>> There's a fair bit of flat land around and near Portland International Airport that would be suitable for a Hercules, even without a bulldozer. <<
Well, there was. During the earthquake, ground flexed and moved. Every piece of rigid pavement is shattered, some into gravel, some into bigger chunks. Nonrigid pavement is rippled. The ground itself is distorted, with cracks and rumples in many places. So to clear a landing zone, they have to push away the rubble and flatten the ground.
>> In 2016 the Air Guard base would still have part of the detachment of search & rescue helicopters. Dunno if they'd survive in usable condition though. <<
Depends on how heavy and stable they are. A 9.0 earthquake is capable of bouncing cars into the air. Aircraft have to be light, so most helicopters would be knocked around. SAR birds are often designed to be very light and agile. However, some are designed to withstand storms for searching in bad conditions. They're built to be durable and stable, so they might survive. Heavy-duty cargo haulers like a Chinook require very stable landing gear, are heavier, and have a tough build. They might skid around but are unlikely to tip over. Check for damage but at least some of those should be airworthy, and more will need minor repairs than major ones.
Think of it kind of like the tablecloth trick: the more mass something has, the more it tends to stay put instead of getting knocked over. The more stable the base, the harder it is to tip.
>> Alas, one of the standbys for emergency strips won't work in much of Portland. I205 and I84 are both in valleys (natural for I84, man-made for I205). Add in the various overpasses to let streets cross over them, and they become something *I* wouldn't want to land on. <<
Yeah, T-America is serious about laying roads with emergency landing strips in mind. They also like to have ditch ponds near airports. But the roads have been battered to bits.
>> There might be bits of I5 that could be used. <<
Not anywhere near Portland. Look at a disaster map and you can see how the damage gets worse closer to the coast -- which is where most of the people are. That's just for a 9.0 in Cascadia. A full rip can be worse, and in this case, it's 9.0 in Portland while Rain City got 9.2 because the offshore quake also triggered other quakes further inland.
>> Doh! the former parking areas at a couple of the Port of Portland terminals! they were used to unload cars off the huge car carrier ships. Which quit coming to Portland. <<
See above re: what happens to rigid pavement when the ground turns into a waterbed.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
dancing_serpent
Thoughts
Date: 2018-10-16 07:44 pm (UTC)Well, there was. During the earthquake, ground flexed and moved. Every piece of rigid pavement is shattered, some into gravel, some into bigger chunks. Nonrigid pavement is rippled. The ground itself is distorted, with cracks and rumples in many places. So to clear a landing zone, they have to push away the rubble and flatten the ground.
>> In 2016 the Air Guard base would still have part of the detachment of search & rescue helicopters. Dunno if they'd survive in usable condition though. <<
Depends on how heavy and stable they are. A 9.0 earthquake is capable of bouncing cars into the air. Aircraft have to be light, so most helicopters would be knocked around. SAR birds are often designed to be very light and agile. However, some are designed to withstand storms for searching in bad conditions. They're built to be durable and stable, so they might survive. Heavy-duty cargo haulers like a Chinook require very stable landing gear, are heavier, and have a tough build. They might skid around but are unlikely to tip over. Check for damage but at least some of those should be airworthy, and more will need minor repairs than major ones.
Think of it kind of like the tablecloth trick: the more mass something has, the more it tends to stay put instead of getting knocked over. The more stable the base, the harder it is to tip.
>> Alas, one of the standbys for emergency strips won't work in much of Portland. I205 and I84 are both in valleys (natural for I84, man-made for I205). Add in the various overpasses to let streets cross over them, and they become something *I* wouldn't want to land on. <<
Yeah, T-America is serious about laying roads with emergency landing strips in mind. They also like to have ditch ponds near airports. But the roads have been battered to bits.
>> There might be bits of I5 that could be used. <<
Not anywhere near Portland. Look at a disaster map and you can see how the damage gets worse closer to the coast -- which is where most of the people are. That's just for a 9.0 in Cascadia. A full rip can be worse, and in this case, it's 9.0 in Portland while Rain City got 9.2 because the offshore quake also triggered other quakes further inland.
>> Doh! the former parking areas at a couple of the Port of Portland terminals! they were used to unload cars off the huge car carrier ships. Which quit coming to Portland. <<
See above re: what happens to rigid pavement when the ground turns into a waterbed.