The Brazilian Air Force (FAB) resumed its air operations to the Antarctic continent, achieving a historic milestone by using for the first time the Airbus C295 aircraft, designated as C-105 Amazonas by the FAB, in this type of supply mission in Antarctica. It is the first time that a crew of this aircraft was authorized to land directly on the ice.
The Brazilian Air Force informed, through a press release, that members of the First Squadron of the Fifteenth Aviation Group (1º/15th GAV), known as the Onça Squadron, carried out their first flight from Punta Arenas, Chile, to the Antarctic continent. The landing took place around 11:00 a.m. (Brasilia time) on Monday 25.
“This mission is the result of a year of planning, in which the Squadron solved several issues. Among them, logistical requirements, with all the preparation of the aircraft to operate in cold conditions, as well as operational issues, in which we had the opportunity to operate in the Manaus simulator, simulating the runway we found in the Antarctic continent”, said the Commander of the 1st/15th GAV, Lieutenant Colonel Marcelo Brugiolo Gonçalves..
The mission planning involved theoretical, technical and operational preparation of the crew and was supported by the Institute for Flight Research and Testing (IPEV) to analyze the performance of the aircraft’s operational envelope.
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“It is a great honor for the Squadron to resume the Brazilian Air Force’s ability to land on the Antarctic continent,” added the Squadron Commander.
Brazil is one of the signatories of the Antarctic Treaty, an agreement that allows scientific research in the region. For 41 years, the Brazilian Air Force (FAB) has provided air support to make Brazil’s presence possible, as the geographic characteristics and extreme climate make it difficult to access the Antarctic continent and deliver supplies to the Comandante Ferraz Antarctic Station (EACF).
