Case of June , 1999
Dropsonde Jet Lear Jet: (model 35A?) Ceiling: ~ 43,000 Feet (roughly 30 min to 37,000 ft.) Duration: 6 hours; option to refuel at alternate airport Air Speed: ~450 knots (could be less if desired) 4 seats on the plane
Dropsondes 450 total Drops up to 8 per hour (~80 km) 40,000 feet downward 30+ drops per mission 4 in the air at once No drops over population centers Drops on straight tracks
Scalable tracks
Jet Flight Tracks
19 June, 2002 MCV June, 2001 MCS BAMEX Deployment Strategies
Planning for dropsonde aircraft
Science Staffing Dropsonde operator (on jet) Operator assistant (on jet) Dropsonde coordinator (Ops Center) monitor weather derive and communicate end points drops at regular intervals subject to FAA restrictions Population Centers Optimizing dropsonde spacing Backups of all positions (assuming double-crew)
1200 UTC1500 UTC2000 UTC x MCV Developing MCV 19 June, 2002