|
25 YEARS AND STILL FLYING HIGH NOAA'S FIRST P-3 HURRICANE HUNTER MARKS MAJOR MILESTONE
Jim DuGranrut, now deputy director of NOAA's Aircraft Operations Center in Tampa, Fla., where the P-3 is based, is the only member of the original crew of 13 AOC flight staff and four Hurricane Research Division scientists who is still with NOAA. He is gathering together as many of the group as he can locate for a reunion on the 27th, and looks forward to reminiscing about that historic first flight. "The early season Pacific hurricane was less intense than most Atlantic hurricanes, so Hurricane Bonny was a relatively safe testing ground for the new P-3," said DuGranrut, who was an electronics engineer on the 1976 flight.
"That first P-3 flight was a scientific milestone as well," said Peter Black, a scientist with NOAA's Hurricane Research Division in Miami, Fla., who was on board a companion NOAA C-130 aircraft that flew with the P-3. "The sea-surface temperature data collected on our companion flight, together with the P-3 data at low, middle and high levels, showed how Bonny peaked and then weakened when it crossed the ‘cold wake' created by intense Hurricane Annette, which had passed through the area two weeks earlier." That 1976 season gave more opportunities for the NOAA P-3 to prove its mettle. The aircraft flew into Atlantic-spawned hurricanes Francis and Gloria, and was again up to the task. Though sparsely equipped by today's standards, the P-3 carried temperature probes and pressure sensors on its fuselage, and a radar in its nose radome that gave meteorologists on board an up-close view of storm dynamics. In 1977 NOAA's first P-3 was joined by a second, and both turboprop aircraft were outfitted with three weather radars especially designed for them: in the nose radome, underneath the fuselage, and in the tail section. These gave scientists a three-dimensional look at hurricanes for the first time from the P-3s. The system in the tail section was upgraded two years later to a Doppler radar, the first weather Doppler radar to be flown on an aircraft. Flights to Remember
Indeed, a category 5 hurricane might be devastating to whatever lies in its path, but doesn't necessarily pose as much danger to the hurricane hunter flying within it. According to DuGranrut, "The strongest hurricane I was in was Hurricane Gilbert in 1988. We were traveling crosswise through its 10-mile wide eyewall, where we clocked its wind at 203 miles an hour. But it was one of our smoother flights because the storm was so well organized. It's when the hurricane is changing—either gathering force or disintegrating—that things get really rowdy."
Improving Forecasts During the past 25 years, significant progress was made in hurricane forecasting, largely due to advances in technology used aboard the P-3s as well as in computer models developed by NOAA's Hurricane Research Division in Miami, Fla., and Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Lab in Princeton, N.J. Data is transmitted from the aircraft to the National Weather Service Telecommunications Gateway, then routed to the National Hurricane Center in Miami, National Centers for Environmental Prediction in Camp Springs, Md. The quantity and quality of data transmitted from the aircraft to forecasters at the National Hurricane Center dramatically increased with the introduction of satellite communications, which replaced high-frequency radio. In the early days, a radio operator on the P-3 read off storm data through static and storm fury, and listened while the ground-based operator read it back for verification. This severely limited the quantity of data that could be sent, and the system was prone to error. According to DuGranrut, Bob Sheets and Bob Burpee, meteorologists and frequent flyers with the National Hurricane and Experimental Meteorology Lab, precursor to today's Hurricane Research Division, saw the promise of satellite communications and worked with NOAA's Science and Engineering Division at the Aircraft Operations Center to equip the P-3s. Both aircraft have transmitted data via NOAA's GOES weather satellites since the late 1970s and now have satellite telephone systems available as well. Sheets and Burpee later became directors of the National Hurricane Center. The development of dropwindsondes, small instruments that are deployed from the aircraft and transmit data back to the aircraft, has enabled meteorologists to get temperature, humidity, pressure, wind speed and wind direction data from the altitude of the aircraft down to the sea surface. Dropwindsondes were the creation of scientists from the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colo., using the specifications of NOAA engineers. Before this technology was used, readings could only be taken from probes and sensors on the aircraft at the altitude the P-3 was flying. The planes would have to fly back and forth at altitudes ranging from 1,500 to 25,000 ft. to get the measurements needed. Another technological advance came with development of the global positioning system, which uses satellites to pinpoint the exact location of an object. Dropwindsondes now utilize GPS, which replaced the old Omega navigation system, coupling meteorological data with the precise location of each sonde as it transmits. Today, the P-3s also carry remote sensing equipment that measures sea surface temperature, wind speed and wind direction. This latter technology is particularly important in predicting storm surge, which can be the most devastating impact of a landfalling hurricane. As technology has grown more sophisticated, instruments and computers have shrunk in size. Equipment that used to take up about half the space of a P-3 now only requires 20 percent of the aircraft space, and about three fewer technicians are needed, leaving space for even more equipment, more scientists and media. A typical flight will carry about 10 flight crew, six scientists, and two journalists. NOAA's hurricane research mission also changed during the past 25 years. The P-3s were originally acquired to carry out hurricane modification research, where the focus was on mitigating damages by weakening the strength and intensity of the storm. That focus was later changed to improve hurricane forecasting. More than two decades of research and investigation of storms by NOAA's Hurricane Research Division has led to better computer models and a greater understanding of the life cycle of storms and the differences in the way storms develop. "Nobody but NOAA does routine scientific flying into nasty tropical weather. The P-3s have a proven ability to operate safely in the most difficult conditions imaginable," said Dr. Hugh Willoughby, director of the Hurricane Research Division. "They can carry lots of heavy instruments and provide plenty of electrical power. There is enough room for the engineer who built the instrument to fly along for tinkering or repairs. It's actually an advantage that the P-3s fly so slowly because they don't feel the bumps as much and can hang around to watch interesting weather. The payoff is that P-3 observations form the basis of an increasingly sophisticated understanding of hurricanes and tropical weather. It's been a privilege to spend most of my scientific career in these old airplanes." In addition to conducting research, the P-3s provide data to the National Hurricane Center, which uses the information for current hurricane predictions. Although most reconnaissance missions for the National Hurricane Center are flown by Air Force Reserves WC-130 aircraft, the P-3s fly missions in Cuban air space where Air Force planes do not go. NOAA added a Gulfstream IV high-altitude surveillance jet to its hurricane aircraft fleet in 1997. The specially equipped G-IV flies around hurricanes into the steering currents, helping forecasters at the National Hurricane Center increase the accuracy of their landfall predictions. Enter the Muppets
Ensuring Future Flights Among the unsung heros of hurricane flights are the people who maintain and equip the aircraft, making them safe and effective. NOAA's safety record in the worst of weather is a testament to the quality of aircraft maintenance performed by AOC's Operations Division, Maintenance Branch; its ability to gather data using specially developed or modified high-tech equipment is a result of the creativity and skill of engineers from AOC's Science and Engineering Division. Despite their age, the P-3s remain in excellent condition and NOAA intends to operate them well into the future. Along with the normal day-to-day maintenance requirements, the aircraft are given a thorough inspection every 50 flight hours. The aircraft are also given an in-depth inspection every 300 flight hours, and taken to the Naval Aviation Depot in Jacksonville, Fla., every four years for a complete inspection and overhaul. The P-3s are the best aircraft
for the research work they do for several reasons. First, the
structural design enables them to carry three radars, as opposed
to the one nose radar that is carried by a C-130. Instrumentation
can be hung in pods from the Best and Worst Moments
So why does he still do it? "Well, there's always
the gorgeous sunrise or sunset to fly into," DuGranrut said. *********** NOAA's hurricane hunters and other aircraft are operated, managed, equipped, and maintained by the Aircraft Operations Center, located at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, Fla. The aircraft are crewed by officers of the NOAA Corps, the nation's seventh service, and civilian meteorologists, flight engineers, and electronics engineers and technicians. AOC is part of NOAA's Office of Marine and Aviation Operations. Most of the P-3s' flights are in support of the Hurricane Research Division in Miami, Fla., whose scientists fly regularly aboard the aircraft. Relevant Web Sites
|
