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Aviation History
1960
1960 - 1171.PDF
^ V \ Long haul into Patagonia To the armchair traveller, Patagonia is a remote, almost legendary land that spells adventure. But to the truck-driver hauling aviation fuel to Rio Gallegos airport, near the extreme tip of Argentina, the adventure is stern reality. From Bahia Blanca, the nearest supply point 1,380 miles away, the journey is arduous and often dangerous. Over mile after mile of rough desolate roads, strewn with boulders and stones, the drivers dare not relax. Hound the corner may be a steep embankment. There are frequent gales, sometimes up to 110 miles an hour 5 temperatures can fall to 4 below zero and torrential rains may turn the primitive roads into quagmires. Under these condi- tions, regular delivery of aviation fuel becomes quite a task. Nevertheless, at the Rio Gallegos airport, future gateway to Antarctica, fuel supplies never run dry. Shell sees to that. The red and yellow tank trucks which transport 5,500 gallons each trip are now a familiar sight in these bleak lands. Even the timid " guanacos " no longer flee in terror before them. Sometimes, when a truck breaks down or is blocked by snow, aircraft of Aerolineas Argentina* and Austral covering that route act as spotters to rush help through. 1,380 miles is a long, long trek. It becomes even longer when, in an emergency, the fuel has to be sent direct from Buenos Aires — another 430 miles! But, always, the job is done. Wherever aviation fuel is needed, Shell will see it gets there. you can be sure of Shell
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