The two WP-3D
airplanes operated by NOAA's Aircraft Operations
Center constitute a unique resource for airborne hurricane
research, and for atmospheric research in general. They are
civilian versions of the U.S. Navy's P-3 four-engine maritime
reconnaissance airplane. The NOAA airplanes, N42RF and N43RF,
were commissioned in the late 1970s. They offer long range
(3000 nmi) and duration (10 h), moderate ceiling (30000 ft), large
fuselage volume, substantial payload, ability to carry
non-aerodynamic external sensors, and a track record of safe
operation in convection and turbulence. In addition to the
weather-avoidance radar mounted in the nose, they carry two
scientific radars: a 5 cm wavelength PPI radar in a radome
below the fuselage and a 3 cm wavelength RHI radar in
the tail radome. The latter radar rotates in a vertical plane
perpendicular to the aircraft track and has a Doppler
processor. The P-3s determine in-situ precipitation size spectra
and phase with laser imaging instruments. They can deploy
dropsondes to measure wind and thermodynamic properties and
winds below flight level and sense surface winds remotely with
active and passive microwave instruments.
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