ER-2 Flight Summary for 07/06/2005
Sortie Number: 05-9026
Take off: 2000
Landing: 0410
Mission Description:
Tropical Storm Dennis was expected to intensify into hurricane status. Movement of the storm was WNW from the previous days position. A joint NASA-NOAA mission with one NOAA P-3 was planned to study storm intensity changes and development.
Mission Objectives:
The ER-2 was to take off first and begin Figure 4 manuevers over the storm using coordinates relayed from the ground science team. The NOAA 43 was to take off two hours later and lead the ER-2 flight coordination once the P-3 was in the storm vicinity. The aircraft were to perform portions of a Figure 4 together across the eye and then attempt the TCSP convective burst module in a convective area of an eastern rainband.
Mission Notes:
The NASA ER-2 took off at 1957 UTC / 6 July 2005. It performed maneuvers over the storm in the vicinity of 15N 18N, 73W 74 W. The instruments performed well except for the Cloud Radar System (CRS) which failed. The ER-2 landed at 0008 UTC / 7 July 2005.
Notes provided by Robbie Hood, who flew on the NOAA 43 during the mission:
The NOAA 43 took off at 2159 UTC. At 0016 UTC, the eye wall and curving rainband signatures were clearly evident in aircraft radar imagery. At this time, the aircraft was at 14.7N, 75.2W with an aircraft heading of 64O and a flight attitude of 15,000 ft. At 0025 UTC, the aircraft was at 14.7N, 75.1 W and beginning to descend to 14,000 ft. Mike Black, NOAA mission scientist, remarked that the overall storm structure looked different from the day before. The tropical storm was upgraded by National Hurricane Center (NHC) to a category 1 hurricane during the flight. The NHC forecast was for continued development to category 3 during the next 24 hours. The NOAA 43 crossed the eyewall for the first time at 0042 UTC in the vicinity of 15.1N, 73.3W. The NASA ER-2 was close by flying over the storm on a South-North leg. The NASA ER-2 did not have enough left on station to participate in a convective burst maneuver. The flight plan was changed to have both NASA and NOAA aircraft fly South-North legs across the eye with the NOAA 43 attempting microphysics modules during stratiform regions of rain.
At 0045 UTC, the NOAA 43 began a climb from 14,000 ft to 18,000 ft in the vicinity of 15.27 N, 73.19 W. By 0055 UTC, the NOAA 43 had descended down to 13,850 ft and entered the eye again at 0057 UTC in the vicinity of 16.22N, 73.13W. A nearly concentric eye was observed on the aircraft radar at 0059 UTC. The eye center was at 16.2N, 73.1W at 0100 UTC. Aircraft radar imagery displayed a tight eye structure with wraparound rainbands at 0102 UTC. An AXBT sonde was released at 0115 UTC in the vicinity of 17.45N, 73.21W. The surface water temperature was 28C. The NOAA 43 finished the South-North leg at 0120 UTC and turned back to head South at 17.47N, 73.23W while flying at 13.957 ft. The NASA ER-2 was also flying a South-North leg at this time. The NOAA 43 pass through a rainband at 0122 UTC was bumpier than a previous pass as the convective rainband were becoming more intense. The NOAA 43 missed the eyewall at 0124 UTC in the vicinity of 17.19N, 73.25W. The ER-2 was eight miles behind the NOAA 43 as a second microphysics maneuver was conducted along the North-South line with the NOAA 43 climbing from 14,000 ft to 18,000 ft. The NOAA 43 reached 18,000 ft at 0128 UTC and had descended back to 14,000 ft by 0131 UTC. At this point, the NASA ER-2 returned to base. NOAA aircraft radar imagery displayed a tight concentric eyewall at 0137 UTC. The eye center was at approximately 16.28N, 73.30W.
At 0148 UTC, convection on the southside was slightly more intense than the previous pass. The NOAA 43 was flying at 15,700 ft in the vicinity of 15.18N, 73.3W at 0158 UTC. NOAA 43 turned to the NE at 0211 UTC in the vicinity of 15.46N, 74.23W. An AXBT sonde was released at 0220 UTC AT 15.96N, 73.73W as the aircraft was approaching the eye from the SW. The surface water temperature was 28C. The third AXBT sonde was released at 0255 UTC in the vicinity of 17.21N, 72.65W. The surface water temperature was 28C.
The NOAA 43 made several more passes through the eye until after 0318 UTC. A fourth AXBT sonde was released at approximately 0318 UTC in the vicinity of 16.78N, 73.65W. Overall, the NOAA 43 performed five eye crossings during the course of the mission. The storm eye pressure dropped 12 millibars during a 2 hour period. Rainband convection became slightly more intense with each pass.
Other Mission Assets:
Ticosonde launches were performed at Juan Santamaria Airport.
Flight Track:
Navigation Data
Instrument Status:
| Instrument Acronym | Status during sortie | Full Report | Quicklooks |
| AMPR | Yellow |
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| CRS | Red |
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| EDOP | Green |
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| HAMSR | Green |
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| LIP | Green |
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| MAS | Green |
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| MTP | Green |
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