HIPPO IV: Research Flight 02 - Northern Polar Region

June 16, 2011

The 8-hour long flight from Anchorage, Alaska to 84º North and back performed 5 dips and collected critical data from the Arctic regions.

The GV traveled as far north as possible, and made it all the way to 84° North, just 6° shy of the North Pole. The aircraft needed enough fuel to get back to Anchorage, which is why it turned around when it did, but it still was able to get great samples of the atmosphere at northern latitudes.

A missed approach was completed in Fairbanks, Alaska. During the missed approach, the aircraft is maneuvered as if it were going to land, then a few hundred feet above the surface, prior to "landing", the airplane starts to climb and ascend back into the atmosphere. Missed approaches are well-planned maneuvers that allow the scientists to collect data at low levels over land where flying at such low altitude is prohibited.