DC-4 In October 1963 Air Greenland acquired its first aircraft – a DC-4, which was purchased from the Icelandic airline Iceland air. The plane, replacing an earlier chartered plane of the same type, was used for contract flights for the U.S. Defence for personnel replacement and supply at the radar warning station at Kulusuk in East Greenland – close by to Ammassalik (Tasiilaq) – for military flights to Keflavik and to a radar station in Eastern Canada – Cape Dyer.

On the proviso that there was space on the plane (which was almost always the case), civilian passengers were able to travel to and from Kulusuk and were then transported by boat or dogsled between Kulusk and Ammassalik. And it was here that it was now possible to make a connection between West and East Greenland, a connection which was also used by travellers going to and from Denmark. During the winter of 1966/67 the actual scheduled flights commenced as Air Greenland opened a route between Kangerlussuaq and Narsarsuaq. It was operated once a week during the winter season with connections to and from the SAS route between Copenhagen and Kangerlussuaq. In summer, there was a direct SAS service to Narsarsuaq from Copenhagen. Scheduled flights between Kangerlussuaq and Kulusuk also began with a flight once every 4 weeks.Due to operational needs, Air Greenland purchased another DC-4 aircraft in 1967. It was purchased from Olympic Airways and its Greek cultural history did not fail, which you could clearly see in the elegant interior with mahogany walls, deep blue seats and Greek cabin signs. The DC-4 was produced by the Douglas Aircraft Company and had its first flight in 1938. It was the biggest contemporary aircraft with 4-engines and it had new nose landing gear; however, it was without a pressurised cabin. Only 79 planes were produced before the World War II and then the production was transferred to the military version – known as C54/Sky Master – In total, 1163 of these planes were produced. Many of them were used after the war by the civilian fleet carriers, including both of the planes used by Air Greenland. The aircraft had a cruise speed of approximately 365 kms per hour and had room for about 50 passengers. DC-6B Due to increasing needs and the costs of maintaining the DC-4 aircraft, they were replaced in 1971 and 1972 with the DC-6B planes. These were a development of the DC4, but were significantly larger, had pressurised cabins and a cruising speed of approximately 507 kms per hour. The crew of the DC4 consisted of 2 pilots, a mechanic and cabin crew. The DC-6B continued flights for the U.S. Defence and civil aviation was developed with frequent flights to Kulusuk. These flights continued weekly with Winter services to Narsarsuaq plus new services to Mestersvig in East Greenland near Scoresbysund. Over a couple of summers during the 1970s, charter flights for the Greenlandic school system between Kangerlussuaq and Narsarsuaq and Danish airports were conducted for the transportation of Greenlandic school children on their way to or from a year of schooling at the Danish schools. The DC-6B aircraft was sold in 1979 to Air Atlantic and, since then, Air Greenland has taken delivery of its first DE Havilland DHC7 aircraft. Sikorsky S61N helicopter The introduction of S61N helicopters in Greenland in 1965 was a transport revolution. With just one helicopter it created a transport system that involved a year-round service between West Greenland’s largest cities and a link to and from Denmark. The first two S61N helicopters were deployed on 1st June 1965 and ushered in a whole new transport structure. The helicopter quickly became popular; however, the cities that were not yet covered by the new transport were most dissatisfied. In 1964, construction of heliports in Greenland’s 6 largest cities began – the construction of a maintenance hangar with a waiting room and other passenger facilities also begun in Nuuk. During the following few years helipads were constructed in the west coast’s other cities, starting with Disco Bay and, by 1974, an established service was in operation to all cities from Upernavik in the north to Nanortalik in the south. The helicopter had room for 24 passengers, but the long flying distances in Greenland meant that you usually had to reduce the number to 17. It was provided with two jet engines, and had a speed of approximately 220 kms per hour. There were special compartments for luggage, mail and cargo, and this was obviously a big improvement to both passengers and staff who were now able to avoid the transportation difficulties associated with the sea planes. Although it was a great improvement, the helicopter operation was not without problems. Weather wise you were dependent on reasonably good weather, because helicopters were not approved for instrument flight because of the risk of icing when flying in clouds. Fog, blizzards and high winds, could also obstruct the regular flow of traffic, so that longer delays in some seasons could occur. The passengers were, as a rule, most understanding of this situation – all in Greenland knew the changing weather conditions – but Air Greenland was often the butt of local newspapers or radio news and the company featured in both the cartoons with headlines such as: ”Air Greenland best on land.” Besides passenger traffic, the S61N helicopters were used for emergency medical operations, search and rescue operations, flights with heavy suspended loads, offshore operations, depot construction for defence and private charter flights, etc. Despite some shortcomings, the S61N helicopters were the ideal solution to the increasing transportation needs caused by the growing communities from 1960 onwards. This situation also necessitated a gradual expansion of the helicopter fleet, which at one point was up to eight S61N helicopters. However, after the construction of new airfields in Greenland and the acquisition of the DHC7 aircraft, the S61N helicopter lost its meaning and became almost phased out. Bell 206B Jet Ranger In the late 1960s and early 1970s, during the summer periods Air Greenland chartered helicopter capacity for solving specific tasks. It was mainly small helicopters that were used, including for mineral exploration. The need for this size of helicopter was growing, so the company decided to acquire small helicopters themselves. The choice fell on the type Bell 206 Jet Ranger, of which Air Greenland had a good knowledge, since it was one of the helicopter types that had been used in Greenland, on several occasions previously. The first Bell 206 helicopter was delivered during the Spring of 1973, when it was leased to the mining company Greenex located at the lead and zinc mine ”The Black Angel” in Marmorilik, near Uummannaq. This and the later Bell 206 helicopter were operated by the subsidiary company ”Air Greenland Charter”, which was founded at this time. In Marmorilik it was used in the construction of the mine, including establishment of the cable car up to the mine entrance located high in the mountains on the opposite side of the fjord. In addition, the helicopter was used for the transportation of passengers and mail between Marmorilik and nearby towns, villages and Kangerlussuaq. Moreover, as a stand-by ambulance helicopter in case of accidents. An additional five Bell 206 helicopters were purchased in the years up to 1985. It was a very versatile and useful type of helicopter which, over the years, has been used for many different tasks in Greenland: mineral exploration, ice piloting and ice reconnaissance, settlement flights, including the Thule district and Greenland’s east coast, general passenger and ambulance flights – where it could be arranged to bring a stretcher patient and companion in the event of an evacuation and more. The Bell 206 helicopter was developed in the early 1960s by the manufacturer Bell, as a light observation helicopter for military purposes. A further development resulted in the Jet Ranger helicopter, which flew and was certified for the first time in 1966. It quickly became very popular and was used throughout the world. For a number of years the Italian company Agusta built this type of helicopter under licence in Italy with the name: Agusta Bell 206B. Air Greenland´s first helicopter of this type was an Agusta Bell. The helicopter was flown by a pilot and had 4 passenger seats. Both the main and tail rotor was two bladed; speed being approximately. 220 kms per hour and the maximum peak height 4,000 metres above sea level.

Source: WOPA

published December 29th, 2012