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ARKTOS!

Lyndon

Lyndon

Bronze Member
GOLD Site Supporter
Arktos has a rather trying initial start-up. A group of individuals tried to Drive around the world. They got a sponsor, and some sporty 4 wheel drive cars. They were allowed to drive the cars thru the Chunnel from England to France, before the tunnel was officially opened. They headed across europe, on up thru Russia, where their cars didn't make it! So the Russian Army came to their rescue and dragged the cars the last 1000 miles in super sub zero temperatures to the Russian Side of the Bearing Straight with huge specially Arctic Equipped Army Trucks. Theres a documentary of this whole trip.
 
Waiting for them at the Bearing Straight was an Arktos, one of their prototypes, that was supposed to take them across the Bearing Straight to Alaska. But the Arktos didn't make it the first mile before the tracks broke and came off. Major bummer!The 50 mile wide Bearing Straight is fairly shallow, and the Ice Sheets break up and turn up sideways creating an impenitrable forest of ICE, that would stop just about anything. Before the real deep freez sets in, there is a brief period when it's fairly smooth across the straight, and Natives with Raindeer pulled sleds, some Mushers and a Snow Mobile or two have made it across over the years. If one goes too early in the winter they stand a chance of breaking thru and sinking into oblivion. Wait too long and Verticle sheets of ice 20 and 30 foot high block the way!
NorthStar.jpg
These are BP's Arktos at North Star Island in the Beaufort Sea. They are limited to about 100 people, so during the Ice break up in the spring, only that many people are allowed to occupy the island.
 
They are Fiberglass, and have been tested for going into the ocean, then climbing out up onto Ice or Land. Very Spendy! The 2 at Northstar, are kept outside the perimiter Polar Bear Protection fence and have some special ladders and platforms to access them from the Island.

funk-arktos.jpg
The grousers look like ordinary pipe with drywall screws coming out of them as Ice Spikes.
 
As Northstar is just short of being an Offshore Drilling & Processing Platform, there are lots of hazards from Natural Gas and Oil. Mostly FIRE! So the permanent employees have to periodically undergo Escape drills, by climbing into the arktos. They have all sorts of heaters to keep the engines warm and ready to go and serve no other purpose but to be kept ready in calse of an emergency. The ones with the Tanks on in the second picture are at another facility.
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This is the Bearing Straig with someone attempting to cross it early in the year. He didn't make.
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This is pictures taken during the construction of the Island. All three of these photos are take ON the Frozen Beaufort Sea.
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the 10,000 loads of fill required to build the Island.

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One of three specially built Tracked Excavator that had Pontoons for tracks and could float. They have a 90 Foot Reach and were used to lay the undersea pipeline in the ocean floor. Here the ocean floor is all Perma-Frost.

northstar6.jpg
Again, on the ocean, a welders "Caribou" hut being moved. These are set over the pipe while the Welders join the segments. they are not heated, but it keeps the wind off.
 
This is the Access ladder to get in the ARKTOS. The entire parimeter of the Island has barricades to keep polar bears out, and a detection system.
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Normally the Arktos live right here, they have been moved for snow removal.
 
Thanks, Lyndon !!! Those are impressive !

Thier website says they carry 52 people and have an engine in each section. In the water, they are driven by water jets and also have water jets that wet the vehicle when it has to go thru flames.

http://www.arktoscraft.com/index.htm
 
Here's a few more picts I stole off their site:
One is being loaded into a Russian Antinov 124, which is about 20% bigger than a C5 or 747.
arktos.jpg

AN124.jpg
 
OK, I'm sold. Can someone please let my wife know that I loved her. . . because she will kill me (before I get the chance to explain that it was Lyndon's fault) if one of those shows up in the driveway.
 

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Bob, your wife won't have to worry: 1) it won't fit on your driveway, 2) They cost about a Million dollars, and 3) Only 18 have been produced so far.
"There are 18 ARKTOS Craft presently in service: four in seismic
duties, eight as evacuation craft in the northern Caspian Sea (Fig. 7),
five similarly in the Alaskan Beaufort Sea (Fig. 8), and the original
Beta Craft refitted as a settling pond drill sampling vehicle in the
northern Alberta oil sands. The Beta Craft will soon undergo yet
another refit to return it to its original configuration as an emergency
response vehicle to be based in the lower mainland area of British Columbia."
So when are you planning to head over to the Caspian Sea?
 
Lyndon said:
Bob, your wife won't have to worry: 1) it won't fit on your driveway, 2) They cost about a Million dollars, and 3) Only 18 have been produced so far.
Click to expand...
Well I was hoping to find one on Ebay :whistling:
 
Well Bob, you can always have a bumper sticker made up for your snowtrac that says "When I grow up, I'm gonna be an ARKTOS!"
 
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