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Aircraft
Scientists study the atmosphere from top to bottom. To probe its secrets at flight levels--its turbulence, chemical makeup, or some other quality--researchers from across the globe call on NCAR's extensive experience in research aviation. One of the center's primary roles for more than 30 years has been to make research aircraft equipped with specialized observing instruments and skilled crews available to the university community. Housed at NCAR, these aircraft are owned by the National Science Foundation, the center's chief sponsor. NCAR also develops new technologies for collecting airborne observations and handling the stream of data that results. NCAR's Research Aviation Facility is based at Colorado 's Jefferson County Airport, midway between Denver and Boulder . The Jeffco hangar currently houses the NSF/NCAR C-130, a four-engine C-130Q Hercules turboprop. Built by Lockheed for military transport, it was adapted for research missions in the mid-1990s. With NCAR's seasoned pilots at the helm, , scientists can soar as high as 26,000 feet (8,000 meters) above sea level or skim as low as 100 feet above ocean or ice. C-130 flights may last up to 10 hours and span more than 3,000 miles (5,000 kilometers). As with other research aircraft, scientists use the C-130 to measure the atmosphere along its flight path; they also gather data for many miles around, using radar, lidar (laser-based radar), and other tools. The C-130 includes special equipment to assess cloud particles, measure electric fields, and sample trace gases. The aircraft is often used for oceanographic studies, including research on how the air and sea interact. A new NSF/NCAR aircraft took to the skies in late 2005. HIAPER, the High-performance Instrumented Airborne Platform for Environmental Research, is designed to meet environmental research needs for the nation over the next several decades. This modified Gulfstream V cruises as high as 51,000 feet (15,500 meters), with a range of about 7,000 miles (11,300 kilometers). Using HIAPER, scientists will probe the upper edges of hurricanes and thunderstorms in unprecedented detail and study pivotal chemical processes high above Earth that affect global temperatures. HIAPER sensors will also gather data for environmental maps and play an important role in recalibrating satellite instruments.
NCAR's Earth Observing Laboratory helps researchers collaborate with engineers and skilled artisans in design and fabrication of instruments flown on its own and other research aircraft. For example, a parachute-borne package dropped from airplanes, called a dropsonde, was upgraded by NCAR in the 1990s by incorporatingGlobal Positioning System technology for tracking the device's descent and deducing wind speed and direction. These GPS dropsondes have been released on many "hurricane hunter" flights and research missions for NOAA, the U.S. Air Force, NASA, and university research. The devices have provided some of the best-quality data yet on winds within the hurricane eyewall, where the worst conditions are found. Dropsonde data have improved four-day forecasts of hurricane tracks by up to 25%. Airborne Doppler radar is a vital tool for mapping winds aloft. The Electra Doppler radar was created by a U.S.-French collaboration in the early 1990s. ELDORA was first deployed on the NSF/NCAR Electra aircraft, which is now retired. It currently operates aboard a P-3 turboprop owned by the Naval Research Laboratory. ELDORA features two antennas, one pointing forward and one backward. By combining the signals from each, scientists can calculate wind speed and direction up to 55 miles (90 km) from the aircraft.
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