NSF/NCAR C-130 Overview
The NSF/NCAR C-130 is a four-engine, medium-size utility aircraft that has been extensively modified for research applications. The C-130 has a 10-hour flight endurance, a 2,900 nautical mile range at up to 27,000 ft, and a payload capacity of up to 13,000 lbs. This versatile research platform has a roomy fuselage that can accommodate payloads across an area of 414 square feet. In addition to standard thermodynamic, microphysics and radiation sensors, the C-130 has a range of inlets and optical ports. The Earth Observing Laboratory operates the aircraft within the National Center for Atmospheric Research.
Configuration: Airborne research platform
Number of available systems: 1
NSF/NCAR C-130 Contacts
Dr. Pavel Romashkin / pavel@ucar.edu / (303) 497-1027 (Requests & Schedules)
Airborne Instrumentation
Each research payload is unique and will typically consist of some combination of EOL, ACOM (Atmospheric Chemistry Observations & Modeling) and user-supplied instrumentation. The tables in this document list available airborne sensors and measurements. For a more detailed description of the airborne instrumentation, see www.eol.ucar.edu/aircraft-instrumentation. Please note that different instruments require different levels of support.
RAF can supply several types of trace gas and small aerosol inlets (HIMIL unheated, HIMIL anti-iced, HIMIL aft facing, Solid diffuser SDI aerosol inlet, and the SMAI aerosol inlet, all with PFA or stainless steel tubing, with or without sample line heating.)
IMPORTANT NOTE
Prior to submitting this request, it is required to communicate with the appropriate airborne instrumentation contact(s) about the instruments listed below to determine if the basic payload request can be supported and/or if it will require additional resources.
[EOL] Dr. Julie Haggerty / haggerty@ucar.edu / (303) 497-1090
[ACOM] Dr. Sam Hall / halls@ucar.edu / (303) 497-1899
In building an aircraft payload, note that the payload consist of:
Project-specific limitations of the capabilities of the standard instruments and requestable instruments will be identified by EOL and ACOM at the time of the feasibility study and will be discussed with the requesting investigators.
Payload Limitations
The number of requested instruments routinely exceeds the available space on the aircraft. We, therefore, ask PIs to indicate the priority of each measurement in addressing their research goals. The rating to be used is as follows:
Mission Critical
Useful / Desireable
Not Requested
Wing Store Configurations
Basic information on possible wing store configurations, rack space requirements, and operator status is included in the tables. There are a total of 10 wing pod canister positions, three on each of the large C-130 wing pods, two on each wing tip.
User-supplied Instrumentation
Detailed information on specific systems and platform infrastructure related to mounting user-supplied equipment can be found in the C-130 Investigator Handbook. All user-supplied equipment must meet RAF safety and design specifications.
NSF/NCAR C-130 STANDARD INSTRUMENTATION - Provided on all projects | |||
Description | Maximum Data Rate | Location | Sensor Quantity |
Static Pressure | 25 sps | Fuselage | 2 |
Dynamic Pressure | 25 sps | Fuselage and radome | 3 |
Cabin Pressure | 1 sps | Electronics bay | 1 |
Ambient Temperature | 1 sps | Fuselage | 2 |
Chilled Mirror Dew Point Temperature | 1 sps | Fuselage | 2 |
Aircraft Position, Altitude, Ground Relative Speeds, Accelerations and Attitude Angles (IRU) | 1 – 50 sps | Electronics bay | 2 |
GPS w/ TerraStar C accuracy | 10 sps | Cabin overhead rack | 1 |
3-Dimensional Wind Fields | 25 sps | Radome | 1 set |
Icing Rate (presence of supercooled cloud water) | 1 sps | Wing hard point | 1 |
King Probe Cloud Liquid Water Content | 25 sps | Wing hard point | 1 |
Remote (infrared) Surface Temperature | 1 sps | Belly aperture | 2 |
Forward Digital Video | 1 fps | Cockpit | 1 |
SATCOM | N/A | ADS rack | N/A |
XCHAT | N/A | ADS rack | N/A |
Real-time Data Transfer to Ground | Variable | ADS rack | N/A |
Real-time Display incl. maps, video, time series etc. | Variable | ADS / all displays | N/A |
NSF/NCAR C-130 INSTRUMENTS BY REQUEST | ||||
CLOUD MEASUREMENTS [EOL] | ||||
Description | Inlet or Maximum Data Rate | Location | Rack Space | Operators |
Cloud Droplet Probe (CDP) (2 – 50 μm range), water droplets, ice crystals | 10 sps | Wing pod canister | 0 | 0 |
OAP 2DS Cloud probe (2D-S stereo probe, 10-1280 μm resolution, 128 bins), ice, water | Asynchronous | Wing pod canister | ¼ | 0 |
OAP HVPS-3 Precipitation Probe (150 μm resolution, 128 bins) | Asynchronous | Wing pod canister | ¼ | 0 |
HOLODEC-II Cloud Particle Imager | 3 sps | Wing pod canister | ¼ | 0 |
Counterflow Virtual Impactor (CVI) (with CN counter and water vapor TDL) | Special | Cabin w/ aperture | 1 | 1 |
OAP 2D-C 10 µm (2-D imaging spectrometer, 20 - 640 µm), ice, water; special considerations B | N/A | Wing pod canister | 0 | 0 |
OAP 2D-C 25 µm (2-D imaging spectrometer, 50 - 1600 µm), ice, water, special considerations B | N/A | Wing pod canister | 0 | 0 |
King Probe Cloud Liquid Water Content [EOL] | 25 sps | Wing hard point | 0 | 0 |
Rosemount Icing Detector [EOL] | 1 sps | Wing hard point | 0 | 0 |
RADIATIVE MEASUREMENTS [EOL] (unless otherwise noted) | ||||
Description | Inlet or Maximum Data Rate | Location | Rack Space | Operators |
In-Cloud Air Temperature Radiometer [EOL] | 1 sps | Wing pod | 0 | 0 |
Remote (infrared) Sky Temperature (KT19.85 Heimann radiometer), 1 up, not stabilized | 1 sps | Special aperture | 0 | 0 |
Remote (infrared) Surface Temperature (KT19.85 Heimann radiometer), 1 down, not stabilized | 1 sps | Special aperture | 0 | 0 |
HIAPER Airborne Radiation Package (HARP) (spectrally resolved actinic flux and irradiance) [ACOM] | Special | Cabin w/ aperture | 1 | 0 |
Shortwave (solar) irradiance (CMP22 Pyranometer - visible broadband radiometer), 2 up / 2 down*, stabilized, fixed | 1 sps | Special aperture | 0 | 0 |
Infrared irradiance (CGR4 Pyrgeometer - infrared broadband radiometer), 2 up / 2 down*, stabilized, fixed | 1 sps | Special aperture | 0 | 0 |
*Mounting positions for the CMP22 and CGR4 can be used interchangeably for either sensor.
STATE PARAMETERS and WIND MEASUREMENTS [EOL] | ||||
Description | Inlet or Maximum Data Rate | Location | Rack Space | Operators |
Fast Ambient Temperature | 25 sps | Fuselage | 0 | 0 |
Vertical Cavity Surface-Emitting Laser (VCSEL) Hygrometer | 25 sps | Cabin w/aperture or large pod | 0 | 0 |
UV Hygrometer | 25 sps | Standard aperture | ⅛ | 0 |
Laser Air Motion Sensor (LAMS ) [1, 3, and 4 beam(s)] | 50 sps | Wing pod canister | ½ | 0 |
AEROSOL MEASUREMENTS [EOL] | ||||
Description | Inlet or Maximum Data Rate | Location | Rack Space | Operators |
Condensation Nucleus (CN) Counter – (Butanol, low altitude only) | 25 sps | Cabin w/ aperture | ¼ | 0 |
Ultra-High Sensitivity Aerosol Spectrometer (UHSAS) (0.06 – 1 μm) | 10 sps | Wing pod canister | ⅛ | 0 |
Passive Cavity Aerosol Spectrometer Probe (PCASP) (0.1 – 3 μm range) | 10 sps | Wing pod canister | 0 | 0 |
Auto Giant Nuclei Impactor (GNI) (sea salt, 2-30 μm range), 0.4 µm resolution | Special | Aperture | ⅛ | 0 |
Manual GNI Giant Aerosol Impactor (sea-salt, 2 – 32 μm range) | Custom | Cabin w/ aperture | ⅛ | 1 |
Solid Diffuser Inlet (SDI) | Special | Cabin w/ aperture | ¼ | 0 |
GAS MEASUREMENTS [EOL & ACOM] | |||||
Description | Inlet or Maximum Data Rate | Location | Rack Space | Operators | Special Consideraations* |
Picarro CO2, Methane (CH4), Carbon Monoxide (C), and Water Vapor [ACOM] | Custom HIMIL, 0.7 sps | Cabin w/ aperture | ½ | 0 | D |
Aero-Laser Carbon Monoxide (CO)# [ACOM] | Custom HIMIL, 0.5 sps | Cabin w/ aperture | ½ | 0 | D |
Aerodyne CO and Nitrous Oxide (N₂O) | Custom HIMIL, 1-10 sps | Cabin w/ aperture | ½ | 0 | D |
Water Vapor Isotopic Analyzer (WVISO) [EOL] | HIMIL, SDI, CVI, 5 sps | Cabin w/aperture | ½ | 0 | |
Fast Ozone (O3) [ACOM] | HIMIL, 1 - 10 sps | Cabin w/ aperture | 3/4 | 0 | D |
Total Organic Gas Analyzer (TOGA) or TOGA-TOF (C2 - C10 organic range) [ACOM] | Simple, 0.015 sps | Cabin w/ aperture | 1 | 1 | A,D |
Airborne Whole Air Sampler (AWAS) [EOL] | HIMIL, asynchronous | Wing pod canister | 1 | 1 | |
Chemical Ionization Mass Spectrometer (CIMS) (SO2, HNO3, HNO4, HNO2 and others) [ACOM] | Special, 1 sps | Cabin w/ aperture | 1 | 0 | B,C,D |
Medusa Flask Sampler [EOL] | Custom HIMIL, 32 samples per flight | Cabin w/ aperture | 1 | 1 | A,B,C,D |
Airborne Oxygen Analyzer (AO2 ) [EOL] | Custom HIMIL, 0.2 sps | Cabin w/ aperture | 1 | 0.5 | A,B,C,D |
NO and NO2 [ACOM] | HIMIL, 0.3 sps | Cabin w/ aperture | 1 | 0 | B,D |
# The Aerodyne is preferred for CO measurements when only one instrument is required.
*Special Considerations:
A Instrument requires a dedicated operator on board the aircraft.
B Special software tools are required for routine processing, display and analysis of the data acquired by this instrument.
C Data recorded on a separate data acquisition system, not on RAF's ADS.
D Data acquired by this instrument requires unique post-processing.
E This instrument requires a separate request form
RAF can supply several types of gas and small aerosol inlets (HIMIL unheated, HIMIL anti-iced, aft-facing, all with PFA or stainless steel tubing, with or without sample line heating).
IN SITU VERTICAL PROFILING [EOL] | ||||
Description | Inlet or Maximum Data Rate | Location | Rack Space | Operators |
Dropsonde profiles of pressure, temperature, relative humidity, and winds. | 2 Hz thermodynamic, 4 Hz winds | Dropsonde launcher | 1 | 1 (may be remote) |
OTHER MEASUREMENTS [EOL] | ||||
Description | Inlet or Maximum Data Rate | Location | Rack Space | Operators |
Digital Video (forward, down, side) with optional date/time stamp | 1 fps | Standard windows | 0 | 0 |