Airborne operation of an infrared low-level wind shear prediction system
(Previously cited in issue 06, p. 921, Accession no. A82-17810)
Kuhn, P. M.↗
Engineering topics
Caracena, F.
Publications and source records attributed to Caracena, F..
Airborne operation of an infrared low-level wind shear prediction system
Airborne testing under simulated and actual low-level wind shear conditions is underway on a NASA-Ames Learjet. An infrared CO2 band radiometer with a forward 'look distance' of 5 to 8 kilometers measures the air temperature weighted to this range ahead of the approach configured aircraft. Shear alerts occur when the difference between the forward temperature and static air temperature at the aircraft exceed a set value or when a perturbation occurs in the normally constant potential temperature. Aircraft approaches into thunderstorm downburst phenomena were simulated by approaches into cool estuarine air adjacent to much warmer air over land and by actual light wind shear conditions at Travis Air Force Base. Conditions were verified by the radiometer system with extensive on-board data acquisition.
Kuhn, P. M.↗
Clear air turbulence - An airborne alert system
An infrared radiometer system has been developed that can alert a pilot of an aircraft 2 to 9 minutes in advance of an encounter with clear air turbulence. The time between the warning and the clear air turbulence event varies with the flight altitude of the aircraft. In turbulence-free areas, the incidence of false alarms is found to be less than one in 3.4 hours of flight time compared to less than one per 10 hours of flight time in areas with turbulence.
Stearns, L. P.↗
Design and preliminary tests of an IR-airborne LLWS remote sensing system
Recent history underscores the need for in-cockpit alerts of LLWS for takeoffs and landings. The 13-15 micron portion of the CO2 molecular spectrum can be used to remote sense LLWS in and around thunderstorms. A radiometer with a designed look-distance of about 10 km remote senses an average air temperature along a forward, horizontal path. Wind shear alerts are based on the difference between this forward air temperature and the air temperature near the aircraft. Although spectral ranging, a major design improvement of an IR LLWS alert system, is not at present feasible with noncooled detectors, it is an important technique to keep in mind, given the rapid advance in IR technology.
Caracena, F.↗
The microburst: Common factor in recent aircraft accidents
The phenomenology of one class of strong thunderstorm downdrafts, microbursts, is described. Several aircraft accidents are analyzed in which a microburst was involved and a concept for an early warning wind shear sensor is presented.
Caracena, F.↗
An analysis of three weather-related aircraft accidents
Two aircraft accidents in 1975, one at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York City on 24 June and the other at Stapleton International Airport in Denver on 7 August, were examined in detail. A third accident on 23 June 1976 at Philadelphia International Airport is being investigated. Amazingly, there was a spearhead echo just to the north of each accident site. The echoes formed from 5 to 50 min in advance of the accident and moved faster than other echoes in the vicinity. These echoes were photographed by National Weather Service radars, 130-205 km away. At closer ranges, however, one or more circular echoes were depicted by airborne and ground radars. These cells were only 3-5 km in diameter, but they were accompanied by downdrafts of extreme intensity, called downbursts. All accidents occurred as aircraft, either descending or climbing, lost altitude while experiencing strong wind shear inside downburst cells.
Fujita, T. T.↗
Clear air turbulence - Detection by infrared observations of water vapor
'Forward-looking' infrared measurements of water vapor from the C-141A Kuiper Airborne Observatory of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration Ames Research Center show large, distinctly identifiable, signal anomalies from 4 to 10 minutes in advance of subsequent encounters with clear air turbulence (CAT). These anomalies are characteristically different from the signals not followed by CAT encounters. Results of airborne field trials in which the infrared radiometer was used indicate that, out of 51 situations, 80 percent were CAT alerts followed by CAT encounters, 12 percent were 'false alarms' (CAT alerts not followed by CAT encounters), and 8 percent were CAT encounters not preceded by an infrared signal anomaly or CAT alert.
Kuhn, P.↗
Clear Air Turbulence: Detection by Infrared Observations of Water Vapor
"Forward-looking" infrared measurements of water vapor from the C-141A Kuiper Airborne Observatory of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration Ames Research Center show large, distinctly identifiable, signal anomalies from 4 to 10 minutes in advance of subsequent encounters with clear air turbulence (CAT). These anomalies are characteristically different from the signals not followed by CAT encounters. Results of airborne field trials in which the infrared radiometer was used indicate that, out of 51 situations, 80 percent were CAT alerts followed by CAT encounters, 12 percent were "false alarms " (CAT alerts not followed by CAT encounters), and 8 percent were CAT encounters not preceded by an infrared signal anomaly or CAT alert.
Kuhn, P.↗
Common denominator of three weather-related aircraft accidents
Three aircraft accidents are analyzed to gain an understanding of thunderstorm-related downbursts, or extremely rapid downdrafts, which interfered with takeoff or landing maneuvers in each of the three cases. For the purposes of this study, downbursts are defined as having downward speeds greater than 3.6 m/sec at 91 m altitude, and diameters of 800 m or greater. Few of the strongest downdrafts investigated reach the intensity of a downburst. The downburst cells mature about 5-10 minutes after formation, and are generally no more than 3-4 miles in diameter at maturity. A spearhead echo is found to be associated with each of the downburst-caused accidents.
Fujita, T. T.↗