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BT-67 Going to Germany
October 31, 2006
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The following
announcement was made by the Alfred Wegener Institute of Germany.
The aircraft will be put into
service for the 07/08 Arctic and Antarctic season.
Tom Weigt
President, Basler Turbo Conversions, LLC
The Alfred
Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research (AWI) is acquiring a new
research plane of type Basler BT-67. ‘Polar 5’ features improved
aeronautical parameters and scientific instrumentation designed for
long-lasting utilization. Consequently, it is ideally suited for continuing
support of AWI research projects, despite ever increasing demands. The new
aircraft will replace ‘Polar 4’, a Dornier DO 228-101 that has been
operating since 1984. The German Federal Ministry of Education and Research
(BMBF) is financing the acquisition of the polar research plane with 8.1
million euros. ‘Polar 5’, with registration C-GAWI, will see its first
deployment during the 2007/2008 Antarctic season, exactly 25 years after the
Alfred Wegener Institute’s initial polar aircraft operation.
The Basler BT-67 (Basler Turbo Conversion LLC),
designed specifically for requirements of polar research, will be integrated
as ‘Polar 5’ into the AWI flight schedule. Compared to ‘Polar 4’, the new
plane is characterized by advanced performance parameters: The operational
range (approximately 2900 km) has more than doubled, and the required
take-off capacity from skis at elevations exceeding 3800 meters on the
Antarctic Plateau has been demonstrated. Powerful generators have enabled
expansion of the existing measuring equipment aboard. Loading capacity and
volume are more than twice as large as in the preceding model, significantly
improving the transport capacity for logistical operations. The new aircraft
is more robust and therefore requires less maintenance than previous polar
aircraft. Maintenance can be carried out at the deployment location. With
operational costs comparable to current polar aircraft, the plane will be
able to operate for up to 800 hours per year.
Next year’s commissioning of the new aircraft will also mark a new
partnership of the research plane with the Canadian company ‘Enterprise Air
Inc.’ in Oshawa. As for ‘Polar 2’ and ‘Polar 4’, the home location of ‘Polar
5’ will be Bremerhaven’s regional airport. This will also be the site of
regular maintenance work on ‘Polar 5’ between research deployments.
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The new acquisition became
necessary after the research aircraft ‘Polar 4’ was severely damaged in
January 2005 during a rough landing at the British over-wintering
station Rothera on the Antarctic Peninsula. |
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was impossible to repair the plane, the aircraft had to be
decommissioned. Since then, the scientific and logistical tasks of polar
flights have been performed solely by ‘Polar 2’. A second polar aircraft
is needed so that the Alfred Wegener Institute can continue to meet
fully its scientific and logistical responsibilities as a centre for
polar and marine research. |
Bremerhaven, October 31, 2006
Suggestion for editors:
Your contact person at the Alfred Wegener Institute is Dr Andreas Herber
(Tel: +49-471-4831-1489, email: aherber@awi-bremerhaven.de). Your contact
person in the public relations department is Dr Jens Kube (Tel:
+49-471-4831-2007, email: jkube@awi-bremerhaven.de).
Printable images:
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The new aircraft
Polar 5.
Picture: Daniel Steinhage Schauer, Alfred-Wegener-Institut.
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Range of Polar 5 in Antarctica. The grey circles indicate the range from
Polar 5 from its staring point.
Picture: Daniel Steinhage, Alfred-Wegener-Institut.
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Technical data of the new Polar 5
Picture: Jens Kube, Alfred-Wegener-Institut.
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In Future still
in use for the Alfred Wegener Institute: Polar 2, a Dornier DO-228.
Foto: Hannes Grobe,
Alfred-Wegener-Institut.
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