S.
This would be no big deal.

But in Greenland's, spare
parts are hard to come by.

[Narrator] Holding over
a remote science camp

on Greenland's ice cap
and low on fuel,

captain Eric Wood wants
to attempt a landing.

[Wood] Visibility is down
to almost nil.

Whiteout conditions there.

We've already begun our
descent.

So at this point we're going
to continue the approach

and take a look and just hope
that it's cleared up

by the time we get there.

[Narrator] If the crew
decides to abort,

they'll have no choice

but to head back to
Sondrestrom air base.

The Skibirds were designed to
operate in extreme
conditions,

and co-pilot Pat Newton lives
for this type of flying.

P There's no other
aviators in the world

that have these.

There's only 10 aircraft,
and we have all of them.

So it's a unique mission,
unique capability,

not a lot of people get to
experience this type of stuff.

[Narrator] To get his Skibird
safely down on the ice cap,

captain Wood is relying on
the plane's radar

and his navigators,

Rachel Leimbach
and Samantha east.

We have a low ceiling of
two miles of visibility,

so Rachel is going to be doing
airborne radar approach,

which will be talking the
pilots down into the camp.

[Narrator] The onboard radar
gives the crew

a rudimentary picture
of ground features

and instant feedback about
their altitude on the
approach.

Radar waves emitted from
the base of the plane

are bounced off
the ground below,

giving the crew their precise
altitude to within two feet.

Cutting through clouds,

they've spotted the approach
flags leading to the ski-way.

Starting to get flags.
There they are.

I got the flags.
Hallelujah.

Right now I'm just lining up
for the camp.

[Narrator]
A low-tech alternative

to the landing lights
of an airport,

the flags start two miles
from the ski-way threshold.

We're looking at flags,

and that's it for our reference
to the ground.

And it's really hard to tell
how high you are off the ground

besides looking at
our instruments.

[Rachel] Approaching four
miles, recommended altitude is
8670.

[Narrator]
Rachel calls out the altitude

until the moment of
touchdown.

[Rachel] 100...

50...

40...

30...

20...

10.

[Wood] Prepare to offload.

[Man] Acknowledged,
loadmaster.

[Dorthe] Skier 4-2,
welcome to Neem.

[Narrator] Now comes one of
the Herc's coolest tricks--

the combat offload,

a way to get stuff out of
the plane in a hurry--

important if someone
is shooting at you,

or if you're running out of
gas.

The combat offload is
a quick, expedient way

of getting the cargo
off the aircraft,

because time is precious
when we're on the snow

because you don't want
to burn so much fuel.

He's got that
offload checklist.

[Pat] Roger.

[Narrator] Aircraft commander
Eric Wood guns the engines

and the cargo pallet shoots
out the back of the
Hercules.

[Wood] Power!

Over!

[Narrator] It's fuel to be
stored for next year's
research.

An ice field is
no ordinary airport.

Any mechanical glitch here
and they're stranded,

which is why they leave
the engines running.

But burning 350 gallons an
hour means they need to move
fast.

Pallets and an aerial drone
are hustled on board.

But their efforts come up
short.

Sam's calculations show they
no longer have enough fuel

to make it back to base.

Back at Sondrestrom Air Base,

a potential rescue plane
is grounded

because of a broken fuel
line.

Master sergeant Karl Burghart
and staff sergeant Eric
Fuller

are cannibalizing a line

from the spare engine they
bring along on every
mission.

[Eric Fuller] Ah!

You okay?

[Eric] Please don't twist it
that direction.

[Karl] Okay, want me to go
the other way?

I think I've got to
pull the collector.

We have a supply
of spare parts up here,

but unfortunately, this part
isn't one of them that we carry

because it doesn't
fail that much.

[Narrator] But getting the
fuel line out and reinstalled

will take hours.

Back at Neem,
the crew are out of options.

They have no choice
but to take fuel

from the camp's own
emergency supply.

Gassing up on the ice field
is called hot refueling.

No wonder.

Whenever you mix gas,

four running engines,
and a lot of people,

there's always risk
of a fire or injury.

So we're always very cautious
and careful.

Because it took longer to load
the aircraft than we expected,

we had to take about 1,000
pounds of gas from the camp

in order to have enough fuel to
make it back to Sondrestrom.

[Narrator] Sitting idle can
cause another problem.

The weight of the Herc creates
a layer of water beneath the
skis

that can freeze solid.

Raising and lowering them

prevents them from getting
locked in place.

Today's weather conditions
are also conspiring

to make this takeoff
a challenge.

Snow versus wheels.

Wheels is pretty much
the same surface all the time.

Snow, depending on how
the sun's hitting it,

it creates a different
situation every time you try to
take off.

So we'll have to vary
flap settings

and do a number of different
things to try and take off.

But today, it looks like we're
going to have to use some ATO

to get off the ground.

[Narrator] The ATO,
or Assisted Takeoff Rockets,

are a last ditch effort,

a one-shot deal
that either works

or leaves you stuck
on the ground.

Captain Wood is going to need
the ATO bottles

and every inch of
the two-mile ski-way.

[Wood] When we do
every ski takeoff,

gets your heartbeat racing

and almost takes your breath
away once you get airborne.

It feels like
the airplane just slides

from side to side,

just does not seem like
any kind of normal takeoff.

For instance, like you're on
the center line of the runway,

and you're up and you're going.

[Narrator] Eric has to
put it all on the line

to get his plane and crew
back in the air.

[Wood] Five knots...

[Pat] Plus 70%.

[Wood] 65 knots...

ATO now!

[Narrator] Flight engineer
Corey Palmatier

readies the assisted
takeoff rockets.

A flick of the switch
will ignite

an extra 8,000 pounds of
thrust.

[Corey] 50 knots.

[Narrator]
It's a one-shot deal--

14 seconds of burn

and they're either flying
home or staying put.

[Wood] Five knots...

[Pat] Plus 70%.

[Wood] 65 knots...

ATO now!

-[Wood] Gear up?
-[Pat] Gear up!

[Pat] I should have gone plus
50.

[Narrator] The first load
of scientists

is on its way back
to Sondrestrom.

And with the hard work
behind them,

Eric gets to take in the
view.

[Wood] I can spend all day
looking out the window

at this section of the world.

It's incredible.

[Narrator]
At Sondrestrom Air Base,

Eric Fuller has scavenged a
fuel line from the extra
engine.

Okay, Eric,
the part's in.

We're done here.

So now we're just gonna
button it up, fire it up,

and see if there's
any leaks yet.

Give me high speed.

Parallel.

[Man on radio]
Gear it up, Frank.

-[Frank] Number four?
-[Man on radio] Yup.

[Frank] Coming up on four.

[Eric] We're still trying.

We discovered the problem,
and with this OPS check,

we have no more fuel leakage,
we are good to go.

We'll probably fly this
later on this afternoon.

[Narrator] This Skibird
is back on-line,

and with Eric's plane
just back from Neem camp,

lieutenant colonel Mike Kelly
will take his place

in the hot seat.

Kelly flies full-time
with a major airline

and is a part-time co-pilot
for the Air National Guard.

[Mike Kelly]
My airline is fantastic,

but coming up here, just
the challenging environment,

it's the only plane in
the entire air force

that does this mission and
role.

[Narrator] If Kelly looks
tense, he should be.

It's exam time.

He's in Greenland's for his
annual Skibird check ride,

an airborne grilling that
every pilot fears.

It's pass or fail.

It's a co-pilot
check ride

first for our ski procedures,
going into the camps,

just to make sure
that we can do it.

[Narrator] The destination
for the evaluation flight

is camp raven, an abandoned
Cold War radar site,

now used exclusively as a
test ground for Skibird
pilots.

Lieutenant colonel George
Alston will be the evaluator
pilot

for this check ride.

It's his call if Mike
gets to keep his job

flying polar missions.

[George Alston] I'm really
going to be watching

to make sure that
the co-pilot is performing

all of his proper procedures

and the entire crew to get the
aircraft safely on the ground.

[Narrator]
The first part of the test--

an airborne radar approach
that calls for precise
coordination

on the flight deck.

Everything he knows,
every word he says,

that's really what
makes or breaks

getting into the airfield
at that point.

That's where I'm going to be
watching the co-pilot intently.

[Narrator] Kelly's task--

verify the flags of the
ski-way

and then set the flaps
for landing.

Lead-in flags
are in sight.

11 o'clock.
Co-pilot has the approach.

[Narrator]
The Skibird is on short final

with an airspeed of 110
knots.

Kelly: Gear down, skis down.

[Narrator] It's looking
good...

Until it isn't.

[Kelly] We're over-shooting.

The lead-in flag is going
below the aircraft.

[Woman] Missed approach
point.

[Kelly] Coming in
a little bit low.

[Woman] 30...

20...

10.

[Narrator]
George is not impressed,

but calls for full power
to give him one more chance.

[Kelly] Skier 12, commencing
takeoff slide, Ski-way 17.

We're going to go out
and do the approach

one more time,

just to make sure that
we got a really good look

at everything that happens
in that critical phase

there at the end.

[Narrator] When your job
is on the line,

that's not what
you want to hear.

If Kelly blows this landing,

his career with the Skibirds
could be in the past.

[Kelly]
Co-pilot has the approach.

Continue decent, turn right.

Continue turning crosswind
for a box pattern to ski-way
17.

[Narrator] After the second
landing, the exam is over.

The Skibird sets course
for Sondrestrom.

If Kelly did any better
the second time,

George isn't saying.

Back on the ground,
it's report card time.

Okay, so to sum it up,
I thought at the beginning,

there was a little bit
of sloppiness,

a little bit of check ride
nerves, which is fairly common.

I thought you cleaned that up
very nicely

through the rest of the ride.

Overall, a very nice check
ride, a G1, congratulations.

Go fly.

-[Kelly] Thank you, sir.
-[George] Yeah.

[Narrator] The final pullout
mission to Neem

is on the flight line.

Flying the mission, aircraft
commander colonel Gary James

and co-pilot major Nate
Morgan.

Let's make sure
everybody's signed in.

[Narrator]
This Skibird is ready,

but the weather isn't ideal.

They've accumulated snow
over the last five days,

and there were patches of snow,
drifting snow on the runway,

up to five inches in depth
that could hinder our takeoff.

[Controller] Skier 23.

Runway 27,
you're cleared for takeoff.

Wind, 260 degrees.

Cleared for takeoff,
Runway 27, Skier 23.

[Narrator] At Camp Neem,

Dorthe has also been
watching the weather,

anxious to get her team out.

Well, we've had very
changeable weather today

with ground fog
coming in with snow

and then sunshine, blue sky.

So we're actually getting
a little worried

about the weather.

[Narrator] Nate and Gary
take off hoping for the best.

An hour outside of Neem
and they're in the dark

about exactly what to expect.

I have not spoken
to Dorthe today.

I just tried her on HF,

but she's not either,
she's not either monitoring HF,

or she's not hearing me.

[Narrator] At the camp,

Dorthe is about to offer
an update.

But the weather's
not very nice,

it's very overcast
and it's snowing.

[Narrator] The final pullout
from Neem is in trouble.

[Dorthe] When we have
a full overcast,

as we have now, and when
you look at the horizon,

you can't see a clear blue sky
under the horizon,

then it's really difficult
for us to judge

the elevation of the ceiling.

So there's only
one way to do it,

and that is to use
the weather balloons.

[Narrator] The balloon rises
at roughly 400 feet per
minute.

Once it disappears, they can
calculate the cloud base.

Three minutes and 40 seconds.

Okay, that means the cloud base

is over 1,500 feet,
that's really nice.

-[Man] That's good.
-Yeah.

[Narrator] Minutes later,
the crew is approaching Neem,

but the ceiling has sunk.

Once again, the crew will
rely on the Skibird's
airborne radar

to get them on the ski-way.

[Nate Morgan] Radar
altimeters.

[radio chatter]

[Man] 50...

40...

30...

20...

10.

[Man] Flats are coming.

[Gary] All four check.

Good.

[Dorthe] Skier 23,
welcome to Neem.

[Narrator] This is it for
the Neem scientists.

The last scramble to pack up,
board up and get out of town

before the weather gets
worse.

With engines running
and fuel burning,

the last item,
the camp's weather station,

is packed away.

That's it.

[Man] Thanks, thanks.

-Been a good season.
-[Man] Yeah, very nice.

It's been
a really good season.

Everything we had decided we
would do has actually happened.

It's been successful,
every single part of it.

The replica drilling,
deep drilling,

flying with the airplane,
everything has just been...

-[Man] Perfect.
-Perfect season.

[Narrator] It's the final
takeoff from Neem.

There are snowdrifts
on the ski-way

and the weather is closing
in.

Assisted takeoff rockets
weren't loaded for this
flight,

so it will be up to the crew
to squeeze every ounce of
power

from the Skibird
to get back in the air.

So I'll be hawking
the instruments,

making sure we can extract
as much power as we can

out of the engines,

and that helps us accelerate
and take off.

While I'm pulling back on
the yoke at the same time

is we want to kind of protect
the nose ski,

because it's a lot more
delicate than the main skis.

[Man] You are at 42 knots.

You keep an eye on
those throttles.

[Nate] What we want to do
is reach a certain speed,

where we can get our nose
wheel off the ground.

Once that happens,
we have a lot less friction

and we can accelerate
even further and get up.

[Gary] What I would give
for ATO right now.

[Nate] Stalls 81,
you're at 85.

[Narrator]
Up and off the ice pack,

Gary gets them back on course
for Sondrestrom air base...

Cruising along the coast
for a spectacular view

of Greenland's
famous iceberg alley.

The evacuation mission is
finally over for another
season.

The next logistical
nightmare--

getting the planes and people
back to the U.S.

Right now,
it's a one-man office,

just me in the office,
and I'm juggling everything.

So literally and--
hold on one second.

Go for Ski--for OPS.

Man on radio: Just wondering,
are the packs on the way?

I did round the packs up,
the packs are en route.

[Man on radio] Okay, thank
you.

It's okay to start engines
once they get here?

Once your packs arrive,
you are clear to start engines

and cleared to press from
there.

[Man on radio] Skier 77,
thanks, OPS, we'll see you
back there.

So that's what
I've got going on.

It's just me, and like I said,

rounding up people, passengers,
cargo, the customers,

get them up here,
interact with them,

so, yeah, it's a lot to do.

[Narrator]
George Alston and his crew

are on the second plane out.

It looks like
they'll be exchanging

one extreme weather situation
for another.

We're going to have
to be maybe picking our way

through some thunderstorms as
we get over the northeast U.S.

Not uncommon for this time of
year--actually, very common.

We should be arriving there
early to mid-afternoon,

and so that's when
thunderstorms build.

Controller: Skier 52, Runway
27,

you're cleared for takeoff.

Clear for takeoff on 27-278.

[George] Here we go,
we're rolling.

[Narrator] The Skibirds say
goodbye to Greenland's

for another year.

George Alston is taking
the scenic route,

a straight line down the
spectacular Sondrestrom
fjord.

Alright, the weather this
morning is going to cooperate,

so we get to do one of
my favorite things,

we're going to fly
down the fjord.

The fjord here is
about 90 miles long,

and it was carved out
by the ice and glaciers

over the millennia,

and it is just absolutely
stunning.

It's actually my favorite
thing,

even more than flying in
over the ice cap.

[George] Ah, that's cool.

[Man] This is gorgeous.

[George] And there, my friends,
is the coastline.

[Narrator] Three hours later
and they're over northern
Quebec,

flying through a layer of
supercooled water droplets

that can freeze on impact
with the Skibird.

[George] What we're fighting as
we're coming farther south

from the arctic
down into northern Canada,

that's where we're
picking up the icing.

When your icing gets
to a severe state,

the weight that it can create
is so great on the airplane

that it can actually
cause you to lose airspeed.

The worst is when you get
the mixed with the clear.

You get severe clear ice.

When you come out of it,
it will just be solid ice

all the way around.

[Narrator] The LC-130 uses
heat from two sources

to combat airframe icing.

Heat from the engines

is directed to the wings
and fuselage,

while electrical heat is used
to protect the propellers.

So we've had
to use those today

to make sure that we kept
a nice, clean surface

to keep the airflow
over the wings

so that we can reduce the
weight and keep the
aerodynamics.

[Narrator] George Alston flew
Hercs in the Bosnian conflict

before joining the Skibirds
in the late '90s.

Over a decade later, it's
still his ideal aircraft.

I think the Herc
is like a dump truck.

You think about it,
a dump truck's not pretty,

it's not fast,
but it gets the job done.

And that's really what
the Hercules does,

whether it's the Skibird
or the wheel bird variant,

we get it done.

[Controller] Skier 78,
contact Albany approach,
132.82.

Good day.

[Narrator] Co-pilot Pat
Newton is hoping to follow

in his footsteps.

Any job that you have
on this airplane is a good one.

And I'm just really excited
to be up here

and actually living the dream.

But a lot of the planes
we do fly

were on the assembly line
before I was born.

So they're old planes and
we've got to treat them well.

Hopefully, they'll be
around for a while,

because I'd like to be
doing this for a while.

[Controller] Albany approach,
skier 78,

40 miles to the north.

Level 10,000 request
vectors...

[Narrator]
They're now 60 miles out

and starting their descent
into upstate New York,

and the weather isn't good.

[George] The thunderstorms are
out there about 60 miles.

We're going have to work today.

[Pat] Yup, it's going
to be bumpy, guys.

[George] That's what
I was thinking.

[Narrator] A severe weather
warning has been issued

for the area.

-[Pat] Sam.
-[George] Sam.

[Sam] Microburst warnings
are in effect for Albany.

[Narrator] Thunderstorms are
moving from west to east

towards the Skibird's
destination,

Schenectady County Airport.

[George]
It should be moving east

and be out of the way

by the time we get there,
hopefully.

[Narrator] Thunderstorms
thrive in cumulonimbus
clouds,

which can grow over
30,000 feet tall.

They're the clouds
pilots fear the most.

Violent updrafts and wind
shears can cause structural
damage

and send even large planes
hurtling to the ground.

[Pat] Can we go back
to like a 235?

And then just kind of
parallel?

Because I don't want
to get too close

to the thunderstorms
downrange.

[Narrator] The onboard
weather radar is invaluable.

George skirts
the worst of the storms

looking for a clear path
to the airport.

[George] Just want to
basically pass

20 miles to the right of it.

[Narrator] Eventually George
finds a window in the weather

and has enough time to make
a dash for the runway.

[Controller] Skier 78,
Schenectady tower, winds
calm,

altimeter 2983,
runway 22 cleared to land.

Cleared to land on 22,
Skier 78.

[Narrator] George makes
a final turn

and has his Skibird
on the homestretch.

Landing gear's down,
skis are up.

Check pilot.

No problem.

...glide panel.

[Narrator] By now
the climate scientists

are back at their labs
making sense of their
samples.

For the Hercs and their
crews,

it's time to start repacking.

Another successful
Greenland's mission.

Next stop--Antarctica.

[Narrator] In a month's time,
they'll be heading to
Antarctica

flying resupply missions to
climate scientists there.

From one pole to the other,

the Skibirds are
the tool of choice

for extreme assignments
on snow and ice.