FC 3-260-06F, FACILITIES CRITERIA (FC): AIR FORCE DESIGN, CONSTRUCTION, MAINTENANCE, AND EVALUATION OF SNOW AND ICE AIRFIELDS IN ANTARCTICA (01-JUN-2015)

FC 3-260-06F, FACILITIES CRITERIA (FC): AIR FORCE DESIGN, CONSTRUCTION, MAINTENANCE, AND EVALUATION OF SNOW AND ICE AIRFIELDS IN ANTARCTICA (01-JUN-2015)., This FC supersedes ETL 02-16, Design, Construction, Maintenance, and Evaluation of the Pegasus Glacial Ice Runway for Heavy Wheeled Aircraft Operations, dated Oct 2002; and ETL 07-12, Design, Construction, Maintenance, and Evaluation of the McMurdo Sound (Antarctica) Sea Ice Runway, dated Sep 2007. This Facilities Criteria (FC) provides design, construction, and maintenance details, dimensional criteria, and structural evaluation criteria for compacted snow and/or ice runways used by wheeled aircraft. Three potential surface conditions are considered: • Wheeled aircraft operations on glacial ice • Wheeled aircraft operations on white ice (glacial ice capped with processed snow) • Wheeled aircraft operations on sea ice The dimensional criteria are the same for all surfaces. Although these criteria were developed from operational experience on the airfields at McMurdo Station, Antarctica, the concepts are generally applicable to any runway composed of glacial ice, white ice, or sea ice. Appendices B-12 and B-13 provide drawings of the layout of an operational glacial ice airfield which includes a skiway and sea ice airfield located on the Ross Ice Shelf and McMurdo Sound, Antarctica.