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Hurricane Hunters
Hurricane hunters, typhoon hunters, or cyclone hunters are aircrews that fly into tropical cyclones to gather weather data. In the United States, the organizations that fly these missions are the United States Air Force Reserve's 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Hurricane Hunters. Such missions have also been flown by Navy units and other Air Force and NOAA units. Other organizations also fly these missions, such as Government Flying Service Hong Kong. The first crewed flight into a hurricane happened in 1943 when a pilot-trainer flew into a Category 1 hurricane near Galveston, Texas on a bet. In the past, before satellites were used to find tropical storms, military aircraft flew routine weather reconnaissance tracks to detect formation of tropical cyclones. While modern satellites have improved the ability of meteorologists to detect cyclones before they form, only aircraft are able to measure the interior ba ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lockheed WP-3D Orion
The Lockheed WP-3D Orion is a highly modified P-3 Orion used by the Aircraft Operations Center division of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The aircraft are operated by officers of the NOAA Commissioned Officer Corps. Only two of these aircraft exist, each incorporating numerous features for the role of collecting weather information. During the Atlantic hurricane season, the WP-3Ds are deployed for duty as NOAA Hurricane Hunters, hurricane hunters. The aircraft also support research on other topics, such as Arctic ice coverage, air chemistry studies, and ocean water temperature and current analysis. Design The WP-3Ds are equipped with three weather radars, C band (IEEE), C band radar in the nose and on the lower fuselage, and an X-band radar in the aircraft's tail. They are also equipped with the ability to deploy dropsondes into storm systems, and have onboard temperature sensors, and other meteorological equipment. While the aircraft are not specially ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Aircraft Operations Center
} The Aircraft Operations Center (AOC) is the main aircraft base for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) of the United States government, under the operation of the NOAA Commissioned Officer Corps. AOC houses 10 NOAA aircraft, including the Hurricane Hunters. It is the home of the NOAA Aircraft Operations Center, which houses multiple light aircraft, and three Hurricane Hunters aircraft. This base plays a large role every hurricane season, supporting NOAA flights in and around tropical cyclones for research and forecasting. The AOC has been located at Lakeland Linder International Airport in Lakeland, Florida, since June 2017 and is under the NOAA Office of Marine and Aviation Operations. The AOC resided at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, Florida, from January 1993 to June 2017. Aircraft NOAA operates a fleet of ten crewed aircraft: * Two Lockheed WP-3D Orion – heavily instrumented turboprops used for hurricane hunting nicknamed "Kermit" (N42RF) an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Typhoon
A typhoon is a tropical cyclone that develops between 180° and 100°E in the Northern Hemisphere and which produces sustained hurricane-force winds of at least . This region is referred to as the Northwestern Pacific Basin, accounting for almost one third of the world's tropical cyclones. For organizational purposes, the northern Pacific Ocean is divided into three regions: the eastern (North America to 140°W), central (140°W to 180°), and western (180° to 100°E). The Regional Specialized Meteorological Center (RSMC) for tropical cyclone forecasts is in Japan, with other tropical cyclone warning centres for the northwest Pacific in Hawaii (the Joint Typhoon Warning Center), the Philippines, and Hong Kong. Although the RSMC names each system, the main name list itself is coordinated among 18 countries that have territories threatened by typhoons each year. Within most of the northwestern Pacific, there are no official typhoon seasons as tropical cyclones form througho ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
South China Sea
The South China Sea is a marginal sea of the Western Pacific Ocean. It is bounded in the north by South China, in the west by the Indochinese Peninsula, in the east by the islands of Taiwan island, Taiwan and northwestern Philippines (mainly Luzon, Mindoro and Palawan Island, Palawan), and in the south by Borneo, eastern Sumatra and the Bangka Belitung Islands, encompassing an area of around . It communicates with the East China Sea via the Taiwan Strait, the Philippine Sea via the Luzon Strait, the Sulu Sea via the straits around Palawan, the Java Sea via the Karimata Strait, Karimata and Bangka Straits and directly with Gulf of Thailand. The Gulf of Tonkin is part of the South China Sea. $3.4 trillion of the world's $16 trillion Maritime transport, maritime shipping passed through South China Sea in 2016. Oil and natural gas reserves have been found in the area. The Western Central Pacific accounted for 14% of world's commercial fishing in 2010. The South China Sea Islands, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hong Kong Observatory
The Hong Kong Observatory is a weather forecast agency of the government of Hong Kong. The Observatory forecasts the weather and issues warnings on weather-related hazards. It also monitors and makes assessments on radiation levels in Hong Kong and provides other meteorological and geophysical services to meet the needs of the public and the shipping, aviation, industrial and engineering sectors. Overview The Observatory was established on 2 March 1883 as the Hong Kong Observatory by Sir George Bowen, the 9th Governor of Hong Kong, with (1852–1941) as its first director. Early operations included meteorological and magnetic observations, a time service based on astronomical observations and a tropical cyclone warning service. The Observatory was renamed the Royal Observatory Hong Kong () after obtaining a Royal Charter in 1912. The Observatory adopted the current name and emblem in 1997 after the transfer of Hong Kong's sovereignty from the UK to China. The Hong K ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Government Flying Service (Hong Kong)
The Hong Kong Government Flying Service (HKGFS) is a disciplined unit and paramilitary flying organisation of the Government of Hong Kong. The service has its head office in, and operates from, the southwestern end of Hong Kong International Airport at Chek Lap Kok. Before the opening of the Chek Lap Kok airport in 1998, it operated from the old Kai Tak Airport, the former Hong Kong International Airport. GFS patrols as far as to the south, to include the Hong Kong Flight Information Region and the Hong Kong Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre area of responsibility, which covers most of the South China Sea basin. History The Government Flying Service was established on 1 April 1993, when Hong Kong was under British rule. It then took over all the non-military operations of the Royal Hong Kong Auxiliary Air Force (RHKAAF), which was an auxiliary unit of the United Kingdom Royal Air Force. After Hong Kong was handed over to the People's Republic of China in 1997, the GFS ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lockheed Martin C-130J Super Hercules
The Lockheed Martin C-130J Super Hercules is an American four-engine turboprop military transport aircraft. The C-130J is a comprehensive update of the Lockheed C-130 Hercules, with new engines, flight deck, and other systems. The C-130J is the newest version of the C-130 Hercules, and the only model currently in production. , 500 C-130J aircraft have been delivered to 26 operators in 22 countries. Development On 16 December 1994, Lockheed received the launch order for the J-model from the United Kingdom's Royal Air Force (RAF). The C-130J launch order occurred after a UK government stalemate of several months that concerned whether to buy new transport aircraft from Europe or the United States. It was paired with a commitment to buy 40 to 50 of the proposed European Future Large Aircraft aircraft (FLA, which was later designated as the A400M). The FLA commitment, which reduced the size of the C-130J launch order, was intended to ensure a 20 percent British workshare in the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lockheed Martin Aeronautics
Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Company is a major unit of Lockheed Martin with headquarters at Air Force Plant 4 in Fort Worth, Texas, with additional facilities are located Marietta, Georgia and Palmdale, California. Palmdale is home to the Advanced Development Programs (ADP), informally known as the " Skunk Works". Various subassemblies are produced at locations in Florida, Mississippi, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia. The company draws upon the history of the former Lockheed and Martin Marietta corporations. While the formation of Lockheed Martin in 1995 was a merger of equals, by far the greatest contribution to Lockheed Martin Aeronautics was the product portfolio of Lockheed. This included the C-5, C-130, and C-141 transports as well as the F-2, F-16 (purchased from General Dynamics), F-117, F-22, and F-35 Lightning II. The most important project by far to Lockheed Martin Aeronautics is the F-35 Lightning II (JSF). Worth a potential $200bn the initial ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dropsonde
A dropsonde is an expendable weather reconnaissance device created by the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR), designed to be dropped from an aircraft at altitude over water to measure (and therefore track) storm conditions as the device falls to the surface. The sonde contains a GPS receiver, along with pressure, temperature, and humidity (PTH) sensors to capture atmospheric profiles and thermodynamic data. It typically relays this data to a computer in the aircraft by radio transmission. Usage Dropsonde instruments are typically the only current method to measure the winds and barometric pressure through the atmosphere and down to the sea surface within the core of tropical cyclones far from land-based weather radar. The data obtained is usually fed via radio into supercomputers for numerical weather prediction, enabling forecasters to better predict the effects and intensity, based on computer-generated models using data gathered from previous storms under simil ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gulfstream IV
The Gulfstream IV (or G-IV or GIV) and derivatives are a family of twinjet aircraft, mainly for private or Business jet, business use. They were designed and built by Gulfstream Aerospace, a General Dynamics company based in Savannah, Georgia, United States, from 1985 until 2018. Aircraft power is provided by two Rolls-Royce RB.183 Tay turbofans. Upon delivery of the last G450, over 900 GIV/GIV-SP/G450 units had been produced. The last of the G450s was delivered on 19 January 2018 after 365 deliveries over 12 years, ending a 30-year production run, to be replaced by the Gulfstream G500, G500. Development Gulfstream, in collaboration with Grumman, began work on the Gulfstream IV in March 1983 as a re-engined, stretched fuselage derivative of the Gulfstream III. The first GIV made its maiden flight on September 19, 1985. The model received type certification from the FAA on April 22, 1987. The G-IV entered into service with serial number 1000 in 1987 and was upgraded to the sp ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lakeland Linder International Airport
Lakeland Linder International Airport is a public airport five miles southwest of Lakeland, in Polk County, Florida. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2017–2021 categorized it as a national reliever facility for Tampa International Airport. The airport has a Class 1 Federal Aviation Regulation (FAR) Part 139 operating certificate allowing passenger airline flights. Annually, around March–April, the airport hosts the Sun 'n Fun Aerospace Expo, a six-day fly-in, airshow and aviation convention. It is the second largest such event in the United States after the Experimental Aircraft Association's (EAA) annual "AirVenture" event each summer at Wittman Regional Airport (OSH) in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. The airport is home to the southeast regional air cargo hub for Amazon Air, which started operations at the airport in July 2020. History : ''For the original Lakeland Municipal Airport, see Lodwick Field'' In 1940 the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Weather Radar
A weather radar, also called weather surveillance radar (WSR) and Doppler weather radar, is a type of radar used to locate precipitation (meteorology), precipitation, calculate its motion, and estimate its type (rain, snow, hail etc.). Modern weather radars are mostly pulse-Doppler radars, capable of detecting the motion of rain droplets in addition to the intensity of the precipitation. Both types of data can be analyzed to determine the structure of storms and their potential to cause severe weather. During Radar in World War II, World War II, radar operators discovered that weather was causing echoes on their screens, masking potential enemy targets. Techniques were developed to filter them, but scientists began to study the phenomenon. Soon after the war, military surplus, surplus radars were used to detect precipitation. Since then, weather radar has evolved and is used by national weather services, research departments in universities, and in television stations' weather d ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
