Regional Library Notes for Thursday, May 31, 2018

Schoharie

Have you ever stood eye to eye with a penguin? Want to meet someone who has?

Lieutenant Colonel David Panzera has spent over 2.5 years of time in Antarctica, and will be talking about his “Adventures in Antarctica” on Saturday, June 2, at 10:30 a.m. at the Schoharie Library. He will also present a medallion from the official South Pole marker.

Panzera is the Chief of the 109th Airlift Wing Program Integration Office, directing and coordinating all forthcoming upgrades and modifications to the nation’s only fleet of ski equipped LC-130H aircraft. He has been flying the LC-130 Ski Equipped C-130 from 1994 to the present time, with over 400 landings at the South Pole.

He was deployed to Antarctica for two months of every year for 15 years, with many other short trips there. He has been to the Australian stations; Davis and Casey, and to the Russian station, Vostok, several times. He has been to the Italian station, Mario Zuchelli, as well.

The primary mission of Panzera’s squadron is in is Arctic and Antarctic flying in support of the National Science Foundation and for Operation Deep Freeze. He is a command pilot with more than 6,000 flying hours including the C-130E, C-130H, LC-130H(3), T-37 and T-38.

In addition to his time in Antarctica, Panzera was sent by New York Air National Guard to South Africa for 2.5 years. He has spent many weeks in Greenland and has been to its summit, where the ice is about 3 miles thick.

This presentation is free and open to all ages.