Finished packing. ESA install complete and tested - for BAS part. Alex, Tom, Russ depart on Dash-7 tomorrow.

Data backups complete. Spares box packed in office. Engineers unable to help us today as engine servicing issues on Halley aircraft. Tom had a lie in. Everything off of the aircraft, mostly in boxes and parts extracted for other projects. No BOLS issued for any ship cargo. Hygro pressure sensor issue troubleshooting. Hopefully resolved. Sunny day.

Final day of flying. Pre-breakfast data download from yesterdays flights and prep. Shifting boxes and next set of racks ready for de-kit of the aircraft. Tom and Alex flying. Talk of BAT cals but a bit windy for that. Cross winds at Rothera. Labelled boxes. Boom off. First Gas cal on ground for CO2/CH4 instruments. LGR giving issues. Not booting - 5v issues. Confirmed BAT pressure ports working - elecctronics heater may not be. Sat night meal. Started final data download from todays flight.

Geared up to squeeze in two flights today to try and take the campaign to 50 hours (of the 100 allocated). Alex and Russ this morning locally with 15 mins of circling waiting for Picarro to heat. Working around Dash-7 requirements. Constructive e-mails with Eimskip (Iceland shipping) and Icelandair cargo. Tom and Ella out in afternoon during scrubout to coincide with Dash-7 return from double run to sky blu. Airfreight cargo labels and BOLs printed.

Tom on gash. Ella and Alex to fly but on hold due to crosswinds at Rothera. Pre-heat instruments after lunch but wind didn't drop so cancelled for the day. Tom looking at LGR calibration with regard to measurements in Bolivia. Russ answering queries on Bolivia instrumentation/software, getting quotes for shipping to Iceland and preparing cargo paperwork for our instruments from Rothera to UK.

Tom and Alex flew earlier today, before lunch, Bellingshausen Sea. Picarro pre-heated. Base is short of beer and will be short of lager due to no JCR call. Expect emergency Dash-7 flights. Tom and Russ flights from Punta Arenas moved back to 20th. Tried Radar Altimeter ARINC429 feed and nothing there either. Sorting MOYA logging with Carl who will take over the install.

Finish data copy from yesterdays flights. Pre-heated Picarro. Tom and Alex left for a flight at lunch over Marguerite Bay. Tom looking at comparion of Picarro / LGR / Licor CO2 and CH4 values. Decided we will all depart on 19th. Two days to de-kit meaning 16th is last flying day. Look ahead at weather says Marsh is no longer a possibility. BAS moved Tom and my flights to depart on 21st! Data download, copy, processing. JCR relief cancelled - will turn around and head North due to ice.

Sunny at Rothera. Not so good elsewhere but busy considering the poor flying weather. Morning flight for Tom and Ella in Marguerite Bay. LGR failed to boot. CAPS PC crashed once. IR camera no better on new PSU. Keyboard swapped - crumbs... Alex and Tom off towards the ship in the afternoon. Debates on flights home and how long to de-kit the aircraft. Second flight instruments behaving, even IR Camera took its first pictures. Late night CAPS caddy swapped out and data download and backups.

Jon has day off today so Mark is pilot of the day. Data to download and backup from yesterday. Prep instruments and fit new PSU for IR Camera. Flying cancelled for the day early on due to weather. Apparently looking good for JCR and going to Marsh afterwards tomorrow. Tom doesn't want to go this time as his room was too hot? Broken FUST replaced. Tom did CAPS calibrations.

Alex chose to be MASIN team gash person today. Data to copied and backup from yesterdays flight. Tom, Russ, Jon flew late morning on an optomistic forecast over JCR who was back out in open water. Thick low cloud over the ship. Saw it on radar but not visually. D7 on PNR flight so couldn't return directly. Attempted a cloud flight but just kept picking up more and more airframe icing. Aborted eventually. Stall warning on approach as flaps selected so went around. Saturday meal. Instruments working well. Possibly identified problem with power supply for IR Camera.

CAPS PC refitted and tested ok. Data downloads for Picarro, LGR and IMU. IR Camera persistent bluetooth setting, doesn't keep bluetooth on if not connected. New wick in CPC. Licor chamber calibrations gives figures more in agreement with Picarro and LGR instruments. Final cargo for CryoVex campaign arrived on D7. Alex and Tom did a low level flight in Marguerite Bay lunchtime after D7 arrived carrying Andy Smith and Teal Riley. Licor reference cell did not work during flight - pump probably didn't start in cold. Increased pump rate. IR camera could still not communicate in the aircraft with the engines running. Usual cleaning of radiometers, filling Butanol in CPC, swapping memory cards in Trimble GPS, video cameras.

Aiming for another flight over sea glider area this morning from Marsh but forecast for Marsh had deteriorated, so Russ, Tom visited Escudero's cloud and radiation lab and saw a balloon launch before Jon, Tom, Russ flew back to Rothera arriving lunchtime. CAPS PC out and fixed. CPC removed due to flow issues. Licor scrubbers refreshed with ascarite. LGR moved aft under operator seat and replumbed to T off next to forward rack. CAPS PC taken back to hangar.

Packing for forecast improvement at Marsh. Taking Penny with Russ, Alex, Tom. Aiming to return to Rothera tomorrow before weather deteriorates. Alex didn't come because of fuel or not wanting to come. On arrival Marsh having delivered Penny, weather was good enough to go and do a low level flight over the sea glider area, the main aim of the ORCHESTRA flying for Alex. Picarro worked which was great. Should be good data. CAPS PC stopped working on flight to Marsh so no cloud flight for Penny - and in fact not much cloud around. Jon, Tom, Russ overnight at Escudero Chilean scientific station.

Basler arriving from Punta. Poor weather on Larsen and at ship (stuck in ice). Considering a flight in Marguerite Bay.

Preparing racks for CryoVex project, weights etc and looking at how we would replace rear rack in Iceland with two half height ones. Starting on cargo lists of all the combinations of what needs to go where for which projects.

Dash-7 delayed until Friday, now from Punta Arenas rather than Falklands? Talk of return flights moving from 19th to 21st departure Rothera. Weather didnt improve. No flight today.

No flying today. Pilot day off, aircraft on short 7-day check. Ella has an update on her blog.

Front Camera settings amended. CPC filled. FLIR Camera bluetooth configured.

Training session with Alex and Ella during which LGR wi-fi failed. LGR fixed in lab.

Data downloaded from Picarro and LGR and IMU. LGR replaced in aircraft ready for next flight.

Orcas in South cove this morning.

Dash-7 heading up to Falklands. Early morning session replacing camera cards, refilling butanol and investigating Picarro before hangar aircraft shuffle. Picarro PC doesn't boot enough for VNC. Pump won't kick in on 115VAC. Starts on 230VAC. 230VAC Inverters come in on next next flight from Falklands. Measured BL for Bolivia work. Trimble data downloaded. Got Picarro working on ground again. Tom and Ella headed off for a flight over the Larsen Iceshelf / Weddell Sea. Picarro worked. Data download/backup.

Snow this morning. Expecting to fly to Marsh later in the day. Probably returning late Sunday or Monday to Rothera. Tom possibly not going due to needing more fuel. Then cancelled until probably Wednesday. Bellingshausen flight for Alex and Tom today (flight 276). Afternoon sorting CryoVex equipment racks in container. Picarro PC would not start up during flights and pump was probably stalled all flight. Evening data downloads and backup.

No flight to Marsh today or elsewhere due to forecast for poor visibility at Rothera later. Processed data from test flight. Software bug in LGR data logged, so recompiled. Gas regulators set. Pulled apart rack to get at Radar Altimeter circuit. Feed definately seems to be in error: 28v from avionics being turned on. Scrubout, so probably missed making contact with Calgary about the issue before they left for the weekend. Evening putting the rack back together so that we could fly tomorrow. Looks likely we will fly to Marsh sometime tomorrow. More work on sorting out MOYA equipment for Bolivia flights.

Engineers to check fit to aircraft and sign off. EMI/EMC checks in afternoon and shakedown flight after Dash-7 landed back from Sky Blu. Radar Altimeter feed not working. Picarro and pump overloading inverter, but did get first Picarro measurements. CPC still not working. Radar Altimeter voltages probably corrupting Humicap Temperature and other measurements. LGR and Picarro H20 and CO2 measurements agree well. Jon, Russ, Alex and Tom flying.

Late evening looks like we got CPC working and startup method for Picarro not to overload inverter. Managed to remove Camera Bay video camera from above to get memory card.

Heavy snowfall overnight. CAPS fixed. Tom got his calibrations done. Final weights submitted. Broke Picarro pump, then mended.

Most things working now except CPC - no particles. Headset tests. New rules about tool control and risk assessments and person in charge in the cabin being seen as crew regarding rest periods etc. Some practice putting waypoints intoaircraft and also looked at displaying science data in the cockpit. Tom and Penny doing their washing ready for the trip.

Continuing on the fit. Boom and pylon on. Bracket made for IR camera and apertures cut in camera bay plate. Gas lines tested and Brechtel plumbing completed. Leaves some wiring in the Camera bay. Some items powered up. Most look to be working. CAPS was notable exeption. Second night working late in hangar. This time we remembered to turn the lights off when we left... Ella asked to take over Met. Obs more officially with a bribe of a trip to the Larsen.

Sunny morning. More fitting of instruments for Ella, Tom and Russ. Both racks in. Camera Bay apertures being made.

Hygrometer fitted and gas rack & bottles. Majority of wiring and piping in place.

Waiting on Air Mechs for Boom and Pylon fitting.

AZ had it's test flight this morning and we started fitting instruments after lunch.

Brechtel Inlet, brownline, Rosemounts and Inlets on. Fuel Tank fitted.

Started on returning cargo paperwork.

Still doing maintenance on AZ. Might be ready for us sometime tomorrow.

Medical box training. Sorted drysuits for everyone.

Base is not ready for JCR to come early so they will go ahead with glider/JCR work anyway before we can be there.

Found out today that our minimum altitude will be 100ft. Unlikely to go to Marsh before 30th.

Sorting out fit for MOYA (Bolivia) project on BL ferry flight in March.

Various training lectures for everyone: Fieldwork, aircraft etc.

Cargo moved to Hangar. Trimble configured.

Ship wants to do Rothera relief early in order to delay ocean work until we are ready at Marsh.

Russ, Tom, Alex and Ella flew to Rothera on Dash 7. Introduction brief, finding cargo, IT brief.

Chat with James Wake about project, timing. AZ test fly with new engine tomorrow, fuel tank sensors to be fixed still.

AZ will now go straight from ORCHESTRA into ESA fit and then ferry North. Talk of D7 North for us on 21st December.

Russ, Tom, Alex and Ella now all in Punta Arenas.

No flight to Rothera today due to icing enroute, winds, weather etc.

Twin Otter FAZ has not started up at Rothera for a week. An issue with an engine change apparently.

Dash-7 flying to Rothera. Long flight, headwinds > 70kts at times.

Tom, Alex, Ella arrive Punta Arenas late evening.

Hurtigruten tourist vessel docked this morning.

Dash-7 did a quick turnaround and headed back to Punta Arenas ready for tomorrow.

Tom, Alex and Ella departed UK.

Dash 7 flew Rothera to Punta Arenas.

Russ went hiking.

Chile is investing in a US$50m Antarctic Facility in Punta Arenas and hoping for 1000 scientists to work in the region. They are also building a new icebreaker.

Snow overnight.

First flight pickup from Hotel 10am.

Dash 7 airborne 14:30 GMT. Track flight here.

Possible return to Punta Arenas tonight but it did not.

Voting in elections in Chile today.

Rain, sleet, wind. Another of the engineers returned to North Bay.

12:30 meet ready to fly for group 1.

Part arrived late so no departure today.

Argentinian submarine missing out of Ushuaia.

NASA ICEBridge P3 being used to help search.

Moving hotels after lunch.

Everyone in BAS will finally be in the same hotel.

Dash-7 flight briefing for everyone in evening.

Parts arrived in Santiago.

Skype call with Penny, Tom and Alex.

Tom, Alex, Ella flights moved back to 20th.

Light showers today.

Everyone moving out of Diago de Almagro hotel.

Flight crew to Dreams Hotel and passengers to Cabo De Hornos.

We will all move back to Diago de Almagro on 17th.

Noisy night from political gatherings in the main square.

Grey and wet day. Not a lot happening.

Aircraft spare part coming by ship from Puerto Montt. Probably arriving 17th or 18th.

Notified that the usual hotel hopping will start tomorrow with moving hotels in the afternoon.

People in Cabos de Hornos moved out to a variety of places today.

Chile has elections on 19th with most places closed. Airport should be OK.

Tom, Alex and Ella UK departure moved back to 18th.

Sunny and unusually calm day. People out exploring on foot and by bike.

Tom, Alex and Ella now set to leave UK on 16th with potential flight to Rothera on 18th?

Unless flights are rearranged, there are 2 groups to fly to Rothera before us.

No official news of anything.

Mark flew to Punta Arenas in the morning.

Russ joined Will, Penny and Malcolm arriving from UK for evening flight to Punta Arenas arriving 9pm and moved into Diago de Almagro hotel.

Russ and Mark arrive Sao Paulo where it is grey and raining.

Connecting flight to Santiago de Chile where it is 30 C, sunny with a breeze.

Overnight in hotel in industrial compound just outside the airport.

Most likely date for our flight into Rothera is now Nov 16th.

Russ departs Heathrow for Sao Paulo. Meets up with pilot Mark B on his way back down to Rothera.

News tody that Dash-7 has a technical issue, waiting for spare parts so there is a backlog of people waiting to fly from Punta Arenas into Rothera. Tom, Alex and Ellas departures from UK tomorrow are now delayed.