1. Polarstern Helicopters
- Logistical aspects -
Ueberdeckung
MOSAiC Implementation Workshop, St. Petersburg, Nov 2017

2. Two Helicopters BK 117 C1 Capacities: Cabin/Cargo: ~ 1000 kg OR
Sling load: ~ 1000 kg
No sling loads under night-flight conditions!
Max. 1 pilot + 7 passengers
Photo: C. Barrientos
Ueberdeckung

3. Night-flight conditions: Day-flight conditions:
Solar altitude < - 6°
Day-flight conditions:
Daylight or civil twilight
Solar altitude > - 6°
10000 ft
1500 ft
1200 ft
500 ft
100 ft
Ueberdeckung

4. Launch of buoys at low flight altitudes possible
Rules for operations under night-flight conditions:
Normally, no landings on ice floes!
Exception 1: SAR missions
Exception 2: Preliminary reconnaissance, e.g., by means of a hovercraft, less than 24 h before a flight and with one pilot aboard
Residence time of a helicopter on a floe < 45 min
Launch of buoys at low flight altitudes possible
(Meteorological) Masts in the area of the central observatory and at autonomous platforms to be visited by helicopters should be equipped with a signal lamp on top.
Ueberdeckung

5. Maximum operating range
If Heli 1 is up to 80 nm away, Heli 2 has to stay within a range of 3 nm.
Maximum operating
range
max. 80 nm
The permission for a flight and the actually allowed range heavily depend on visibility, contrast and cloud situation!
Ueberdeckung

6. max. 3 nm
Coordinated flights of both helicopters are possible in a range of 3 nm,
e.g., heli-pod on heli 1,
sea ice sensors on heli 2.
Ueberdeckung

7. Coordination necessary among the helicopter, UAV, balloon and aircraft teams in regard to time and space coordination of flights
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8. Please, send further requests to Gerit.Birnbaum@awi.de !
Call for proposals for use of helicopters: Deadline 15 SEP 2017
Apparently, there are more wishes for logistical support by helicopters than proposed so far.
Mission
Main Applicant
4 remote flux nodes, position buoy network
(deployment, maintenance, recovery)
M. Shupe (NOAA)
Transport to ice stations for BGC-work
E. Damm (AWI)
Deployment of autonomous platforms
G. Liston (CIRA)
Ridge monitoring (autonomous instruments)
M. Doble (UK)
Transport to ice stations
C. Polashenski (CRREL)
Please, send further requests to !
Max. 6 flight hours per day
Estimation: flight hours within 12 months
Ueberdeckung

9. Information desired from the Remote Sensing and Modelling group on:
suitable parameters for validation,
required frequency of measurements,
preferred horizontal scales and spatial flight patterns,
temporal and spatial coordination with ground based, other airborne and satellite measurements.
List of measured parameters will be provided soon.
Example for necessary coordination:
Satellite images from SAR-missions for the validation by means of airborne or ground based measurements have to be ordered 48 hours (min. 30 hours) in advance.
Ueberdeckung

10. Preliminary decisions on airborne operations on the day before
Final remark
The unprecedented complexity of ground based, airborne and remote sensing activities during MOSAiC will require a modification of the weather briefing procedure on RV Polarstern to meet the new requirements.
Important points for task group Helicopters:
Discussion of 3-day weather forecasts for preliminary activity planning of all groups by a selected group of relevant persons together with the forecaster from the German Weather Service
Preliminary decisions on airborne operations on the day before
Ueberdeckung