Construction
Construction of a runway in the Australian Antarctic Territory was first suggested in the 1950s, but logistical, political and environmental issues meant construction of the runway did not begin until 2004. The A$46 million dollar runway is carved into glacial ice, approximately 65 km (40 mi) from the Australian base at Casey Station.
In order to be approved by Australia's Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA), Wilkins was required to be levelled to runway standard with the use of lasers, and requires a crew of eight to maintain the level and friction of the runway before each landing.
Read more about this topic: Wilkins Runway
Famous quotes containing the word construction:
“No real “vital” character in fiction is altogether a conscious construction of the author. On the contrary, it may be a sort of parasitic growth upon the author’s personality, developing by internal necessity as much as by external addition.”
—T.S. (Thomas Stearns)
“There’s no art
To find the mind’s construction in the face:
He was a gentleman on whom I built
An absolute trust.”
—William Shakespeare (1564–1616)
“Striving toward a goal puts a more pleasing construction on our advance toward death.”
—Mason Cooley (b. 1927)