The first successful WINFLY flight of the season has broken more than four months of physical isolation for the winter team at Scott Base.

Scott Base Winter Leader Stuart Kininmonth told chrislynchmedia.com the team had not seen an aircraft since 6 May, making its appearance on the horizon an emotional moment.

“Everyone wants to see it flying. Obviously seeing a plane fly isn’t exactly the most exciting thing, but when you haven’t seen anything for a while, it’s quite a thrill to see the plane coming in,” he said.

“Just before they start touching the ice, all the snow kicks up, so you get a big snowstorm behind this plane as it’s coming in. It’s quite a magic event.”

Kininmonth said the arrival made the team realise how isolated it had become during the Antarctic winter.

“For the first time you see this flight coming in and you suddenly realise the rest of the world is connected to you.”

WINFLY, which means winter flights, carries personnel, equipment and supplies to Antarctica ahead of the main summer research season.

Kininmonth said preparing for the aircraft required close coordination between the New Zealand team and American crews led by the National Science Foundation.

After storms pushed loose snow onto the runway, American crews cleared and compacted the surface so it could support the heavy aircraft.

The New Zealand team labelled, weighed and checked its cargo, while coordinating the collection of arriving passengers.

Two staff members arrived for about a week to check preparations for summer, meet the winter team and complete routine inspections.

The aircraft also delivered a small amount of fresh food and parts needed to repair vehicles and other machinery. Most of the fresh food was expected on the second flight.

Extreme cold caused one and possibly two flights to be delayed because aircraft could not safely remain on the runway.

Kininmonth said the rear cargo ramps relied on hydraulic systems, which could become difficult to operate when the oil became extremely cold and sluggish.

“WINFLY is extremely tricky. It very rarely runs on time,” he said.

Kininmonth expected to return to New Zealand around 8 October, although weather, runway conditions and aircraft maintenance could still change the departure date.

He was looking forward to seeing his family and being reunited with his border collie.