A Day on the Greenland Ice Cap

After loading cargo ranging from mail and movies, to huge "I" beams and passengers, the C-130D would be taxied onto the runway for takeoff to the DYE sites. After departing Sondrestrom, the first view of the Ice Cap was the heavily crevassed marginal zone.

The marginal zone is a 75-mile band of unstable and heavily crevassed ice which prevents surface transportation from being used on the Greenland Ice Cap. Due to this fact, the Air Force decided to develop the C-130D to build and support DYE sites two and three.

During the summer months, Firebird crews would fly over brilliant blue "Aqua Velva" lakes and rivers created by the melting snow.