Berlin Airlift pilot training. This Douglas C-54 Skymaster is being used in pilot training at Great Falls Air Force Base, Montana, USA. The training simulates landing conditions at Tempelhof Air Force Base, Berlin, one of the airbases used in the Berlin Airlift of 1948-9. The approach glide angle is very steep, requiring a high-nose touchdown causing the wings to act as an airbrake. The use of wheel brakes is minimised as the pierced steel planking (Marsden Matting) used in winter on some of the runways at Tempelhof was slippery. Over 200,000 flights of cargo planes by the Western Allies provided daily supplies and ensured that the Soviet blockade failed.