My chat with a Hurricane Hunter

[MGC]

Earlier today I was at Sears in Biloxi. As I'm walking by the riding lawnmowers, I notice a Hurricane Hunter sitting in a mower. I asked him who I had to talk to to get a ride into a hurricane this season. He, a navigator, said "the General don't allow it....liability issues." No problem I say, I'll sign a liability waiver. Don't matter he says only the media gets to ride. So, I'm gonna have to figure out how to become the media. Start my own TV channel like Oprah? Help me out here. And, since I had his attention, I asked him which hurricane gave him the wildest ride.
Wilma was his answer. He said they were the first plane in after Wilma had RI and they were not expecting that. He said they normally don't penetrate at low levels into a Cat-5....said the eye was so small they had trouble staying in the eye......MGC

[vbhoutex]

Earlier today I was at Sears in Biloxi. As I'm walking by the riding lawnmowers, I notice a Hurricane Hunter sitting in a mower. I asked him who I had to talk to to get a ride into a hurricane this season. He, a navigator, said "the General don't allow it....liability issues." No problem I say, I'll sign a liability waiver. Don't matter he says only the media gets to ride. So, I'm gonna have to figure out how to become the media. Start my own TV channel like Oprah? Help me out here. And, since I had his attention, I asked him which hurricane gave him the wildest ride.
Wilma was his answer. He said they were the first plane in after Wilma had RI and they were not expecting that. He said they normally don't penetrate at low levels into a Cat-5....said the eye was so small they had trouble staying in the eye......MGC

Well STORM2K is part of the "media" and we are world wide in coverage. Problem for you is if they would even listen to us on that level you would have to stand in line behind our entire staff for the chance probably. I wish we could use that to get a ride. A couple of our mets(at least one)have ridden with the HH.

[MGC]

I'd have to cut in line....Ladies First!!!......MGC

[NDG]

I wonder if they ever thought that a good way to finance the recon flights is to let general public with a fare, especially in these tough economic times.
Besides signing a waiver, is not like the chances of a recon plane going down are that high anyway. They are probably more concerned of a passenger having a heart attack while penetrating the eyewall than the plane going down, lol.

[CrazyC83]

That flight into Wilma was at the 850 level first, and they found a pressure of 901mb in that flight. I am sure they had a heart attack there!!! They had to rise to the standard 700 level in that tiny eye for safety...

Still, why did they fly so low then? The previous mission, 5 hours earlier, was 954mb and a solid Cat 2.

[beoumont]

I wonder if they ever thought that a good way to finance the recon flights is to let general public with a fare, especially in these tough economic times.
Besides signing a waiver, is not like the chances of a recon plane going down are that high anyway. They are probably more concerned of a passenger having a heart attack while penetrating the eyewall than the plane going down, lol.

Considering it costs several thousand dollars an hour to fly those planes, charging for the one empty seat would not make a dent in the expenses.

Even those (media, etc) that get on the list for going on a flight (NOAA flights), rarely see anything decent when their number comes up. Half the flights are at night; so you see nothing. Most other flights are not into a well formed eye situation; so odds again are that you will just see clouds banging up against the plane.

In addition: say your number comes up and get on a flight into a storm east
of the Lesser Antilles. The plane parks in the Islands, and leaves you there to fly home at your own expense on a commercial airline; and the odds are you got on a flight where you didn't really see much of anything anyway - as noted above.

Below is a 2 minute video from one of the "good" flights: into Gilbert in 1988 in the NW Carib.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0sgyoMAGJ7o[/youtube]