Although there weren’t any horses or cows roaming the runways, the Wichita Eisenhower National Airport held its annual Snow Rodeo on Tuesday to prepare for the winter season.
The event was a chance for airport crews to test and prepare the facility’s new snow removal trucks. Three of the trucks worked their first season last winter and were used only once during a January snowstorm. Two more new trucks are joining the fleet this season, for a total of five.
“This is equipment that has the blade, the blower and the brushes all in one,” said Rachel Mayberry, air service and marketing manager for the Wichita Airport Authority. “We call them the big insects because that's what they look like.”
Mayberry said practices start in fall, but the November Snow Rodeo is the biggest rehearsal to prepare for a major snow event.
Watching the yellow trucks rumble down the runway is like watching a sports team practice their plays. There are different formations, depending on the conditions.
“Depending on the type of snow we get, how dry it is, how wet it is, what the ground temperature is, what the wind speed is, where the wind's coming from, each of those determines what type of formation we're going to do,” Mayberry said.
Some of the formations take their names from the hockey plays in the movie “The Mighty Ducks.” This includes the “Flying V,” where the trucks fan out into a V shape, headed by a lead crew member known as the Snow Boss. That crew member is like the quarterback, calling the right plays for the situation.
Mayberry said it’s important to practice coordination with the Snow Boss, since it’s common to lose visibility in a snow storm.
“You can't see out there, and one of the worst things our drivers can do would be to stop, because then you have all this equipment piled up on each other,” Mayberry said.
“So they're really out there learning to trust the snow boss, trusting what the snow boss is telling them to do and just going even if they're not able to see.”
The goal is to keep at least one runway open during any major snow event, Mayberry said. It’s up to the airlines whether to delay or cancel flights, but crews always want to keep the airport open.
Staff arrive about 12 hours before a forecasted snowstorm and work around the clock during the event. There’s barracks at the airport for sleeping, and even administrative staff pitches in to clear snow.
“Our goal is to provide the safest, cleanest, and the best airfield that we can for our partners coming in,” Mayberry said.
