According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association (NOAA), space weather forecasters have observed “at least seven coronal mass ejections [CMEs] from the sun, with impacts expected to arrive on Earth as early as midday Friday, May 10, and persist through Sunday, May 12.”

The prediction prompted a warning for pilots from the FAA.

“Geomagnetic storms can disrupt navigational aids and high frequency radio transmissions used in aviation. The FAA advises airlines and pilots to plan ahead to mitigate possible disruptions,” the agency said in a statement.

NOAA issued a Severe (G4) Geomagnetic Storm Watch and states these watches will be updated through the weekend.

First G4 (Severe) geomagnetic since 2005 has been issued.

The aurora tonight (5/10) /tomorrow morning (5/11) may become visible over much of the northern half of the country, & possibly as far south as Alabama to northern California. https://t.co/upPlNYuNev@NWSSWPC @NWS pic.twitter.com/JTHmXtRKOc

— NOAA (@NOAA) May 10, 2024

According to NOAA, coronal mass ejections (CMEs) are explosions of plasma and magnetic fields from the sun’s corona. These storms can disrupt satellites and infrastructure in near-Earth orbit, “potentially disrupting communications, the electric power grid, navigation, [and] radio and satellite operations.”

The agency refers to the situation as “an unusual and potentially historic event” and warns satellite navigation (GPS) may be degraded or inoperable for hours, and high frequency radio propagation could be sporadic or blacked out.

These storms are also visible from the Earth as displays of aurora and  may result in displays being seen as far south as Alabama.

This is a developing story.

• READ MORE: How to see the northern lights: Tonight may be the best chance in years

WATCH: NOAA’s GOES-16 satellite captured activity at sunspot AR3664 at around 2 p.m. EDT, Thursday

The post Strong Geomagnetic Storm Could Impact GPS Navigation, FAA Warns appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

• READ MORE: NOAA Changing Weather Site

Overview

A majority of the weather data will appear on the graphical forecasts for aviation (GFA) webpage. This is the heart and soul of the new site. Here’s a brief description of the purpose of this page as posted in the GFA help on aviationweather.gov.  

“The GFA webpage is intended to provide the necessary aviation weather information to give users a complete picture of the weather that may impact flight in the United States (including Alaska & Hawaii), Gulf of Mexico, the Caribbean, and portions of the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. The webpage includes observational data, forecasts, and warnings that can be viewed from 18 hours in the past to 18 hours in the future. Hourly model data and forecasts, including information on clouds, flight category, precipitation, icing, turbulence, wind, and graphical output from the National Weather Service’s National Digital Forecast Data (NDFD), are available.”

What’s a Progressive Web App?

Let’s begin with the good news. Like my website, EZWxBrief, the Aviation Weather Center (AWC) decided to build its website  as a progressive web app (PWA). The aviationweather.gov legacy site was very clumsy and nearly impossible to use on a mobile device such as an iPhone. Developing this as a PWA offers a very responsive design, and that means it works reasonably well on those smaller hand-held devices in both portrait and landscape orientations. 

No, you won’t find this “app” in the App Store or Google Play Store. Instead, you should install the PWA on your device to have the best user experience. Not to worry, it literally takes just a few seconds and applies to any device, not just handhelds. 

Here’s the installation process. Simply open a browser that supports a PWA such as Chrome, Safari, or Brave and enter “https://aviationweather.gov” into the browser’s address bar. On your hand-held device, locate the “Share” icon (sometimes called a “Bookmark” or “Send to” icon). This is an icon that’s shaped like a square with an upward pointing arrow in the center. Please note that not all browsers support progressive web apps. A tap on that icon and you have finished step one of three to install the app. 

Next, you’ll be shown the “Share” menu. Scan down that menu using Chrome or Safari and tap on the “Add to Home Screen” selection.

During the third and final step, you’ll be able to name your PWA icon. You are free to change the long default name from “AviationWeather.gov” to AWC or whatever you like. When you’ve chosen the name, tap on the “Add” button in the upper-right corner. This will add an Aviation Weather Center icon to your home screen with the name you chose. Even better, when the Aviation Weather Center makes future updates, they will be available the next time you restart the app. It’s actually easier than installing and updating native apps.

Just like any native app, tap on that home screen icon and the aviationweather.gov site will open up. You’ll notice that it doesn’t have any browser bar or other browser controls, which frees up valuable screen real estate on smaller devices. Essentially, it will have the same look and feel as a native app without the overhead of Apple or Google. 

You can do the same installation on your desktop or laptop computer, but the process is a bit different. Once again, open up your browser and type “https://aviationweather.gov” into the address bar, and you will see an Install button appear at the end of the address bar for any website (and browser) that supports a PWA.

Clicking on the “Install” button will provide the prompt below to install the app.  Once done, you’ll see an Aviation Weather Center icon on your desktop. By the way, you can also always uninstall the app at any time for any of your devices.

One of the issues that is apparent with the site on some hand-held devices is that the app will crash or reset when using a rapid, pinch-and-zoom gesture on the interactive GFA map. This is evidently an issue with Leaflet (the software it uses to render the maps), and the workaround is to avoid any rapid, pinch-and-zoom gestures. Just slow your roll and you’ll be fine.  

Cross Section Tool

To replace the Java Flight Path Tool that required you to download Java onto your computer (Java isn’t permitted on iOS devices), the AWC added a cross-section tool that now runs on any platform. You will see an icon on the right to start this tool. It’s the icon just under the settings icon (cog wheel).

You simply define a route, such as KMCI.KMEM.KAVL (note the periods in between the identifiers), and you can plot this path on the GFA map as a great circle route or view it as a cross section. Currently, the only variables you can plot on the vertical cross section are temperature, wind speed, turbulence, and icing.

Reduction in Static Imagery

The overall new design of the website is radically different from its legacy counterpart. Perhaps the most significant long-term effect is that the AWC decided to terminate the generation of dozens of static images that were available on the legacy site. Many flight planning websites, and even some of the heavyweight EFB apps referenced, scraped many of these images off of the AWC site. Consequently, you may have noticed back in the middle of October that these apps had to scramble to delete those from their own static imagery collections. The imagery collections that were depreciated included: 

• Lowest freezing level forecast from the Rapid Refresh (RAP) model
• TCF, eTCF, ECFP convective forecasts
• RAP/NAM Wind/Temperature graphics
• PIREP plots
• Satellite regional plots

Although you can still find access to prog charts, G-AIRMETs, as well as icing and turbulence static imagery within the decision support imagery page (https://aviationweather.gov/graphics), the AWC has a goal to eventually eliminate all static imagery.

Missed Opportunities

Your opinion  may differ, but I find the user interface for the decision support imagery to be very antiquated and clumsy. Even on large screens, you have to constantly scroll up and down, and it requires an immense amount of button clicks or taps to get what you want. It’s very exhausting and tedious to use. In fairness, that page suggests it was “designed for Center Weather Service Unit meteorologists who build information packages on desktop computers.” Instead, AWC suggests that pilots utilize the interactive map page (https://aviationweather.gov/gfa).

The issue here is that the DSS page gives you a vertical resolution of 2,000 feet for icing and turbulence forecasts. If you use its interactive map, you only get a 3,000-foot or even 6,000-foot vertical resolution despite the fact that the native vertical resolution of the icing and turbulence products is 1,000 feet. It is understandable that browsers have hard limitations, and this was likely a tradeoff to providing something that has a reasonable performance. 

While the Aviation Weather Center removed the regional satellite imagery from the site, it has been incorporated as a separate layer into the graphical forecasts for aviation (GFA) tool. Currently there isn’t a replacement for the color infrared satellite imagery. That is something it will be adding in the future.

Another deficiency is that the site doesn’t acknowledge when the layer you are viewing is void of data. For example, if you pull up the center weather advisories (CWAs) on the GFA tool, you may get a blank map. Is the map blank because there are no CWAs active, which happens more often than not? Or perhaps it’s because your browser or internet connection is being finicky? The lack of any data or advisories is just as critical as the presence of them. AWC doesn’t provide any acknowledgement or banner to alert you when this occurs.  

If you are looking to travel outside of the U.S., some of the weather guidance on the GFA tool, such as icing and turbulence, stops at the border. While this was also true with the legacy GFA tool, it still represents a shortcoming given that much of this guidance is available over a good portion of Canada and northern Mexico. The National Weather Service (NWS) has a directive that it can’t show forecasts outside of the U.S., especially over Canada and Mexico. Pilots are supposed to go to the respective website/services for those countries to receive that forecast information.

This is inconsistent since some decision support graphics (i.e., static imagery) clearly show forecasts for icing and turbulence in Canada and Mexico. Moreover, if you plot a route from International Falls, Minnesota, to Caribou, Maine (through southern Ontario and Quebec, Canada), the cross-section view shows this guidance.

Finding HEMS

If you are looking for the helicopter emergency medical services (HEMS) tool, it has been integrated into the interactive GFA and rebranded as the GFA-LA tool (with “LA” for “low altitude”). When viewing the GFA, click on the helicopter button in the upper-right part of the map to switch the GFA from general aviation mode into low-altitude mode, which offers expanded capability from the HEMS tool.

Final Thoughts

There’s no doubt that there are winners and losers with this update. I’ve read hundreds of comments on social media posts and other aviation forums that despise the new site and those that simply love it. The biggest advantage is that the site is very responsive on hand-held devices with the occasional glitch that I’m sure will be resolved in time. The dismantling of nearly half of the static imagery is truly a loss and will likely be felt for months, if not years, to come. As a matter of fact, I am in the process of finding replacements of these image collections for my own website, EZWxBrief. 

Lastly, if you are still hanging onto a glimmer of hope that AWC will bring back the legacy site, don’t hold your breath. While there are still some growing pains with this new version, the Aviation Weather Center is fully committed to this new release—so just get used to it. 

The post Aviation Weather Center Website Upgrade—the Good, Bad, and Ugly appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

The new site has a much cleaner appearance than the legacy site from the Aviation Weather Center arm of NOAA. It features more interactive maps, static images to embed in briefing material, and a dark mode.

User Features

The user can select raw data or, with a push of a button, have it presented decoded.

You can select the most recent weather or take a look as far back as 48 hours, and there is a “remember” feature.

Under the weather tab at the top of the page is a drop-down menu for observations and forecasts for ceiling, visibility, precipitation, thunderstorms, temperature, winds, turbulence, and icing. Each item is indicated with text and an icon.

Clicking on the icons calls up an interactive map with a slider that displays a graphic depiction of the forecast conditions.

According to the agency, the upgrade is designed to be adaptable to permit use on mobile devices.

All displays and tools available on the current aviationweather.gov are available on the updated website. In addition, the new website merges the legacy Helicopter Emergency Medical Services (HEMS) tool into the same framework as the Graphical Forecasts for Aviation while keeping its focus on low-altitude flight.

The Aviation Weather site is a free service and does not require a discreet login or user account. This makes it more accessible as a weather tool. However, unlike products that require a discreet login, the user’s interaction with the site is more difficult to verify.

If you can’t wait until Monday, test out the new features here: https://beta.aviationweather.gov.

The post NOAA Changing Weather Site appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

Answer: Per the Aeronautical Information Manual, runway numbers are determined from the approach direction. The runway number is the whole number nearest one‐tenth the magnetic azimuth of the centerline of the runway, measured clockwise from the magnetic north. Magnetic azimuth is determined through the World Magnetic Model (WMM), a global means of measuring the Earth’s large-scale magnetic field.

• READ MORE: What If the CFI Forgets to Sign Your Logbook?

The magnetic field is created by the movement of iron and nickel beneath the Earth’s surface around its core. The movement creates shifts in the magnetic field, known as declination. The closer the site is to the poles, the quicker declination occurs. Measurements for the WMM come from many sources, including satellites and a global network of 120 magnetic observatories.

According to the National Centers for Environmental Information, every five years agencies, such as the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration and FAA, review the WMM for changes. When the WMM indicates delineation of more than 7 degrees has occurred, the runway numbers are updated.

• READ MORE: Is It Possible to Legally Fly a Cessna 150 as an LSA?

Do you have a question about aviation that’s been bugging you? Ask us anything you’ve ever wanted to know about aviation. Our experts in general aviation, flight training, aircraft, avionics, and more may attempt to answer your question in a future article.

The post Why Do Runways Get Renumbered? appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

Answer: The short answer is yes. Tornado Alley has had a bad reputation over the last couple of decades, however. Although there has never been an official designation of where Tornado Alley is located, it is the area that is roughly approximated by the central and southern Plains from Nebraska to north-central Texas. 

There has been some debate that Tornado Alley has been shifting to the east over the last couple of decades. But it is more likely that Tornado Alley isn’t shifting but rather expanding to the east. 

From year to year, there may be a stark contrast in where severe weather strikes, especially thunderstorms that produce tornadoes. That is, there may be two or three years in a row where significant tornado events are focused more in Tornado Alley and other years where they are focused in the Ozarks, mid-South, and Tennessee Valley. This year-to-year variation happens for a variety of reasons, but climate change will continue to expand where supercell-type thunderstorms develop and produce significant and destructive tornadoes.  

• READ MORE: Is a Handheld Radio Required for Flying?

Scientists are studying how anthropogenic climate change (ACC) is affecting the location of severe weather. This climate change originating from human activity is causing a change in the location of where many supercell thunderstorms originate. 

Supercells are storms that are distinguished from ordinary pulse-type convection by its deep, long-lived mesocyclone, which has a rotating midlevel vortex with a diameter between 1 and 5 miles and a vertical depth of at least 6,000 to 10,000 feet. While many supercells are individually separate and distinct, others may be embedded within larger complexes of thunderstorms or what are called mesoscale convective systems. Relatively rare, some supercell thunderstorms can persist for four or more hours.

The greatest concern is that as the trend in tornado environments from supercell-type convection expands to the east this will undoubtedly increase the exposure and vulnerability of people in these areas. In other words, with socioeconomic vulnerabilities projected to rise in the Ozarks, mid-South, and Tennessee Valley, the likelihood of more impactful tornado events in these regions is certain for the remaining decades of the twenty-first century.

The best approach is to remain weather aware and to pay close attention to the Storm Prediction Center (SPC) convective outlooks. These include a one-, two-, and three-day categorical outlook of severe weather along with a forecast discussion.

In addition, the SPC issues a probabilistic forecast for severe weather specifically for the potential of tornadoes, strong straight-line winds, and large hail. While some of these probabilities can look quite low, don’t be fooled. 

• READ MORE: Can You Select a DPE for Your Check Ride?

According to the SPC, “If you have a 15 percent probability for tornadoes, this means you have a 15 percent chance of a tornado occurring within 25 miles of your location. This may seem like a low number, but a tornado is very uncommon at any one location. Normally, your chances of getting hit by a tornado or other severe weather are small, purely based on statistical average. Let’s say you have a 1 percent statistical (climatology) history of tornadoes within 25 miles on this day, which still is large. Having a 15 percent probability means 15 times the normal odds of a tornado nearby, meaning it should be taken seriously.”

Once severe convection is likely, the SPC will issue a severe thunderstorm or tornado watch for heightened public awareness. Once tornadoes are seen by trained storm spotters or are indicated by the Nexrad Doppler weather radar, tornado warnings are issued for you to seek immediate cover. 

Do you have a question about aviation that’s been bugging you? Ask us anything you’ve ever wanted to know about aviation. Our experts in general aviation, flight training, aircraft, avionics, and more may attempt to answer your question in a future article.

The post Is the Shift in Tornado Alley Related to Climate Change? appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

The Artemis program has faced numerous delays after NASA waived off launch attempts on August 29 and September 3 because of mechanical issues, and again in late September, owing to weather concerns stemming from Hurricane Ian.

Last Friday, NASA began to prepare for the next window of opportunity: a liftoff attempt at 12:07 a.m. EST on Monday, November 14. The Artemis I Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and Orion spacecraft were rolled out to Launch Pad 39B. The 4-mile move from the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) was slow and methodical, taking several hours to complete.

• READ MORE: ‘World’s Most Powerful Rocket’ Rolls Out Toward Launch Pad

In the interim, however, a tropical storm, which would later become Hurricane Nicole, formed and struck Florida, prompting NASA to push the launch to one of its backup dates: November 16.

Preparing for a Storm

Last week, as Hurricane Nicole began to form as a hybrid low-pressure system near Puerto Rico, NASA was already keeping its eye on the storm and its potential impact. During a media event, Jim Free, associate administrator Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters, expressed confidence in the technical preparations for the spacecraft but noted that a developing low-pressure weather system had captured the launch team’s attention.

During the media event, Free said the team would continue with its planned November 4 rollout to the launch pad.

• READ MORE: NASA Optimistic About Upcoming Artemis Launch

 “We’re confident in the decision process that went into that,” Free said at the time. “We talked about a lot of the same things, many things that we talked about with the hurricane (Ian).” 

At that time, the storm was forecasted to bring sustained winds of 25 knots with gusts between 35-40 knots to the Cape Canaveral area. During the week, however, the subtropical system gradually strengthened. By the time the hurricane made landfall Thursday morning near Vero Beach, it had intensified to a Category 1 hurricane packing 70 mph winds. 

Earlier in the week, on Tuesday, the National Weather Service issued a hurricane warning for all of Brevard County where Cape Canaveral is located, along with warnings for surrounding counties. Located near the forecast cone and close to the projected landfall area, Kennedy Space Center and the surrounding Space Coast communities were forced into storm preparation mode. 

NASA switched into its HURCON mode, which follows a set of weather preparation guidelines based on the timing of an approaching storm. This process includes having a Rideout Team (ROT) deployed to secure and monitor the launch pad and other vital areas.

Tuesday, as the storm approached, NASA officials confirmed the SLS rocket and Orion spacecraft assembly would be able to handle Nicole’s winds without damage.

“The SLS rocket is designed to withstand 85 mph (74.4 knots) winds at the 60-foot level with structural margin,” NASA said in a statement. “Current forecasts predict the greatest risks at the pad are high winds that are not expected to exceed the SLS design. The rocket is designed to withstand heavy rains at the launch pad, and the spacecraft hatches have been secured to prevent water intrusion.”

Wind gusts at the launch pad, however, exceeded the design specifications, according to a local meteorologist.

“… LC-39B, where @NASAArtemis is located has peaked out their winds at 100 mph … That’s beyond design limits of the rocket to ride out a storm,” Eric Burris, a meteorologist at TV station WESH 2 said in a tweet Thursday morning.

As of Thursday afternoon, NASA had not yet commented on wind gusts at the launch pad, or provided updates on the condition of the rocket. 

Wow… sooo LC-39B, where @NASAArtemis is located has peaked out their winds at 100mph.

The sensor is listed as being up 7ft… so it’s not an elevated sensor…

That’s beyond design limits of the rocket to ride out a storm… pic.twitter.com/un1GZSvuVA

— Eric Burris (@EricBurrisWESH) November 10, 2022

The post Hurricane Nicole Prompts NASA To Delay Artemis Launch appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

There were nine adults and one child on board. The body of one of the adults, 29-year-old Gabby Hanna from Seattle, was found in the water moments after the crash. The rest of the victims are still missing.

The wreckage was located through the coordinated efforts of the NTSB, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and the University of Washington’s Applied Physics Laboratory using side scan sonar, multibeam sonar, and 3D instruments.

Authorities used the aircraft’s last known position, along with information on local tides and currents to determine the search area, which was reported to be a 1.75 by 0.75-mile square.

The university’s vessel scanned the area identified from the NOAA multibeam data, and according to the NTSB, “Using all available data, investigators concluded the targets they identified were from the aircraft.”

The images from the floor of the Puget Sound show a long object that may be the fuselage, some 190 feet below the surface. The images do not have much detail, and as of yet, a detailed inspection has not been made of the site.

The NTSB stated, “Due to the depth of the water (100-200 feet) and the current (3-5 knots), the most suitable tool for visual confirmation is a remotely operated vehicle (ROV). NTSB is coordinating with our federal partners and private companies to use an ROV in the search.”

The NTSB does not have a date on when the ROV will be deployed.

How It Happened 

The Turbine Otter went down en route from Friday Harbor to Renton. The altitude normally flown by seaplanes along this route is approximately 600 feet above the surface. The aircraft was approximately half-way through the flight.

According to a tweet from Flightradar24, the last ADS-B signal from the Otter was at 22:08 UTC and the aircraft was showing a descent of 7,744 fpm.

We are following reports of plane crash in Mutiny Bay, north of Seattle. The aircraft involved is a 55 years old de Havilland Canada DHC-3 Otter with registration N725TH. We received last signal at 22:08 UTC. It was indicating a vertical speed of -7744 fpmhttps://t.co/XDBLgGLF5s pic.twitter.com/bwEhxC5FQk

— Flightradar24 (@flightradar24) September 4, 2022

There are no reports of the pilot issuing a distress call.

Witnesses to the accident told local television stations that the aircraft hit the water in a vertical attitude. The impact was loud and it sent up a large plume of water.

The Coast Guard searched the area for more than 20 hours, from both the air and water hoping for survivors, but none were found.

• READ MORE: Mutiny Bay Seaplane Accident 

During the search, small pieces of plastic and fuel-soaked foam along with a 6-foot-by-18-inch piece of the fuselage with the aircraft tail number N725TH were recovered, along with a few personal items that were believed to have belonged to the occupants of the aircraft.

The NTSB preliminary report on the accident has not yet been compiled. In many cases, the final report is not available for a year to 18 months

Northwest Seaplanes posted on its Facebook page: “The team at Northwest Seaplanes is heartbroken, we don’t know any details yet regarding the cause of the accident. We are working with the FAA, NTSB, and [Coast Guard]. We have been in communication with the families. We are praying for the families involved, including our pilot and his family.”

The company had no comment on the news the wreckage had been located, however, on its Facebook page the company thanked the community for their outpouring of support, and noted a GoFundMe page has been created for the family of pilot Jason Winters.

The post Seaplane Wreckage Found in Puget Sound appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

It’s an approximately three-foot-long drone called Altius. These small, fixed-wing drones are launched from NOAA’s Lockheed WP-3D Orion twin turboprops and are designed to fly into the most active parts of a hurricane at lower altitudes and remain aloft for one to three hours. The drones then send precious weather data back to the Orion, which would be flying at altitudes around 8,000 to 10,000 feet. 

“This new technology is going to really advance what we know about how storms form—not just where they’re going—and when a storm is going to form and when it’s going to intensify,”  NOAA Corps Lt. Cmdr. Becky Shaw told FLYING on Friday.  “We’re going to have the whole story on the storm now.”

Since the 1960s, NOAA pilots have been putting it on the line to fly through some of the roughest storms nature has to offer. Based at Lakeland Linder International Airport (KLAL) in Lakeland, Florida, NOAA’s hurricane hunter fleet includes two Orions that essentially perform as flying research labs for studying storms. The team’s third aircraft is a twin-turbofan Gulfstream IV-SP, which is used to fly above and around hurricanes. 

Currently, NOAA is completing safe separation and communication tests of the drones, to make sure they deploy as designed and can effectively send data back to the aircraft. They’re launched in tubes from openings on the underside of the P-3s. A small parachute deploys, which triggers the unfurling of the drone’s wings. At that point the drone begins controlled flight. 

The Altius drones are different from dropsonde devices which NOAA currently uses to study hurricanes. Dropsondes are data-gathering objects that are released from aircraft and parachute to the ocean surface. As they fall, they send information to the aircraft about air temperature and pressure, wind speeds, and humidity. These devices offer a snapshot of storm conditions, while the new drones will be able to measure changing conditions over time. 

Altius is not intended as a replacement for dropsondes, Shaw said. Instead, the data from Altius will be used to augment what scientists learn from dropsondes. 

Not only does this kind of data help scientists understand the structure and intensity of each storm, it also gives people in a storm’s path ample time to prepare for disaster or evacuate, if necessary. 

Flying into the Storm

Shaw—a graduate of the U.S. Naval Test Pilot School—shared with FLYING a few details about the actual flight dynamics of piloting an airplane into a hurricane. In a phrase, she said, the experience is “really incredible.”

During flight inside a hurricane, “I’m not touching the power levers at all. The wind speed and the windsheer will change very quickly, so the flight engineer is actually moving the power levers really quickly. If you’ve seen the videos online, you’ll see they go to max power, then to idle—and you never fly an aircraft like that. But in a storm you have to, because the wind can change so quickly. 

“In the left seat, I’m just doing everything I can to hold wing level and to have the pitch at 210 knots. 220 is our turbulent air penetration, and then what we call 200, slow. In the brief we’ll say, ‘I’m going to fly 210. If we get down to 200 knots and you’re at max power and there’s still no changes, we’re still being slow (and that happens most normally), I’m going to start to pitch down to get some speed back.’ 

And that’s the only time you’re going to prioritize your air speed over altitude—because you need to get that altitude for the science data.”

• READ MORE: Inside NOAA’s Hurricane Hunter Fleet

The Fleet

Plans call for NOAA to replace its G-IV jet in 2024 with a Gulfstream G550, Shaw said.

Although the current NOAA Hurricane Hunter fleet remains in good condition, she estimates the Orions will be replaced around 2030 with a turboprop type that has yet to be determined.

Taking Altius Operational

Meanwhile, the first operational Altius drones are expected to be sent into storms soon. 

“We have a couple more milestones we need to make in order to sign off the new drones for fully operational crews,” she said. NOAA expects to hit those milestones within the next two weeks. “We’re very close.”

Shaw believes NOAA is leading the way when it comes to flying drones from aircraft. 

“We’re doing it safely and we’re doing it systematically and we’re creating a lot of really good lessons learned,” she said. “Even though we’re an oceanic and atmospheric organization—through our test team, our science team, and our engineering team—we’re pushing forward on aviation as well.”

The post New Air-Launched Hurricane Drones Are Close to Operational appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

Textron Aviation recently delivered a mission-ready Beechcraft King Air 350CER turboprop to the Department of Commerce’s National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Office of Marine & Aviation Operations (OMAO). NOAA’s mission is to understand and predict changes in climate, weather, oceans and coasts and conserve and manage coastal and marine ecosystems and resources.

The new aircraft joins another King Air 350CER aircraft delivered to NOAA in May 2009 that has since been used for coastal mapping and aerial survey missions, as well as critical emergency response missions, including photographic survey after earthquakes, oil spills, and numerous blizzards, tornados, floods and named hurricanes.

The King Air 350CER aircraft is an extended-range version of the King Air 350i twin-engine turboprop aircraft configured with an optional cargo door, adding enhanced mission flexibility. The aircraft is powered by two Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-60As, or optional factory installed PT6A-67A turboprop engines, with Hartzell four-blade propellers, and a fully integrated Collins Aerospace Pro Line Fusion digital avionics suite with touchscreen controls.

With extended range capabilities, NOAA’s King Air 350CER aircraft can collect critical information while remaining airborne for up to eight hours. The dual-sensor port modification allows simultaneous data collection from multiple on-board sensors. Optical grade glass plates in the sensor ports allow the cabin to remain pressurized or the optical plates can be removed, and the aircraft operated unpressurized. NOAA’s fleet of manned aircraft is operated, managed and maintained by the Aircraft Operations Center (AOC), part of the agency’s Office of Marine and Aviation Operations, located at Lakeland Linder Regional Airport in Lakeland, Florida.

The post NOAA Takes Delivery of New Special Mission King Air 350CER appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

Say the words “Hurricane Hunters,” and you evoke a vivid movie featuring daring pilots flying the best equipment into the maw of all manner of storms to capture data that will develop understanding about their nature—and save lives. The division of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) responsible for these missions is the Office of Marine and Aviation Operations, based in Silver Spring, Maryland. Nine aircraft make up the fleet, which has a base in Lakeland, Florida, and includes two Lockheed WP-3D Orions and a Gulfstream IV-SP, a special G-IV outfitted for special missions.

Gulfstream Aerospace announced this week that its G550 will soon join NOAA’s fleet. The jet will support the organization’s continuing weather forecasting and research programs, including those operations focused on hurricanes and tropical storms. The aircraft’s maximum range of 6,750 nm and long-range cruise speed of Mach 0.80 makes it well suited to operations requiring fast time-to-climb and endurance. Since the next storm, Dorian, reached hurricane strength on Wednesday, August 28, the mission appears to be even more timely than ever.

A spokesman for the NOAA Aircraft Operations Center, Lt. Conor Maginn, elaborated, from the midst of hurricane ops: “The G550 is very similar to the G-IV with enhanced range, altitude, and payload-carrying capacity. The G550 is expected to perform all of the mission functions that the G-IV can, with the added capabilities due to its G550 enhancements. Final instrumentation configuration of the G550 has not been determined. As appropriate, the G550 will be outfitted with similar or identical systems or instruments as other NOAA aircraft. NOAA’s Gulfstream IV, N49RF, will remain in service and continue to fulfill its role as an environmental data-gathering platform. They will continue to fly together.”

The G550 joins Gulfstream aircraft that have supported special government and military missions since 1967, with more than 200 in service in 40 countries around the world detailed to these operations.

The post NOAA Orders Gulfstream G550 For Hurricane Hunter Fleet appeared first on FLYING Magazine.