Page 40 - Demo

40servicemen in addition to their normal clientele. The field kitchenequipment proved reliable and robust but the tents deteriorated rapidly inthe prevailing conditions and it became clear that, in the longer term,occupation of the sites without adequate sanitation would be hazardousto health.THE AIRHEADI have already mentioned the existence of the 10,000 ft runway andthe aircraft parking apron sufficient for twenty-four large fixed-wingaircraft. However, the geography of the airfield and its facilities had asignificant impact on the mounting of air operations. In particular theaccess to the runway, the nature of the surrounding areas, the supply ofaviation fuel, the lack of permanent buildings, and the routine needs ofour Pan Am hosts had to be taken into account.Layout. The layout of the airfield provided only one access from theparking apron to the threshold of Runway 14 suitable for the launch ofmulti-aircraft formations. If the wind direction had required the use ofRunway 32 it would have been impossible to launch formations ofBLACK BUCK proportions because, to reach the loop at the thresholdof Runway 32, aircraft had to taxi along more than two thirds of therunway length. Fortunately the prevailing wind throughout OperationCORPORATE favoured Runway 14.Surrounding Areas. The pervasive volcanic dust of the surroundingareas dictated the arrangement of aircraft on the apron and the intervalsbetween take-offs on the runway. With the %u2018dust%u2019 problem great care wasneeded to avoid the jet exhaust of one aircraft blowing debris into theintakes of another. The operating areas were swept continually, but evenso, taxying power was enough to vacuum debris from the surface into theengine intakes; in a short time the engine compressor blades developed amirror-like finish. An early priority was the delivery of a %u2018Lacre%u2019sweeper, similar to the sweepers we see on our roads, to supplement thehard pressed Pan Am sweeper vehicle; the %u2018Lacre%u2019 was flown toAscension in an ex-RAF HeavyLift Belfast on 1 May. The two vehicleswere worked ceaselessly but it was a case of %u2018King Canute attempting toturn back the tide%u2019! The parking apron was made up of both concrete andtarmac surfacing. The tarmac areas soon began to show the adverseeffects of fuel spillage causing softening and general degradation. Evenpartially refuelled Victor aircraft tended to settle into the softened