aerosonde flight?

[thunderchief]

from the 5pm discussion on ophelia.

THERE IS ALSO A REPORT OF 74 KT AT 2500 FT FROM THE
FIRST-EVER SUCCESSFUL AEROSONDE FLIGHT INTO THE CORE OF A TROPICAL
CYCLONE.

aparantly its some sort of UAV, similar to a predator. Anyone know any more details, and if this recon info is publicly disseminated?

[ronjon]

From Jeff Masters Blog at Weather Underground:

Ophelia: a scientific first
A scientific first was accomplished in Ophelia this afternoon--the first ever remotely-piloted aircraft to do a successful penetration of a tropical cyclone flew through Ophelia at 2,500 foot altitude. The drone measured winds of 74 knots. The project is described in detail on the NOAA Hurricane Research Division's web site. The objective is to use the pilotless aircraft in regions where it is too dangerous for humans to fly:

Simply stated, continuous observation of thermodynamic (temperature and moisture) and kinematic (wind) structure of the near-surface hurricane environment has never been documented in a hurricane. This environment, where the atmosphere meets the sea, is critically important since it is where the ocean's warm water energy is directly transferred to the atmosphere just above it. The tropical cyclone surface layer is also important because it is where we find the strongest winds in a hurricane and coincidentally, the level at which most of us live (i.e. at/near the surface). As such, observing and ultimately better understanding this region of the storm is crucial if we hope to improve our ability to make accurate forecasts of TC intensity change. Enhancing this predictive capability would not only save our economy billions of dollars but more importantly it would save countless lives.

[Dick Pache]

NEWS & EVENTS
Aerosonde awarded USAF Weatherscout contract
6 September 2005
International UAV manufacturer Aerosonde has been awarded a Foreign Comparative Testing contract worth almost US$700,000 by the US Air Force (USAF) to undertake trials to meet weather reconnaissance requirements for tropical storms as well as military targeting and training.

According to the USAF, the addition of the weather reconnaissance data is expected to greatly enhance weather situational awareness in data sparse and data denied areas. It should also improve predictive battlespace awareness via the new inputs to weather forecast models, specifically, resulting in more accurate tropical cyclone and weapon system performance forecasts.

Scheduled to commence later this month, the initial trials will be at Aerosonde's North American operations site at the NASA Wallops Island facility, followed by further trials in an operational environment from Guam in the Western Pacific.

The trials will evaluate weather sensors and aircraft performance, compared to requirements, and will assess the Aerosonde's ability to improve forecast accuracy by disseminating observations into numerical weather model databases.

The UAVs will be operated and maintained by Aerosonde.

The Guam trials will mark a return to the area after a five year gap. In 2000, Aerosonde flew a series of meteorological observations sponsored by the Japanese Frontier Research System for Global Change in convective weather in a region 200 km south of Guam.

Dr Greg Holland, President Aerosonde North America, said "the Aerosonde aircraft was initially designed as a meteorological observation system, and we believe its outstanding record in this role over many years was a key to winning the Weatherscout contract."

In the meteorological role, the current Mk 3 Aerosonde has the capability to undertaken overnight missions, allowing extended monitoring of weather events. Data can be provided in near real time to weather authorities by worldwide satellite communications.

Kate Wright
Company Secretary
Aerosonde Pty Ltd
Ph: +61 3 9562 2622
Email: k.wright@aerosonde.com

Peter Bale
Manager
Aerosonde North America Inc
Ph: +757 854 4618
Email: p.bale@aerosonde.com

[Windsurfer_NYC]

Update on the Aerosonde:

http://www.newscientistspace.com/article.ns?id=dn10014

The key test will be flying the aerosonde into a hurricane, but no hurricanes have yet come within 500 kilometres of Florida's Key West Naval Air Station, where one of the aircraft is stored.

[Recurve]

I posted another thread on this a few days ago. Not sure how long the link will stay live.
-----------------
For those interested in the research using an unmanned aircraft, there was a story this weekend in the Florida Keys Keynoter.

Here's a link to the article:
http://www.keynoter.com/articles/2006/09/08/news/news02.txt