The plane would almost certainly have a full pay-load, the snow surface was likely to be soft and the runway required the aircraft to build its ground speed by going down-hill on the ice piedmont towards the sea – where there were crevasses, followed by ice cliffs about 100 feet high. I was sitting in the co-pilot seat and therefore got the best (or maybe the worst) view of the proceedings. Derek pushed the engines to high revs. The plane started to shake and then, with the throttle back, moved off slowly to the top end of the runway. Now was the big moment. Flaps up; full throttle; everything is shaking but we are gathering speed. Now, really motoring, the plane is yawing wildly from side to side as the pilot fights the soft snow. The piedmont is getting steeper and steeper. I know that the ice cliffs must be coming up fast, but they are out of sight in dead ground but the main sensation is of everything shaking and vibrating.
Suddenly, Derek throttles back and does a high speed U-turn. We have failed to get off this time and will now have to go through the whole process again, but it’s much more nerve-racking because the first run has dented my confidence. Now for a second run. We are moving a little faster, so Derek hangs in a little longer. This time we are even further down the piedmont (i.e. closer to the ice cliffs) when suddenly the plane gets some lift, is properly air-borne. We swoop over the ice cliffs and out to sea. When I got into the plane I was a little chilly; but now I am sweating.”
At first it was still cloudy so we flew the first 50 miles or so at around 2000 feet to keep below the cloud. “Take over,” said Derek. “Just keep an eye on the heading and those gauges, particularly the wing attitude; it’s easy.” For the next fifteen minutes I tweaked the joy stick to get the feel of how it affected the aircraft and soon got the knack.
Over the Puff Ball Islets, we descended to look at the depot that had just been put in from the “John Biscoe”. As we progressed southwards and approached Cape Jeremy – the NE entrance to King George VI Sound – the cloud dispersed and we flew in a clear blue sky.
Once over the ‘Sound, we had incredible views of the mountains on either side, as well as the ‘Sound’s feeder glaciers, giving us an easy visual fix on our progress. There would be no navigational errors in these conditions!
Because of the clear sky and good light to create shadows on the snow surface, landing at the Bluff was straightforward. Unloading completed, it was time to for the evening meal. Derek was to stay for supper and fly Mike Elliott (Adelaide Geologist) back to Adelaide the next day. This would leave John Walsh (Army Aircraft Mechanic) Mike Fielding and me as the base team for the next several days.
Outside the cosy hut it was -10C and a beautiful evening of protracted polar twilight …”