As I look outside the hotel window, it’s snowing here. Yeah, another cold day (note the sarcasm). But if the plane is functioning properly today…we’ll be coming home! Hooray!! I flew with Provincial Aero Services yesterday. They are contracted by oil rigs to track, determine size, determine drift and collect data on ice bergs (as one part of their services). Oil rigs in Grand Banks are highly susceptible to iceberg collision, thus the need for the ice patrol services. As of date, three rigs are using services provided by Provincial Aero Services. Provincial also coordinates towing services for the icebergs. If an iceberg is headed straight for the path of an oil rig, time and effort are needed to tow it away from the rig, so it can drift a different course. They utilize a King Air aircraft. After processing the data from each day, it is shared with the Coast Guard and Canadian Ice Services. This joint effort maximizes the safety of vessels transversing the Grand Banks. But let me tell you this…I prefer the C-130 aircraft than the King Air…much smoother and more room to walk around.
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