Wolf's Fang Runway

Wolf's Fang Runway
IATA: none ICAO: none
Summary
Airport type	Private
Operator	White Desert Antarctica
Location	Queen Maud Land, Antarctica
Elevation AMSL	3,707 ft / 1,130 m
Coordinates	71°31′S 08°48′E
Website	https://white-desert.com/our-story/wolfsfang-runway-logistics/
Map
Wolf's Fang Runway Location of airfield in Antarctica
Runways
Direction Length Surface ft m 2,500 Blue Ice
Source:

File:Wolf's Fang Runway sign.jpg

Credit: White Desert Antarctica & Kelvin Trautman

Wolf's Fang Runway is a private runway established by White Desert Ltd, a luxury travel company, in Queen Maud Land, Antarctica to provide access for tourists to the company's Whichaway Oasis eco-camp. It was established on the site of a previous blue ice runway that was known as Blue One.

Wolf’s Fang Runway is operated by the logistics arm of White Desert Ltd. and it was built to support large business jets operating from Cape Town.

There are six blue ice runways in Antarctica, made of snow compressed over millennia into glacial ice that has a distinctive blue colour and a compressive strength similar to concrete, so passenger jets can land on them.

During construction a ground penetrating radar was used to ensure the area was free of subsurface voids or crevassing. The site was also surveyed to determine the best positioning in conformity with the ICAO requirements for runways.

Being part of a glacier, a blue ice runway moves and changes over time. Operating systems need to ensure changes to the runway are measured, corrected and any non-conformances reported to aircrews using the facility.  This includes the surface smoothness and friction coefficient which can vary considerably.

To prepare the runway for flight operations, grooming equipment works the ice to achieve surface frictions that are similar to those of a damp bitumen runway.

Flights operate into/out of the runway during austral summer. Aircraft types which typically operate into and out of Wolf’s Fang include Gulfstream G550, G650, Basler BT-67 and helicopters, although the runway is able to accommodate aircraft of all sizes.

Technical details

File:Wolf's Fang runway - technical details.jpg

Northern Threshold, (ITRF 2014)                                          

S 71° 31’ 34.2”

E 008° 47’ 56.4”

Elevation 1109 m (3639’) AMSL

Azimuth 175° True

Gradient Average 0.86%, rising to South.

End of Runway (South),

S 71° 33’ 10.8”

E 8° 48’ 20.9”    

Elevation 1135 m (3724’) AMSL

Declared Distances for Runway 17T

TORA & LDA:               3000 m (9840’)

TODA & ASDA:             3000 m (9840’)

See also

• Blue ice runway
• List of airports in Antarctica