Put-In at Siple Dome
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Put-in at Siple Dome has officially ended after two weeks of digging snow, making a runway, and general opening tasks. Yesterday, our GA from McMurdo, Louis, left on a Twin Otter flight back to Base. David, the fuelie, and AC, the Carpenter left a week ago after finishing their opening tasks. Now it is just Luci, Don and me until the science groups start arriving in a couple of weeks.
We departed McMurdo according to schedule on a LC-130 Hercules. Putting in with a Herc meant that we were able to bring out all our supplies in one shot. Actually, two shots. The first plane left an hour before the second with us and all our cargo. The second arrived at Siple Dome with our Tucker Snow-Cat that we use to groom the runway. At the end of last season, the Tucker that was out here cracked a head or blew a head gasket; nothing field-rectifiable, anyway. So, now I use the back of the old Tucker as my workshop, as I have been designated the camp mechanic; although I am getting paid nothing close to a Mechanic’s pay.
We have the main pieces of equipment that are essential to camp operation: the Tucker, the Alp I snowmobile, and three Herman Nelsons. Herman Nelsons are by far the most important. They are old military avionics heaters. Because of the cold, most motors need to be heated before attempting to start them. The Hermies are also handy for heating just about anything from hands to work spaces. They consist of two mechanical parts: the burner and the primer mover or head. The burner houses a gasoline fired heat exchanger, the gas tank, fuel pump and ignition magneto. The prime mover is a single cylinder gas motor which, when attached to the burner, runs the blower, the fuel pump, and the magneto. The head is removable so it can be brought out of the elements for servicing and to keep it warm. Hence the workshop in the back of the old Tucker. I have to admit, they are really fun to work on. They are so simple that they would make a perfect teaching tool for anyone wanting to learn about internal combustion engines. They can be a real pain to start sometimes, though (that’s why we have three). Since they are designed to be used in the cold, they have a built-in carburetor heater box. It is a little metal box stuck on the intake manifold with an asbestos wick. You push a valve and gas squirts in to soak the wick. Then you drop a match in it and let it burn for a few minutes before you try to start it. Crazy, huh!? Works every time.
Our snow machine is an old single-ski Bombardier Alp 1. It is a tank that is OK for towing stuff but has a turning radius of roughly a football field. It has a cranky starter (due to a worn starter gear) so we have to pull-start it most of the time. To start it on cold days, the following procedure is essential. It must be primed with no more than and no less than 8 pumps of the primer. Then, you have to pull the recoil starter handle no more than and no less than eight times with the key in the OFF position ( to prime the cylinders). Finally, you put the key in the ON position and it should start with one more pull of the cord. Though, I have to say, we were all amazed when, after a winter sitting unused with an engine compartment packed with snow, it started with the electric started on the first try!
The Tucker is powered by a Detroit series 53 engine. Every time I hear it start up it reminds me of the sound of a lobster boat on Swans Island, Maine where I grew up (many of them use the same engine). Since we have limited facilities for working on large machinery, the work I do on the Tucker is mostly preventative maintenance. It tows a huge, hydraulic grooming apparatus. It uses a small Wisconsin engine to raise and lower the blade which also required periodic maintenance. I am also responsible for the upkeep of two gas powered generators and a fuel pump for fueling the aircraft. The fuel pump also takes me back to my youth on Swans Island as it is run by a 10HP Briggs and Stratton lawnmower engine; the first motor I ever worked on ( I had to replace the shear pin after hitting the omnipresent ledge in the middle of our yard).
Luci has been keeping busy keeping track of our cargo. She has a list of what is in all our various boxes on all the various cargo palette around the camp. That way, we don’t have to go on a hopeless hunt anytime we run out of dried milk in the Jamesway. She has also been putting together palettes of retro, or stuff to be flown back to McMurdo, and doing a great deal of the cooking. The two of us spend most of the first week putting up over a hundred runway makers on our 10,000ft runway. Then we spent the next week grooming it in shifts. We have also been taking turns fueling planes when they arrive. That’s pretty much life here at Siple Dome.
Luke