RF01: 19-5-2002 15:00 - 20:36
 

P3 Flight Log:

This is the first report on ELDORA during IHOP. The NRL P3 flew the first research mission yesterday (5/19/2002) from 11am till 4 pm. This was an ABL mission with Leandre-II pointing downward. ELDORA was operated during the flight. All on board instruments worked well during the flight. Satellite phone worked extremely well except that the voice volume is on the low end on receiving end of the P3. Some problems with the radio communications among P3, King Air and Falcon but the communications among NSSL FC, S-pol and P3 worked well (at 145000ft altitude). More tests on communications will be performed on CI missions at lower altitude. Eye safety radar detected Falcon at a variety of distances from the P3. Another test of the eye safety radar will be performed at lower altitude in future flights. ELDORA was functioning during the flight. Data system had problems later on the flight but was recovered. ELDORA observed clear air echo (max ~7 dBZ) in the boundary layer. The estimated depth of the boundary layer was ~ 5000 ft which was consistent with the report for King Air and Leandre-II. The carry-on laptops were tested extensively on the CAPPI and ADS displays. Some problems associated with the CAPPI display were identified and will be fixed/improved today. Considering this is the second time we have an opportunity to test the new system, the performance is satisfactory. We will get another free shot tomorrow during a low-level Jet mission to test the CAPPI system. A navigation calibration leg was executed from 1820-1827 UTC at 5000 ft. The radar altimeter data is inacurate above 4000 ft and it only works up to 5000 ft. We still need to find ways to properly calibrate the altimeter. This is inconvenient for IHOP but will be a major concern for future ELDORA projects, such as BAMEX. I talked to Mike Spowart about the situation and we agreed that it should be an action item after C-F is completed. Lastly, I would like to thank P-3 transition team and staff who has worked extremely hard to make all this possible.



Crew Members:

NRL: Tom Strong, Jace Dasenbrock, Alex Cress, Steve Wagner, Dave Heitmeyer,

NCAR: Eric Loew, Jeff Keeler, Frank Pratte, Wen-Chau Lee,

UCLA: Roger Wakimoto, Hanne Murphy

CNRS: Patrica Delville, Jacques Pelon

 

Flight Track:




ELDORA Images for this Flight:

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Images