1 00:00:00,420 --> 00:00:05,880 [Music] 2 00:00:14,520 --> 00:00:18,020 [Airplane taking off] 3 00:00:20,800 --> 00:00:25,360 >>Cockpit weather radar measures reflectivity, which is the strength of a radar signal's 4 00:00:25,360 --> 00:00:28,480 return off of precipitation within a cloud. 5 00:00:28,480 --> 00:00:31,530 Pilots avoid highly reflective areas like storm centers. 6 00:00:31,530 --> 00:00:36,560 However, high reflectivity is not always correlated with the condition known as High Ice Water 7 00:00:36,560 --> 00:00:37,560 Content. 8 00:00:37,560 --> 00:00:42,610 These conditions are characterized by tiny ice and water particles suspended in a cloud. 9 00:00:42,610 --> 00:00:47,480 These particles are too small to influence reflectivity, but they can still cause engine 10 00:00:47,480 --> 00:00:52,240 problems and clog up pitot tubes and instruments. 11 00:00:52,600 --> 00:00:57,260 [Music/Background noise] 12 00:00:58,060 --> 00:01:04,360 >>The primary goal here is to be able to develop a radar capability to look ahead of the aircraft 13 00:01:04,370 --> 00:01:10,580 and identify areas of High Ice Water Content so that pilots on today's transport aircraft 14 00:01:10,580 --> 00:01:13,200 can see and avoid those sorts of conditions. 15 00:01:13,960 --> 00:01:19,500 >>In 2015 we boarded this aircraft, took it through the Bahamas and Caribbean to collect 16 00:01:19,500 --> 00:01:23,100 radar signatures of High Ice Water Content conditions. 17 00:01:23,100 --> 00:01:26,750 Using those radar signatures, we developed an algorithm that would both detect those 18 00:01:26,750 --> 00:01:30,560 conditions and reject benign cloud conditions. 19 00:01:30,560 --> 00:01:34,200 During this flight campaign we're actually going and testing that algorithm, both its 20 00:01:34,200 --> 00:01:37,980 performance in range, as well as its performance in accuracy. 21 00:01:37,980 --> 00:01:42,880 >>We're seeing if we have good correlation between the radar predicted ice water content and 22 00:01:42,880 --> 00:01:45,530 then the in-situ measurements with our icing instruments. 23 00:01:45,530 --> 00:01:46,530 >>Tom, Steve-. 24 00:01:46,530 --> 00:01:47,530 >>Yep? 25 00:01:47,530 --> 00:01:52,880 >>We've got a cell to the left and right of track, about five degrees each, I'd suggest 26 00:01:52,880 --> 00:01:55,920 we pick one of the two and steer towards it. 27 00:01:55,920 --> 00:01:59,560 >>One of the biggest challenges for the HIWC missions is just that basically, it's always 28 00:01:59,560 --> 00:02:00,560 constantly changing. 29 00:02:00,560 --> 00:02:03,720 You go out with a plan, but you don't follow your plan. 30 00:02:03,720 --> 00:02:08,800 You are expected to change and be on the go with the weather itself. 31 00:02:08,800 --> 00:02:11,460 >>I think we might want to be at the southwesterly part of the storm. 32 00:02:11,460 --> 00:02:16,360 >>Ok, we have another ice water content spike, right before you get to the waypoint. 33 00:02:16,380 --> 00:02:19,500 >>Just went through a peak of about two grams per cubic meter on that. 34 00:02:19,500 --> 00:02:22,500 >>Cool, I was saying one point five plus or minus one. 35 00:02:23,220 --> 00:02:26,840 >>I think we may have a pitot anomaly on ADC 2. 36 00:02:26,840 --> 00:02:31,380 >>We do have sometimes that the pitot tubes get overwhelmed by the water content or the 37 00:02:31,380 --> 00:02:35,760 ice content and our air speeds go to zero for a short period of time. 38 00:02:35,760 --> 00:02:39,360 While we're doing that, we just leave the throttles set where they are and continue 39 00:02:39,360 --> 00:02:43,860 on the line that we're flying and fly the specific ground speed. 40 00:02:43,860 --> 00:02:49,100 >>So pilots, what they will see in the future will be, in addition to the reflectivity that 41 00:02:49,100 --> 00:02:54,400 they normally see on their displays, they'll see additional parameters, additional information, 42 00:02:54,400 --> 00:03:00,620 a color or symbol, something of that sort, that will indicate high concentration levels 43 00:03:00,620 --> 00:03:04,340 of ice in front of them, and so they'll be able to fly around that.