The Real Polar Express
Big Kid
December 13, 2009
I just returned from my 6th "Polar Express" flight to the
North Pole. Another one of many planeloads of elves, helpers,
toys, supplies, and provisions. This time, it was in a
'super-heavy', a Lockheed C-5B Galaxy...the biggest aircraft
I've flown on that run so far, but the An-124 and the even
larger monster An-225 are also known to regularly fly the
"Polar Express"...a veritable holiday season airlift
beginning in early November, and spooling up to full-tilt
from around Thanksgiving right up to December the 24th.
The massive scale of this operation has to be actually
experienced to be fully appreciated. It is matched only by
the size of the humongous warehouse complex located at not
just one, but two fully equipped North Pole airports capable
of easily handling the largest aircraft in the world, and
their cargo...which they do at a breakneck pace,
around-the-clock throughout the holiday season. The airports
are about 170 miles apart so that the further one can be used
for staging and other buffering to make the operation run as
smoothly as possible, considering that planes are constantly
taking off and landing. They are also completely hidden from
any others than those who are actually involved in the "Polar
Express" airlift operations. Neither satellites, nor
spyplanes, submarines, or search expiditions have ever been
able to detect anything, yet they are there, and they're
absolutely huge.
Pilots are carefully selected and recruited for this special
mission. Candidates are not only selected for their love of
flying, but also for their love of Christmas. They are paid
no money for all their hard work since Christmas is about
giving, not taking. I remember how it started for me. I was
just talking some "hangar flying" with a couple other pilots
and somehow the subject of Christmas came up. The next thing
I knew, I was invited to come along and ride jumpseat on a
'northbound' charter flight. Up until then, I had only logged
time in single-engine fixed-gear planes so this was a treat,
to say the least. I didn't know just how much of a treat it
was until a Munchkin-like elfin voice from the tower cleared
us to land and we were on final approach, at almost the very
North Pole itself, where no airport was previously known to
exist. Then it really got scary, when to my horror, I watched
the polar ice coming up at us as we descended to where the
runway we were approaching was supposed to be. I could
clearly see by the HSI that we were on ILS approach and the
autopilot was locked to it, yet no runway, just ice coming up
at us. When I practically screamed that we were about to
crashland on the ice, the pilot calmly assured me that all
was well...but I braced for impact anyway. Then, what looked
like ice suddenly disappeared and the runway became clearly
visible as we flared for a perfect landing. This was in late
Spring so it was the "off-season" for the North Pole
airports. Still, supplies, food, fuel, and other things were
needed and that meant regular 'northbound' flights. It was on
such flights that I received my training in flying the 'big
ones', various commercial aircraft including the "heavies"
and by late Fall, I was flying to the North Pole, from the
left seat...and it's all part of, and wishing all a very:
MERRY CHRISTMAS!