The first large-scale test of an inexpensive instrument for automatic sensing and reporting of atmospheric data below 25,000ft (7,620m) is under way using 64 Saab 340 turboprops flown by Mesaba Airlines.
The aircraft have been fitted with AirDat's Tropospheric Airborne Meteorological Data Report (Tamdar) probe for the NASA-sponsored, six- to nine-month Great Lakes Flight Experiment to assess the value of airborne observations to weather forecasting.
The 64 aircraft are making more than 400 flights a day from the Northwest Airlink carrier's hubs in Minneapolis, Detroit and Memphis, providing more than 1,600 daily atmospheric soundings, says Rick Ferguson, AirDat vice-president, operations. The experiment began in January and the frequent soundings are already improving weather forecasting models, he says.
Morrisville, North Carolina-based AirDat is in talks to install the Tamdar sensor and Iridium satellite-communications datalink on a further 400 aircraft, and plans eventually to equip up to 1,500 aircraft to provide coverage of the continental USA.
Source: Flight International
