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Author
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Topic: NASA ER-2 and DC-8 at McChord Field (WA)
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p51
Member Posts: 1642
From: Olympia, WA
Registered: Sep 2011
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posted 11-19-2015 01:44 PM
   
A NASA ER-2 and a DC-8 have been at McChord Field (near Tacoma, Washington) since yesterday with filed flight plans on yesterday. For the ground track of those flight plans (the ER-2 had a race-track outline going into the Pacific and back at 65,000 feet), I assume they must be flying visual support for a polar orbit sat launch out of Vandenberg as that's the only thing that makes sense for them to be this far north. I've never even heard of them bringing anything like that this up here. Would be so cool to catch the ER-2 heading out, but I doubt I'll be that lucky. |
Robert Pearlman
Editor Posts: 42981
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999
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posted 11-19-2015 01:57 PM
From a NASA Armstrong Flight Research Center release: From Nov. 10 through Dec. 21, NASA and university scientists are taking to the field to study wet winter weather near Seattle, Washington. With weather radars, weather balloons, specialized ground instruments, and NASA's DC-8 flying laboratory, the science team will be verifying rain and snowfall observations made by the Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) satellite mission....NASA's DC-8 flying laboratory, managed by NASA's Armstrong Research Center in Palmdale, California, will fly at an altitude of 36,000 feet above storm clouds that approach the Quinault and Chelhalis River basins on the Olympic Peninsula. In mid-November it will be joined by NASA's ER-2 aircraft, funded by NASA's Radar Experiment to study clouds, which will fly at 65,000 feet. Both planes will carry instruments similar to those flown in space to simulate satellite observations. At the same time, another aircraft, the University of North Dakota Citation, will be flying through the clouds taking direct measurements of the droplets and ice crystals within. |
p51
Member Posts: 1642
From: Olympia, WA
Registered: Sep 2011
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posted 11-19-2015 02:32 PM
Thanks for the info. That makes me wonder why they don’t use one of the WB-57s for that. |
Robert Pearlman
Editor Posts: 42981
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999
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posted 11-19-2015 07:05 PM
The WB-57s have recently been tasked with helping weather forecasters from NOAA and the Naval Research Laboratory accurately predict storm intensity, movement and lifespan, including flights over hurricanes Joaquin and Patricia. |
Jim Behling
Member Posts: 1463
From: Cape Canaveral, FL
Registered: Mar 2010
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posted 11-19-2015 07:32 PM
quote:
Originally posted by p51:
I assume they must be flying visual support for a polar orbit sat launch out of Vandenberg.
NASA no longer has planes that support launches.
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