Here's their take on the subject
http://www.bigdeadplace.com/state_of_the_station.h tml
Mainbody 2003-04
An Australian who was flying a small plane around Antarctica (drawing minor interest from a few grunts lunching near the windows as he flew over the South Pole) ran out of fuel and so landed at McMurdo Station, where his status as an Antarctic bum was quickly established by U.S. and New Zealand agencies that engage in international scientific cooperation for the good of humanity and who would not sell him 104 gallons of diesel from their stash of over 6,000,000 gallons. While the BBC stressed the Ross Island Gang's refusal to sell the "adventurer" enough fuel to fly himself back to New Zealand, a National Science Foundation press release headline read, "U.S. and New Zealand Offer Australian Pilot Safe Passage Home from Antarctica", which sounds to Joe Public like a warm wagontrain escort through a land full of hostile injuns instead of extortion. Rather than selling the no-good bum what he needed (fuel) for a handsome profit (let's say $100 a gallon) so he could take care of himself, the paternal government agency insisted on caring for him (a seat on a military flight) in order to teach the lesson of how dearly such custodial concern would cost him (depending on how NSF spins it, anywhere from $1000 to $100,000). Bad children will have the snot whipped from them, but we are doing them a favor, says the NSF press release.
[This just in from a McMurdo correspondent: "...U.S./Kiwi management [are] like sullen security guards standing in front of a vacant lot, but one thing I wanted you to understand about it all: The plane is tinier than a dinner plate, and the guy has balls. They can't be big balls, because the cockpit has no room for them. You are taller than the plane, the wandering albatross has a greater wingspan, and we could move it with a pickle if need be. [The pilot reminds me of] Cool Hand Luke in solitary confinement. This guy flew 26 hours from Dunedin, with a single engine, propeller flapping in front of his nose, over the worst seas in the world, in a white plane to the Pole, only to land in McMurdo and get his tiny tires stuck in two inches of snow on the runway."]
He has a right to be there, sure. They don't have to help him fly out, though.
I can't see the Russians flying down to McMurdo with fuel, the last time they flew to the pole they had to be rescued by the USAF, lol.
That kind of fuel isn't stored at McMurdo.
It's not a fuel dump. They don't bring in fuel for the hell of it, just in case some loser has to land there. They don't keep that kind of fuel there, and it costs a lot to bring in what they do have, and they will probably have to schedule an extra flight to bring it in. The true cost could be a lot more than what it costs to fly the plane in, when you add on the costs of keeping the plane in country for an extra day or two, which is about what it takes for one return flight from New Zealand.
He didn't have a plane accident. On his outward leg to the pole, he called in as he flew over McMurdo, acknowledging then that the winds were strong, but he chose to fly on anyway.
When the US air force flies down there, if they get to the PSR and the weather is too bad to land, then they just turn around and fly back to point of origin. They don't press on hoping somehow they will be able to land just the same. They always make sure they have enough fuel to get back to base if the weather sucks.
We had the guy over here who was going to row to South Africa. He called for help 1200 km out from NZ, the cost of the ship to pick him up was only a few thousand but the SAR costs were $100,000.
There is only so much willingness to keep paying for these people who have chosen to be in that place.
Slashdot Mirror
Here's their take on the subject http://www.bigdeadplace.com/state_of_the_station.h tml
Mainbody 2003-04
An Australian who was flying a small plane around Antarctica (drawing minor interest from a few grunts lunching near the windows as he flew over the South Pole) ran out of fuel and so landed at McMurdo Station, where his status as an Antarctic bum was quickly established by U.S. and New Zealand agencies that engage in international scientific cooperation for the good of humanity and who would not sell him 104 gallons of diesel from their stash of over 6,000,000 gallons. While the BBC stressed the Ross Island Gang's refusal to sell the "adventurer" enough fuel to fly himself back to New Zealand, a National Science Foundation press release headline read, "U.S. and New Zealand Offer Australian Pilot Safe Passage Home from Antarctica", which sounds to Joe Public like a warm wagontrain escort through a land full of hostile injuns instead of extortion. Rather than selling the no-good bum what he needed (fuel) for a handsome profit (let's say $100 a gallon) so he could take care of himself, the paternal government agency insisted on caring for him (a seat on a military flight) in order to teach the lesson of how dearly such custodial concern would cost him (depending on how NSF spins it, anywhere from $1000 to $100,000). Bad children will have the snot whipped from them, but we are doing them a favor, says the NSF press release.
[This just in from a McMurdo correspondent: "...U.S./Kiwi management [are] like sullen security guards standing in front of a vacant lot, but one thing I wanted you to understand about it all: The plane is tinier than a dinner plate, and the guy has balls. They can't be big balls, because the cockpit has no room for them. You are taller than the plane, the wandering albatross has a greater wingspan, and we could move it with a pickle if need be. [The pilot reminds me of] Cool Hand Luke in solitary confinement. This guy flew 26 hours from Dunedin, with a single engine, propeller flapping in front of his nose, over the worst seas in the world, in a white plane to the Pole, only to land in McMurdo and get his tiny tires stuck in two inches of snow on the runway."]
Which rugby is that? The bledisloe cup?
He has a right to be there, sure. They don't have to help him fly out, though. I can't see the Russians flying down to McMurdo with fuel, the last time they flew to the pole they had to be rescued by the USAF, lol. That kind of fuel isn't stored at McMurdo.
ah, they don't keep high octane avgas down there because they don't have any piston pounders that need the stuff
It's not a fuel dump. They don't bring in fuel for the hell of it, just in case some loser has to land there. They don't keep that kind of fuel there, and it costs a lot to bring in what they do have, and they will probably have to schedule an extra flight to bring it in. The true cost could be a lot more than what it costs to fly the plane in, when you add on the costs of keeping the plane in country for an extra day or two, which is about what it takes for one return flight from New Zealand.
He didn't have a plane accident. On his outward leg to the pole, he called in as he flew over McMurdo, acknowledging then that the winds were strong, but he chose to fly on anyway. When the US air force flies down there, if they get to the PSR and the weather is too bad to land, then they just turn around and fly back to point of origin. They don't press on hoping somehow they will be able to land just the same. They always make sure they have enough fuel to get back to base if the weather sucks.
We had the guy over here who was going to row to South Africa. He called for help 1200 km out from NZ, the cost of the ship to pick him up was only a few thousand but the SAR costs were $100,000. There is only so much willingness to keep paying for these people who have chosen to be in that place.